Takeaways: Pitt Beats Miami with Veteran Leadership

PITTSBURGH — The Pitt Panthers got themselves back into the win column by defeating Miami 74-65 at the Petersen Events Center, with two players in particular leading the way.

Zack Austin Stars Again for Pitt

Redshirt senior forward Zack Austin looked fantastic for the Panthers against the Hurricanes, posting the first double-double of his Pitt career and 12th of his collegiate career, as he scored 11 points and grabbed 10 rebounds.

Austin’s 10 rebounds ranked second most for him at Pitt, with the only other time he had double-digit rebounds coming against Virginia Tech with 14 last season.

But Austin’s first double-double as a Panther didn’t truly show how great his game against the Hurricanes was.

“I don’t think Zack’s stat sheet reflects anywhere close to how well he played,” head coach Jeff Capel said. “That’s hard because he had a double-double.”

Austin’s defensive assignment against Miami was guarding senior guard Matthew Cleveland, who scored 32 points in his last outing.

Cleveland came into this contest averaging 16.8 points per game, shooting 53.8% from the field and 38% from deep. Against Pitt, however, he scored just eight points, shot 4-for-16 from the field and 0-for-2 from deep.

“Cleveland, the last five games, was averaging 26 points,” Capel said. “...So I thought his defense on Cleveland was huge for us.”

When Austin was on the bench for 2:06 against the Hurricanes, Cleveland went 2-for-3 from the field, scoring four points for the Hurricanes.

Cleveland shot just 2-for-13 from the field and scored four points for Miami when Austin defended him.

Austin was the definition of a lockdown defender on Cleveland and a big reason for Pitt ending its four-game losing streak.

Ishmael Leggett Steps Up for the Panthers

With sophomore guard Jaland Lowe, who leads the Panthers in points, assists and steals, out against the Hurricanes, someone had to carry the burden, and senior guard Ishmael Leggett was the man for that job.

He led Pitt with 21 points, five assists, four steals, and just for good measure, he tied Austin in rebounding by also bringing down 10 rebounds.

Leggett was remarkable for the Panthers in their bounce-back game against the Hurricanes. Anything Pitt needed of him, he did and did it well.

“I thought [Leggett] was incredible on both sides of the floor,” Capel said. “To have a double-double, but to put the ball in his hands and step in and make plays and play with poise."

Miami head coach Bill Courtney also had nothing but great things to say about Leggett, who hails from the same area of the country, Prince-George's County in Maryland.

"He's a tough kid," Courtney said. "He's a PG county kid, DMV, my home also, and he knows how to play basketball. Those guys are basketball players, do a little bit of everything, can do what their team needs and I think that's what Ish did tonight. He understood with Lowe being out, he had to be more aggressive. We anticipated that, really just not a lot we could do against him.

Capel Should Consider Giving Bench More Minutes

Capel is a big proponent of players having to earn their minutes, that no one is given minutes on this Pitt men’s basketball team and that it’s not JV basketball where everyone gets to play.

But against Miami, Capel had two freshmen guards who showed that they belong on the floor more often and should have far more playing time than they have received in the past month.

Amsal Delalić and Brandin Cummings contributed solid performances for the Panthers while filling in for graduate student guard Damian Dunn, who is out for the season with a fractured elbow, and Lowe, who missed the matchup against the Hurricanes due to a concussion.

Delalić delivered the best performance of his collegiate career. He had career-highs with 14 points, six made field goals and two made three-pointers. He wasn’t even expected to play as much as he did either.

“I thought today was the best he's played in a while,” Capel said on Delalić. “...He hasn’t been held back or anything like that. He just played better today. I didn't go into it thinking that I'm going to play him 27 minutes. I knew he was going to play, and depending on how he played, would determine if he played more minutes. He was terrific.”

Cummings, unlike Delalic, was expected to play a good portion of the game. He didn’t impress in his 13-plus minutes in the first half as he didn’t score and his only positive was one rebound and one assist.

But in the second half, Cummings showed his talents. He played all 20 minutes and did what was expected of him. The true freshman scored 11 points, going 3-for-8 from the field, while also tacking on two more rebounds and three more assists.

“I love everything that he did today,” Capel said on Cummings. “...I thought he made some really good decisions. He made some big free throws down the stretch after missing the front end of a one and one, he stepped up. He wasn't afraid he wanted it. So I'm really happy and pleased and proud of this performance.”

Cummings and Delalic’s performances didn't set any records or prove they should start all the time, but they should show Capel that his bench has two valuable assets that deserve more playing time.

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