Pitt Follows Blake Hinson's Lead to Major Wins

The Pitt Panthers have modeled Blake Hinson's personality and it's led them to massive wins.

CHARLOTTESVILLE -- The Pitt Panthers look to one man before every big game and he always has something to say. When Blake Hinson speaks, the team listens and rarely speaks louder than when his team is preparing to walk into a hostile road environment like they did this week. 

They arrived at John Paul Jones Arena to face No. 21 Virginia, who hadn't lost at home in 23 games, and Hinson had enough of hearing about the defense that was the talk of the ACC going into this marquee matchup. 

“[Before the game, Hinson] said 'These guys are the best defensive team? Let’s pick them apart. Let’s show everyone they’re not. Let’s show everyone they can’t stop us.’" Guillermo Diaz Graham said. "When he says that, it fires you up.”

Pitt takes Hinson in many ways, but none more obvious and more important than how they model his swagger, confidence and love of adversity. Just like their leader, they love the bright lights and they love to be hated. It's why they've earned some of their biggest wins in desperate moments, when they aren't expected to have a prayer and they have embodied that routinely as they've rattled off wins seven of their last eight and lifted themselves from ACC cellar dweller to NCAA Tournament contender. 

“Just the excitement of everybody doubting you," Hinson said. "That’s definitely been my life story so it definitely perks me up when I get met with that. That’s where I come from. My whole life has been that.”

Hinson was a better football recruit than he was a basketball prospect. But he stuck with basketball. And even after carving out a successful career at Ole Miss, he was cast off from Iowa State. He didn't have a home or someone who believed in him until he arrived at Pitt and has flourished with the endless confidence Jeff Capel supplied for him. 

Now he's repaying that out to his teammates, sometimes with his words and sometimes with his actions. Hinson has done both as the Panthers have emerged as one of the best road teams in the country. 

It didn't always look like the Panthers were going to walk away with a comfortable, double-digit win against one of the ACC's best in their nearly impenetrable home venue. 

"We knew it was going to be an unbelievable challenge, but we were excited about the opportunity of the challenge," Capel said. "We talked about that with our guys for three days. We knew about the winning streak. We knew all of that. the winning streak this year, the eight in a row, and the 23 in a row here. We just wanted to come in and seize an unreliable opportunity and to play our best. It took that from us to be able to do what we did tonight."

The Cavaliers were beginning to wrap their hands around Pitt, suffocating them during a 7-0 run as they have done routinely during their seven-game overall win streak and 23-game winning streak at home. Virginia cut an eight-point deficit to one with 6:28 left in the first half and the Panthers were slowly bleeding out. 

But like they did most notably in Cameron Indoor Stadium, and in other arenas, Pitt didn't blink. They tightened up handling the ball and defensively and hit consecutive 3-pointers to reclaim control. 

Later, after going scoreless for 4:21 of the final 4:41 of the first half, Pitt surrendered another 6-0 run and appeared on the verge of collapse. Instead, they scored the final five points of the second half. Guillermo Diaz Graham delivered a 3-pointer and Ishmael Leggett added a critical steal on Virginia's last possession that ended in a technical foul, two free throws and the last shot of the half. 

Again, the Panthers were punched in the mouth at the open of the second half, when Virginia scored nine of the first 12 points and even took a two-point lead. Pitt had made just one of their first five shots while the Cavaliers made all of their first eight attempts from the field to open the second period. Capel called timeout with 16:29, looking to reset his team. 

"We called that timeout to control their momentum. The crowd was back into it, but also to talk about what we wanted to do defensively and to make sure we weren’t rattled," Capel said. "We had gotten good looks we had just missed them, but we wanted to talk about our defense. We wanted to get back to defending like we had done the last three minutes in the first half. And our guys, to their credit, came out and executed everything we talked about."

With Virginia ready to choke them out like a boa constrictor, Pitt proceeded to match the Cavaliers bucket for bucket up through the 13:30 mark. They made eight of their next 11 shots and opened up a seven-point lead. Then Pitt began to match each bucket from Virginia with two buckets until they had opened up a 14-point lead and sent the home fans heading for the exits. 

With every progressive bucket, the Panthers gained more obvious confidence. Each Hinson triple was followed by an emphatic yell. Lowe beat his chest after defensive stops and clutch buckets. After a late score, Carrington took his time rolling the ball back to his opponents so they could savor having given up a layup. They brought all their teammates in with them as the clock wound down and the win became more certain. 

When the Panthers traveled to face West Virginia, they relished the hate of the home crowd. And some of the players who had never even experienced a Backyard Brawl - like Zack Austin and Jaland Lowe - embraced the rivalry the most. Hinson kicked off Pitt's current hot streak with a career night at Cameron Indoor Stadium, when the Panthers upset then No. 7 Duke and celebrated on the scorer's table in front of the student section. 

This team takes after their unquestioned leader, Blake Hinson. He has instilled a sense of endless, self-generating confidence into this team that comes with an edge. Pitt plays it's best ball when it's being counted out, jeered and disliked. They're drawn to it and thrive under it. Adversity made them shrink earlier in the season and it energizes them now. 

It takes discipline and security in the strengths of one's team to win the way Pitt has on the road this season. They are as mentally strong a team as exists in the ACC, a fact that is shocking after the way they began this season. The Panthers have gone from fumbling chances for necessary wins to locking them up in convincing fashion. 

Hinson plays his best when the lights are the brightest. He scored a career-high 29 points in primetime against West Virginia, dropped 27 points on the Blue Devils and saved 27 points for the Cavaliers. The team has followed his lead in each of those games, playing their best ball in the most hostile of environments and adopting a kind of mental toughness that is needed to win big games in difficult venues. 

"We had some games where we just dropped the rope, where we did blink, when things weren’t going well for us," Capel said. "There are learning moments for us and it was difficult, but the thing I love about my team is that they continued to show up everyday. They had great attitudes, they listened, and wanted to learn and we just gradually chipped away and gotten better." 

Make sure you bookmark Inside the Panthers for the latest news, exclusive interviews, recruiting coverage, and more!

Pitt Continues Rising Up ACC Standings

Pitt Earning NCAA Tournament Hype After Virginia Upset

Pitt Stuns Virginia for Another Road Win

Pitt Snaps College Basketball's Longest Home Winning Streak

Former Pitt Assistant Takes New Job at Boston College

Former Pitt QB Invited to NFL Combine

• Follow Inside the Panthers on Twitter: @InsidePitt