Takeaways: Pitt's Late Game Struggles Continue

The Pitt Panthers once again struggled to make the right plays late in the game.

Matthew Scabilloni | Feb 9, 2025

Feb 8, 2025; Chapel Hill, North Carolina, USA; Pittsburgh Panthers head coach Jeff Capel reacts in the second half at Dean E. Smith Center. Mandatory Credit: Bob Donnan-Imagn Images / Bob Donnan-Imagn Images

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PITTSBURGH — The Pitt Panthers showed in their road loss against North Carolina on Saturday that the team is incapable of ending halves strongly and performing in the clutch.

Pitt Needs Better Execution in Late-Game Situations

The game of basketball has become all about efficiency, with teams shooting a higher volume of threes than ever, fewer mid-range shots than ever and as many shots close to the rim as possible.

Pitt falls into the category of shooting more threes than ever, but it still isn’t as efficient as possible. They need to go for two-for-one’s — one of the most underutilized plays in college basketball.

In both halves, Pitt got possession of the ball with 50 seconds remaining and both times they refused to go for the two-for-one.

A two-for-one is when a team attempts two possessions in the final minute of the half compared to the opposing team’s having one possession, which is why it is called a two-for-one. Typically, when going for a two-for-one, a team wants to shoot the ball with 40 or more seconds left in the game clock.

The disadvantage of a two-for-one is the possession can typically end up in the offense taking a wild shot, and that is why a lot of coaches and teams shy away from it. But for Pitt, that should make it even more obvious why they should go for a two-for-one more often.

All season long the Panthers have taken wild, inefficient shots late in the shot clock. Why not do that earlier on and allow your team to possess the ball again? This is far better than running down the shot clock in a moment your team should want to possess the ball more often.

In Pitt’s two chances of earning a two-for-one against North Carolina, it shot the ball with 30 seconds remaining in the first half and with 27 seconds in the second half. Both shots were misses, and each could have been game-changing makes.

The Panthers should highly consider going for a two-for-one rather than limiting the amount of shots they have at the basket late in a half. It’s not like the Panthers slowing the tempo down has helped their offense out.

Pitt Needs Jaland Lowe to Peform Better in the Clutch

When Pitt didn’t go for the two-for-one, it did get the offensive rebound both times, giving Pitt another chance to come up clutch in the waning moments of each half.

But after both rebounds came ill-advised shots from sophomore guard Jaland Lowe. In the first half, Lowe got the ball off the inbound, dribbled around for 15 seconds and didn’t move toward the basket until five seconds remained on the shot clock.

Lowe wasting the clock wound up in him passing the ball to junior forward Guillermo Diaz Graham and then him passing right back to Lowe late in the shot clock, where he subsequently airballed the three-point shot.

With 30 seconds left in the contest, Lowe missed a contested shot late in the shot clock before rebounding his miss and immediately shooting the ball back up, where he missed again.

Lowe's second half miss isn’t as frustrating as his first half miss because he didn’t unnecessarily waste the shot clock. But still, it’s time for the Pitt to realize that Lowe is not the answer late in games.

In the final two minutes of the Panthers’ three regulation losses in the ACC by four or fewer points, Lowe has shot 0-for 6 from the field.

Lowe’s best game in the clutch this season was in the five-minute overtime against Clemson where he shot 2-4 from the field, but one of his misses was a very ill-advised 3-pointer that sunk Pitt’s chances of earning the victory.

Still, 2-10 from the field is not good, and the Panthers need more from him in the clutch.

Pitt struggles collectively as a team in the clutch, failing to score in the last 2:03 of action against North Carolina. And in ACC play, Pitt is 2-4 in games decided by five or fewer points with both of its wins coming against teams below .500 – Virginia Tech and Syracuse.

Lowe was supposed to answer the Panthers' issues in this department, but he simply hasn’t done it.

It feels as if it is too late for another player to emerge for the Panthers in this area as their chances of making it to the NCAA Tournament become worse and worse after this crushing defeat.

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Published Feb 9, 2025

MATTHEW SCABILLONI