Pitt Suffers Embarrassing Loss to Virginia

PITTSBURGH — The Pitt Panthers needed a win against a poor Virginia team, but instead, performed badly on offense and fell behind early, en route to a 73-57 defeat at the Petersen Events Center.

Pitt has lost six out of their past eight games, dropping to 14-8 overall and 5-6 in the ACC, as they likely fall off the bubble for the NCAA Tournament. This also makes it back-to-back defeats for Pitt, as they lost 76-74 to Wake Forest on Feb. 1 on the road.

Pitt started out with a 4-1 lead, thanks to guards, senior Ish Leggett and sophomore Jaland Lowe, each making shots, but then Virginia took over.

The Cavaliers scored 17 unanswered points, went on a 23-3 run, taking a 24-7 lead with eight minutes remaining in the period and eventually built a 20-point advantage, 30-10 with 4:46 left.

Cavaliers Sophomore guard Dai Dai Ames led his team with 14 points during that stretch and finished the first half with 16 points, shooting 7-for-9 from the field and 2-for-3 from 3-point range.

The 17-0 unanswered run Pitt allowed ranks tied for the 10th biggest in program history. They have allowed that large of a run 10 times prior, most recently in a loss to Virginia Tech on the road on Feb. 7, 2022.

Junior forward Cam Corhen would finally get the Panthers a point on a free throw and then Leggett scored a layup, but the starting lineup struggled immensely in the first half.

Pitt head coach Jeff Capel, who didn't use his bench much in recent games, brought on forwards, junior Jorge Diaz Graham and redshirt freshman Papa Amadou Kante, plus freshman guard Brandin "Beebah" Cummings late in the first half.

The Panthers finally got things going, ending the period on a 9-4 run, but still trailed 34-19. Leggett scored three points on a layup and a free throw, Cummings hit three free throws and Diaz Graham made a 3-pointer.

Virginia added on to their lead in the early stages of the second half, with three 3-pointers and two baskets in the paint, going up 47-28 with 13:45 remaining and forcing Capel to take a timeout.

The Cavaliers maintained their large lead, 58-39 at the under-eight minute media timeout, thanks to 60% shooting from the field, 9-for-15, and 5-for-7 from 3-point range, 71.4% Junior guard Andrew Rohde made a 3-pointer and then senior guard Taine Murray made a 3-pointer and a layup.

Virginia still led by 18 points at the final media timeout, 69-51 with 3:22 remaining, as Ames made a jumper and a layup to increase his point total to 25. He finished the game with a team-high 27 points.

The Panthers shot over 50% from the field in the second half, but the Cavaliers did too, leading to their big victory on the road.

Pitt heads back out on the road this weekend, as they face North Carolina on Feb. 8 with a 4:00 p.m. tip-off.