How Pitt rallied from 28 points down and still lost to Virginia Tech

A closer look at Pitt’s dramatic — but failed — comeback from a 28-point deficit against Virginia Tech exposes some surprising revelations.

It was said through most of this season that Pitt was lacking in the type of quality outside shooting that could ease pressure on center John Hugley. Pitt took care of that detail Saturday night at Petersen Events Center in the 76-71 loss, shooting a season-high 50% (9 of 18) from 3-point range.

You might think getting Ithiel Horton back in the lineup would help in that area, but he played more than 20 minutes, tried one 3-pointer and missed it.

Conditioning might be an issue because Horton has played only four games. Coach Jeff Capel expects Horton to improve as Pitt (8-15, 3-9 ACC) moves through February. Opportunities for everyone will be plentiful this week, with Pitt playing three games in the next six days, starting Monday night in Blacksburg, Va., with the Virginia Tech rematch. Pitt will fly directly to Tallahassee, Fla., to play Florida State on Wednesday before welcoming N.C. State to the Pete on Saturday.

Starting guards Jamarius Burton and Femi Odukale stepped up Saturday, combining to hit 17 of 24 shots overall and score well more than half of Pitt’s points (46).

Hugley’s contributions were limited to one basket in four attempts (including one 3-point miss), no free-throw attempts, four rebounds and four turnovers. Overall, Pitt collected 18 rebounds, tied for the fewest in a game in program history. Most recently: Feb. 14, 1979, at Penn State.

To be fair, Pitt and Virginia Tech combined to hit 51 of 89 shots (57.3%), making for an exciting game but not exactly an excess of rebounding opportunities.

Contrast Hugley’s performance Saturday to what he has done for a large portion of this season. Through 23 games, he is still leading the team in scoring (14.7 points per game), rebounding (8.3) and made free throws (122, which is 42 more than Odukale, who is second). Before Saturday, he was leading all power conferences in made free throws.

A month ago, Hugley scored 32 points and made 10 of 15 free throws against Boston College. On Jan. 19 against Virginia, he collected 23 points and was 8 of 9 from the free-throw line.

Capel emphasized that everyone is culpable in Pitt’s struggles, but he said Hugley must understand that he can impact the game in more ways than just scoring.

“And at times, he’s done that,” Capel said. “But he has to talk defensively. He has to be up on screens. He has to be in a stance. He has to protect the basket. He has to rebound.”

Every opponent double-teams Hugley; or, as Capel describes it, “pinching the court.”

“If you are getting doubled, you have to be able to make decisions without turning the basketball over,” he said. “You can’t get frustrated. You have to play every possession.”

Odukale, who has become a vocal leader off the court while putting 20-point efforts back-to-back, had advice for Hugley.

“He always has to have his head up, even though it’s not his night,” Odukale said. “He has to keep being the person we know, the energy guy, smiling around. Just being the good teammate that he is. He puts too much pressure (on himself).”

Odukale set a good example in the second half Saturday night when he reinjured his ankle. The injury looked serious, and Capel walked across the court to check on him.

Odukale left with a trainer, taped the ankle, returned a minute and a half later and helped Pitt further trim the deficit with seven points and a steal.

Pitt was in the midst of a rally — the 22-point swing in the second half is tied for the fourth-largest in program history — and Odukale didn’t want to miss it.

“I saw the score and didn’t want to let anybody down,” he said. “I got to fight through it. That’s what Brooklyn people do. Fight through it.”