Pitt bows out of NCAA Tournament after loss to Xavier

GREENSBORO, N.C. — The pure basketball part of Pitt’s 84-73 loss to Xavier on Sunday was painfully obvious to anyone watching, either from the Pitt bench or among the sellout crowd at Greensboro Coliseum.

The Musketeers (27-9) were dominant for much of the first half, bludgeoning the Panthers with 48 points, tying a season high for a Pitt opponent.

Pitt (24-12) never recovered from the 14-point halftime deficit, once cutting the lead to eight — but with 1 minute, 45 seconds left in the game. In its third game in the first six days of the NCAA Tournament, Pitt put together a 10-0 run in the second half. Nice, except it started with Xavier leading by 20.

This was a comeback — and a victory — that was not meant to be for the Panthers in their first NCAA Tournament appearance in seven years.

Asked to describe the difference between Pitt and Xavier, junior forward Blake Hinson simply pointed to the box score in his head.

“We let them score 48 points (before halftime),” he said. “The chances of winning go down a little bit when you do that. We lost to a team that played better than us.”

How did it happen?

Simply put, Xavier was better at finding the net, hitting 7 of 14 3-pointers in the first half while the Panthers managed only 6 of 20 from long range for the entire game. Overall in the first half, Xavier made 17 field goals, three more than Iowa State managed against Pitt in 40 minutes Friday.

The Musketeers also were the more physical team, with 7-foot, 245-pound graduate student Jack Nunge scoring 18 points and leading six Musketeers who reached double-digit points. Colby Jones, a 6-6 guard, grabbed 14 rebounds — none on the offensive end, partially because Xavier didn’t miss enough shots.

But most of the talk after the game — from coach Jeff Capel and his four departing seniors on the postgame interview stage and in a quiet Pitt locker room — focused more on relationships, program-building and the future than missed shots and turnovers.

“I’m sad, not for me, for these guys,” said freshman forward Guillermo Diaz Graham, who started, played 34 minutes and recorded 11 points, eight rebounds and three blocks in place of starter Federiko Federiko.

“Amazing guys,” Diaz Graham said, referring to Jamarius Burton, Greg Elliott, Nelly Cummings and Nike Sibande. “I think that’s why I’m so hurt. They have been so good to me. So grateful for them and so hurt because they have to leave. We formed such a good family here. Realizing that they have to leave is really, really hard.”

The theme all season has been togetherness and unselfishness, two traits that weren’t always evident in the Pitt locker room in recent seasons. Hinson, a first-year transfer, said it was real.

“The teamwork thing isn’t just a gimmick,” he said. “Loving your teammate isn’t just something coaches say. It’s real, and it helps you win, for sure.”

Pitt reached the second round of the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2014 with a one-year jump of 13 victories (from 11 to 24) that tied an all-time program record.

Burton, who scored 16 points and was second to Hinson (18), put the season in historical perspective after spending two seasons at Pitt.

“You know, first of all, I’m just grateful for this group,” he said. “We’re definitely leaving it better than we found it, and that’s the goal — as seniors, as guys in our last year. The future is bright. We put Pitt on the national stage.”

Sibande and Cummings, who were a big part of season-long success but hit only 6 of 23 shots combined Sunday, issued some advice to any player considering committing to Pitt this offseason.

“I think a lot of people should come here and believe in coach,” Sibande said.

Added Cummings: “We put Pitt back on the map, so we’re definitely proud of what we did here. The coaching staff and everybody in this program, they all have a belief about themselves that can translate to guys who come in, like transfers like me.”

Capel has mentioned previously this season that he started building the 2022-23 roster not long after ’21-’22 ended. Will he allow himself time to breathe, rest and reflect for at least a day or two before he starts thinking about ’23-’24?

Not likely.

“Unfortunately, in the way the job is now, you don’t really get a break,” he said. “You know, it’s not like it was five years ago, 10 years ago in the profession.

“So, you get right back to it. The very first thing is that you try to figure out your roster. Then, you try to figure out who can you go get?

“I mean, look, we’ll look everywhere to find the right people. We want to get good players, but it’s really important going forward, especially after this year with these guys, to make sure we have the right people.”

When does that process start?

“When I get back to the hotel (Sunday afternoon),” he said. “We’ll start looking.”