Pitt set to face Irish scoring machine

The reality Pitt must contend with Wednesday night when it visits Notre Dame is the simple fact the Irish can score.

They are second in the ACC with an average of 76.8 points per game.

But Pitt has been good at keeping opponents’ point totals at a reasonable level. The Panthers are third in the conference and 31st overall in scoring defense (62.6).

Notre Dame (13-8, 4-6) leads the nation in committing the fewest turnovers (9.7 per game.)

But Pitt’s Justin Champagnie said Tuesday, “We come out there like a bunch of dogs trying to get the ball.”

Who is to argue with the freshman who has 26 steals, one of five Pitt players with at least 20?

Another reality is Pitt is second in ACC and 26th in the nation in average turnover margin (plus-3.3).

Taking all that into consideration, what will be the deciding factor when Pitt (14-8, 5-6) visits the Irish’s Joyce Center in South Bend, Ind.?

The Panthers hope it is not an inability to win in unfriendly ACC venues. Pitt is 1-4 in conference road games.

Champagnie is confident the Panthers can reverse their fortunes away from Petersen Events Center, as might be expected from a freshman who has made a smooth transition to college basketball (11.5 points and a team-high 7.1 rebounds per game).

“If we stick together and stay poised on the road, we will have a good outcome,” he said. “It’s hard, but it’s just like a mindset to me, always trying to keep everybody together, just always being one and not letting anybody drift off.”

Consistency is a difficult concept for most collegiate athletes to achieve. With losing records in the conference and eight losses overall, Pitt and Notre Dame fall into that category. Taking plays off sounds bad and leads to inconsistency, but it is not uncommon across the nation, especially more than two-thirds of the way through the season.

“We can’t just one day go out and there and say, ‘Oh, just take plays off,’ ” Champagnie said. “It’s got to be every day, every possession, every second. We have to keep going and never give up.

“Everybody gets tired. It comes to a point where you want take little breaks, but you can’t because good teams will capitalize on those little points where you take off. We have to be focused.”

Fatigue can play a factor late in the season, but Pitt coach Jeff Capel has been lengthening his bench recently with freshmen Karim Coulibaly and Gerald Drumgoole Jr. and walkon point guard Onyebuchi Ezeakudo getting more playing time. Guard Ryan Murphy, who has started 12 games, provides 3-point shooting ability off the bench, but he missed the Miami game last Saturday with a concussion. Terrell Brown, the most experienced player on the team, rarely starts, but he leads everyone with 39 blocks.

Coulibaly, a native of the African nation of Mali, and Drumgoole are averaging more than nine minutes per game.

Coulibaly, who has been in the U.S. for five years, said he never felt uncomfortable adjusting to college life. But he would like to score more than his average of two points per game.

“My problem right now is I need to work on finishing,” he said. “I miss a lot of layups.”

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