ACC's best rebounders next up for slumping Pitt

There is some good news for Pitt and coach Jeff Capel, but it’s difficult to find much of it after the 78-53 loss to Duke on Tuesday night.

The Panthers can cross off North Carolina’s Armando Bacot, the ACC’s leading rebounder, from their list of big men they must confront over the remainder of the regular season. Bacot (6-foot-11, 240 pounds) already torched Pitt for 16 points and 10 rebounds Jan. 2.

The bad news?

Four of the conference’s top five rebounders remain on the schedule. Three of them — Duke’s Kyle Filipowski, Georgia Tech’s Baye Ndongo and Miami’s Norchard Omier — are lined up to face Pitt over an eight-day stretch from Jan. 20-27. All three games are away from Petersen Events Center.

Before that, Pitt plays Syracuse at home next Tuesday. The Orange’s Maliq Brown (6-8, 222) and Benny Williams (6-9, 210) combined for 15 rebounds and 13-of-20 shooting in an 81-73 victory against Pitt last month,

Filipowski (7-foot-0, 240) created a mismatch at the Pete on Tuesday night when he scored 26 points with 10 rebounds (1.4 above his average), occasionally popping out to hit four 3-pointers in four attempts. Filipowski is fifth and Omier (6-7, 240) and Ndongo (6-9, 214) third and fourth in the ACC with 9.8 and 9.2 rebounding averages.

Last month, Clemson’s Ian Schieffelin (6-8, 238), who is second at 9.9, teamed with P.J. Hall (6-10, 238) to record 30 points, 28 rebounds and four steals in a 79-70 victory at the Pete. They get another shot at the Panthers on Feb. 27 on their home court.

Pitt has size of its own in Guillermo and Jorge Diaz Graham and Federiko Federiko, all 7-footers or close to it. But they average fewer than five rebounds per game each, and Jorge and Federiko aren’t starters.

The team’s leading rebounders are guards Ishmael Leggett (5.8) and Bub Carrington (5.2), a testament to their talent and hustle. But Pitt needs its big men to step up against stiff ACC competition.

Pitt has been deficient scoring in the paint where opposing players such as Filipowski, Hall and Omier thrive, averaging between 17 and 19 points per game.

In seven games against mid-major teams, Pitt averaged 38 points in the paint. The number dropped to 12 versus Duke and Missouri and 20 in a victory at West Virginia. In four home losses to Missouri, Clemson, North Carolina and Duke, Pitt was outscored in the paint by an average of 29-18.

After Duke rolled over the Panthers, Capel said he wants to see more activity in the paint, more pressure on the opponent around the basket.

“We have to drive the ball a little bit more. We have to be able to touch the paint,” he said.

Even when Pitt penetrated the paint Tuesday, Duke’s athletic defenders occasionally knocked the basketball loose.

“We have to be stronger with our decision-making,” Capel said. “We have to be stronger protecting the basketball.”

Pitt (10-6, 1-4 ACC) has a winning record, partially because it leads the conference in 3-pointers (153, 9.6 per game). But 9-of-27 shooting from beyond the arc wasn’t good enough against Duke.

What happens when the 3-point spigot is shut off? That occurred in the North Carolina game when Pitt missed 24 of 29 in a 70-57 loss.

“It’s a long season. Sometimes you have a game like this,” Capel said Tuesday after the Duke game. “We have to learn from it. We have to get better.

“It’s our responsibility to teach, through good and bad.”