Questions surround Pitt midway through ACC schedule

Pitt has reached the halfway point of its ACC season, and it’s difficult to tell if the Panthers are good, mediocre or headed for another slump.

All three are reasonable assessments of where the season is headed. A 5-5 record can create so many questions.

Here are three:

1. Why is Justin Champagnie not getting to the free-throw line more often?

The topic was raised Saturday night after Pitt’s 73-66 loss at Virginia.

Coach Jeff Capel was asked if opponents are defending Champagnie differently as his stature within the ACC grows.

“Being more physical, doubling him. Being way more physical, way more physical,” Capel said. “It’s interesting. When teams weren’t as physical, he was shooting more free throws.”

He left that thought right there, without further embellishment.

Champagnie is a good free-throw shooter, 10th in the ACC at 69.8% (37 of 53). But of the ACC’s top 14, based on percentages, Champagnie is No. 11 in attempts. He’s had only seven in the past three games and made them all.

2. Can Pitt find a way to counteract the double-teams on its best player?

All great players – and Champagnie is approaching that distinction – receive increased attention from the opponent.

“It kind of sucks,” Champagnie said. “But at the same time, it is what it is.

“We have to get more movement. Like when I have the ball in the post, I can pass out of the post. We get movement flowing, it messes up the defense and we get open shots.”

Champagnie continues to lead the ACC in scoring (19.2 points per game) and rebounding (12). During the past five games in which Pitt is 1-4, his scoring has fallen off only slightly (17.4).

Maybe another 3-point threat would loosen the vice on Champagnie. Ithiel Horton is 12th in the ACC with 2.1 3s per game, he’s had at least three in each of the past three games and he’s hitting a nice percentage (36.8).

Pitt’s next best long-range shooters are Champagnie (36.7), Nike Sibande (36.4) and Xavier Johnson (31.4). But Sibande is only 4 of 11. He didn’t play against Virginia and is averaging only 12 minutes per game.

3. Can Pitt take advantage of a weak ACC field?

Only seven ACC teams have winning records in conference games, and Pitt has played four, with a 1-3 result.

Pitt played only one Power 5 team outside the ACC, but the 71-70 victory against Northwestern loses luster when you look up the Wildcats’ record and see they are 6-10, with a nine-game Big Ten losing streak.

The good news for Pitt fans is there’s plenty of mediocrity in the ACC this season, with 10 of the 15 teams either below or at .500 or one over (in conference games).

Of the remaining five, Pitt plays only Louisville (11-4, 6-3) over the remainder of the regular season. That game is Wednesday at the KFC Yum! Center. No. 20 Florida State (10-3, 6-2) was on the schedule, but the game has been postponed twice and not been rescheduled.

No other ranked team is on Pitt’s schedule the rest of the season.

Pitt (9-6, 5-5), of course, sits in the middle of the vast sea of mediocrity and joins Miami as the only ACC team to lose to Wake Forest (5-8, 2-8).

Still, the Panthers came away from the Virginia loss feeling almost like a winner.

“It always sucks to lose,” Champagnie said. “But at the same time we stayed together. It’s fixable mistakes. It’s not too far gone.”

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