Pitt at Vanderbilt Live Feed: Panthers Fumble Game Away

NASHVILLE -- The Pitt Panthers gave away their shot at a six-game winning streak. Their nearly miraculous late-game push was not enough to cover for some sloppy play during the first 38 minutes.

Game Information

Matchup: Pitt at Vanderbilt
Time: 9:00 P.M. ET
Where: Memorial Gymnasium
How to Watch: SEC Network
How to Listen: 93.7 The Fan

Live Game Chat

Come chat with our Inside the Panthers team. Stephen Thompson will share their thoughts and news, and any highlights from the game. Tweet at us at @InsidePitt to have your thoughts and reactions shared in the feed.

Stephen: Final: Pitt 74, Vanderbilt 75.

Pitt trailed by eight inside of the final four minutes and couldn't find their offense until very, very late. Greg Elliot hit two 3-pointers to kickstart a run and Nelly Cummings made a midrange jump shot with 9.7 seconds left to put the Panthers up one.

That proved to be too much time, though. Vanderbilt's Tyrin Lawrence made two free throws with one second left and Pitt's final shot attempt was blocked.

The Panthers fall to 6-4 after fumbling away a game they could have easily one, even down to the final possessions.

Cummings scored 18 points and Elliot, 20. They shot 36% from 3-point distance but a combined +12 margin in points off turnovers and second-chance points in Vanderbilt's favor proved to be the difference.

Stephen: Whenever one team has been able to push their lead to four or five, the other has responded with a big shot to keep things within striking distance. That is not the case now, as Vanderbilt pushed their lead to eight with just over five minutes to play.

Pitt's missed their last six attempts from 3-point distance and trail 67-60 at the final media timeout of the game. The Commodores will go to the line to try and convert an and-1 after the break.

Stephen: With under eight minutes to play, Pitt trails 55-53. They've looked uncomfortable on offense but so have the Commodores. No Panther has scored in 2:56 and Vanderbilt hasn't made a field goal in 4:47.

One thing to monitor down the stretch is how much Hugley plays. He's really struggled tonight while Federiko has given the Panthers some strong minutes off the bench.

Stephen: Stop me if you've heard this before - Jamarius Burton and his patented mid-range pull-up have kept the Panthers in this game. He's made a couple of nice buckets to keep his team afloat as they hit a rough patch. Turnover and rebounding issues have resurfaced but they're still down just three at 51-48 with 11:54 to play in regulation.

Stephen: Pitt's knocked down a couple of triples to counter a hot start to the second half from Robbins, who's hit a 3-pointer and made another bucket. We're all knotted at 44 with 15:40 to play in Nashville.

Stephen: Peak petty.

The 1987-88 Vanderbilt basketball team is being honored today. That team of course upset Pitt in the NCAA tourney.
— Noah Hiles (@_NoahHiles) December 8, 2022

Stephen: Halftime: Pitt 34, Vanderbilt 34.

The Commodores have scored 18 of their points in the paint. The Panthers have scored 21 of theirs from the 3-point line. That was exactly the kind of contrast we were expecting from these two teams coming in. Whoever can make the other just a little bit more uncomfortable in their wheelhouse will come out on top.

It's been a balanced effort scoring the ball from Pitt. Elliot has scored nine points on three 3-pointers. Cummings has seven points, three assists and just one turnover. Hinson's scored eight points and grabbed four rebounds. Hugley has three of the team's 11 turnovers.

Nine of the 11 Commodores to see the floor have scored. The home team also owns an 11-3 advantage in points off turnovers and 11-1 lead in offensive rebounding, which translates to a 8-0 lead in second-chance points.

Stephen: Pitt's last six attempts have come from 3-point distance and they've made four of them to take a 32-29 lead with 3:44 left in the first half. Hinson and Elliot are doing much of the heavy lifting with their combined 5-6 mark from deep.

The Panthers still can't keep Vanderbilt off the glass and but if they keep shooting like this, it might not matter.

Stephen: It took 1:07 for the Commodores to take the lead back, but in all honesty, Pitt gave them that lead with bad turnovers and lackluster energy on defense, especially when rebounding.

But Elliot's hot shooting from the corner has the Panthers back out in front. He hit a pair of 3-pointers to halt the run and put Pitt back up 24-22 with 6:57 to go in the opening half.

Stephen: Pitt is still struggling on the glass - as their 6-1 deficit in offensive rebounds and 3-0 deficit in blocks would indicate - but a couple of triples from Elliot and Cummings have them out in front 17-14 with 11:48 left in the first half. Panthers are also shooting 4-6 from the free throw line while Vanderbilt hasn't stepped to the charity stripe yet.

Stephen: The Panthers do not look sharp early. They've committed four turnovers in 4:10 and been beaten on the offensive glass 4-0 so far. Vanderbilt leads 9-7 at the first media timeout.

Stephen: There are no surprises in the starting lineup for Pitt tonight - Nelly Cummings, Greg Elliot, Jamarius Burton, Blake Hinson and John Hugley will take the floor first.

Vanderbilt head coach Jerry Stackhouse will send Lawrence Tyrin, Manjon Ezra, Myles Stute, Quentin Millora-Brown and Liam Robbins to meet them.

Stephen: These Panthers will have a long way to go before their resume can compare to that of the 2010-2011 team - arguably the best in Pitt history. But they can rival them in one respect - consecutive road wins - with a victory at Vanderbilt tonight.

If #Pitt can pull out a win over Vanderbilt in Nashville tomorrow night, they'll have won their first three true road games in a season for the first time since 2010-2011, when they won their first six on the road.
— stephen thompson (@stephenethom) December 6, 2022

As the Panthers prepare to take on the Commodores, pay attention to how Jeff Capel rotates his big men. To defend 235-pound seven-footer Liam Robbins, I'm interested to see if Pitt goes with Fede Federiko's size or John Hugley's strength.

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