Pitt vs West Virginia Takeaways: Stinging, Not Damning

The Pitt Panthers fell in brutal fashion to their most hated rival and it was a tough loss, but not a season-defining one.

PITTSBURGH -- The Petersen Events Center rocked and expelled noise like it only could for a Backyard Brawl. The heated rivalry between the Pitt Panthers and West Virginia Mountaineers created another sporting spectacle in Pittsburgh, but ended in a resounding win for the visitors from down south. 

Pitt has been put on its heels for the first time this season after suffering it's first loss, 81-56 to West Virginia. The conclusion was simple, but the factors that created such an outcome were varied. Dive into them with five takeaways from the Backyard Brawl. 

Basketball Takes Center Stage in Oakland

Pittsburgh is a football, hockey and baseball city in that order. Basketball really doesn't even register on the average Yinzer's radar until they're filling out a March Madness bracket. But for one night, the center stage of this city's sports scene lay on Oakland's finest hardwood court. The buzz for this game was palpable and this atmosphere was boosted by some increasing confidence in the home Panthers' prospects. 

The beginning of the game was particularly entertaining, not just in terms of the raw energy but the quality of play was outstanding as well. Both teams combined to make 18 of their first 25 shots during a fast-paced start that threatened to take the roof off the Petersen Events Center. It was a captivating game that demanded your attention as both teams as the deafening noise made it impossible to concentrate on anything else. 

The end result marred those warm and fuzzy feelings the home squad had but it can't take away from the spectacle both teams and fanbases created for themselves.

An Ugly But Not Definitive Loss

There's no need to sugarcoat it because the result was plain - Pitt got their teeth kicked in. It is an especially deflating feeling when opposing fans are given every reason to - quite literally - shout down at you and yell their trademark jeers from the upper decks of your own stadium. 

There are, obviously 29 games left on Pitt's schedule and so much to play for still for these Panthers to work towards. Their new task is to not let one bad night - or one bad half, really - snowball into bad weeks, months or a whole bad season. Jeff Capel welcomes that challenge, in fact, saying he's glad that a loss like this happened early in the year if it had to happen at all. 

"We hadn’t been through adversity," Capel said. "Everything has been terrific for us so far. Now we got smacked in the face. Let’s see how we respond. And I feel good about the character of our team, that we’ll respond."

Foul Trouble Alters Pitt's Lineups

Five Panthers had committed two fouls by halftime. Starting point guard Nelly Cummings had three at the intermission and picked up his fourth and fifth right as he was beginning to provide his team an offensive spark in the secound half. The starting frontcourt of Fede Federiko and Blake Hinson was forced to spend long stretches on the bench. All in all, Pitt committed 21 fouls and the Mountaineers made 13 free throws.

There were some predictable and tangible results of the mounting foul trouble Pitt found themselves in. Capel said the Panthers were forced into lineups they hadn't practiced with before and it made everything from running proper offense to communicating on defense more difficult. But Capel and Greg Elliot both said the chaos their opponents love to create led to frustration, detachment from the gameplan and deterioration of the chemistry that had been a calling card of this Pitt team. 

The consequences of the tightly-called game were most evident in the frontcourt. It wasn't that the Mountaineer bigs were particularly dominating, but they took advantage of the Panthers' thin frontcourt. Without Federiko and Hinson's strength and size on the inside, the Mountaineers were able to clear space for drives to the basket and easy looks from close range because help was sealed off. That's where West Virginia's plus-14 advantage in the paint came from. 

The Nate Santos Game

Nate Santos hadn't shown much of well, anything during his short tenure as a Pitt Panther and it's understandable why. When Santos stepped on the court to play his freshman season, it was his first live game action in more than two years after an injury and the COVID-19 pandemic sidelined him. 

Consider his performance in the Brawl a coming out party for Santos, who scored seven points on 3-7 shooting and added seven rebounds to strong defense in the paint. When the Panthers were on the verge of letting the first half get away from them following an initial blitz from their opponents, Santos was a necessary, steadying force. 

Not much went right for Pitt against West Virginia, but Santos was one of the few silver linings.  

Hugley Health Update

There was a glaring hole in the middle of the Panthers and it looked a lot like one that star center John Hugley could have filled. Pitt missed his power, scoring ability and gravity against West Virginia but reports on his health from Capel continue to get more positive. 

“Hopefully, he can start doing some contact stuff in practice starting next week,” Capel said. “If he does that, if he’s able to do that, and has a couple of good days, there is a possibility that he can be available for Wednesday.”

The game Capel referenced was another out-of-conference matchup with a Power 5 opponent. The Panthers travel to face Michigan at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York for their next contest.  

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