Pitt at Georgia Tech Takeaways: Panthers Pull Off Rare ACC Road Win

The Pitt Panthers now own the best road record in the ACC after beating Georgia Tech.

PITTSBURGH -- The Pitt Panthers pulled off a rare feat - an road win in ACC play. They ended the weekend as one of just three teams with a winning record in confernce games on the road after defeating Georgia Tech. 

The Panthers got a taste of just how difficult life traveling in the ACC is this week. After blowing a double-digit second half lead to Duke mere days ago, they seemed destined to do it again in Atlanta against Georgia Tech. But the play of their experienced guards kept the Yellow Jackets at arms length and snapped a two-game skid for Pitt. 

Rare Road Win

Winning on the road in the ACC is hard. Ask No. 24 Duke, who got their doors blown off by NC State in Raleigh, No. 16 Miami, who fell to those same Wolfpack and Georgia Tech as the visitors, or No. 11 Virginia, who left Corral Gables and Pittsburgh as losers. Just three ACC teams have winning records on the road in conference play and Pitt is one of them. 

The Panthers' experience, resiliance and poise was on full display as their record away from the Petersen Events Center got back to .500. Pitt suffered three seperate scoring droughts of two minutes or longer against Georgia tech but dug in and played with intensity and focus on defense to maintain the slight edge built over the course of a game. 

Asthetics are not the name of the game for these Panthers - winning is. All signs indicate the rest of this season will not look pretty but none of that matters as long as they can score one more point than their opponents. Veteran players understand that more than anyone and Pitt's lucky to have many of those on its roster. 

Sibande Spark Becomes Sibande Start?

Nike Sibande was everything Pitt needed. When Sibande is at his best, he's strong, fast, creative and uber confident. He puts pressure on defenses with his explosiveness, shooting ability and speed and has frequently provided a necessary spark for the Panthers. 

His and-one bucket in transition with 3:18 left in the game ended a 3:38 scoring drought for the Panthers and gave him a new season-high in points. Sibande scored 21 in all, just the third time he's cracked 20 points since arriving at Pitt, and added six key defensive rebounds to help his team right the ship on the glass. 

For as well as he's played of late - 12.2 points and 4.8 rebounds per game over his last five contests - I still don't think Capel will slide Sibande into the starting lineup anytime soon. Capel said postgame that he considered switching Sibande out for Greg Elliot to open the second half in Atlanta, but Sibande told him to stick with Elliot. 

“It’s not about starting. It’s not about none of that. At the end of the day, it’s about winning.” @sibande_nike explains why he told Capel to stick with Greg Elliott over himself to start the second half: pic.twitter.com/QO8OoqOWa4

— Noah Hiles (@_NoahHiles) January 14, 2023

Sibande's willingness to stick with his role as a sixth man speaks not just to his unselfishness, but where he's comfortable. I suspect Sibande relishes coming off the bench - watching from the sideline and getting a sense for what his team needs before entering the game. Capel can still tailor the minutes between Elliot and Sibande depending on who's playing better and the direct beginnings of games haven't been a huge issue, so expect both to maintain their current roles. 

Rebounding Concerns

The first half was ugly, largely because of the rebounding. Georgia Tech - who sent just one player taller than 6'9 to the floor against Pitt - owned a 23-17 advantage in total rebounding, 8-4 edge in offensive rebounding and 12-4 lead in second chance points. The Yellow Jackets used their upper hand on the glass to feed open 3-point shooters, knocked down eight first half triples (they average 6.9 3-point makes per game as a team). 

Pitt responded after halftime and actually won the battle on the boards in the second half. That capped how many open looks from deep the Jackets saw and helped the Panthers get out in transition, where their best offense took place. Pitt was much stronger on the inside and the team's effort for loose balls reflected an uptick in overall intensity. It's unlikely the Panthers will ever be a dominant rebounding team this season, but they won't have to be to win games. 

If Pitt can simply not get embarassed on the glass like they did against Duke and Clemson, they'll put themselves in a good position to win a lot of games. 

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