Rested and (hopefully) refreshed, Pitt visits Georgia Tech as grind begins

College basketball enters the final month of the regular season, staggered by covid-19, but somehow still standing.

Most scheduled games were played Saturday, but 22 were postponed or canceled, with six more called off Sunday.

Pitt-Georgia Tech isn’t one of them. The game will tip at 4 p.m. Sunday at the McCamish Pavilion, the Yellow Jackets’ on-campus home. Georgia Tech is expected to have about 1,500 fans, cheerleaders and maybe even a band in attendance.

“That’s going to be something we haven’t seen all year,” coach Jeff Capel said. “They play with incredible energy in their building.”

Here are five thoughts as Pitt returns to action for the first time in eight days:

1. Should Pitt fans even utter the letters N-C-A-A?

Pitt hasn’t been to the NCAA Tournament since 2016 and hasn’t won a game there since 2014, its first in the ACC.

There are 68 berths to be filled, and Pitt and Georgia Tech aren’t far from qualifying, if you use the NCAA Net rankings as a guide. Georgia Tech is 62nd. Pitt is 74th, but losses to Wake Forest and Notre Dame are two significant scars on its resume.

The ACC is top-heavy this season, with only Virginia, Florida State and Virginia Tech in the Associated Press Top 25. But six others are among the top 68 in NCAA Net.

Sunday’s winner maintains hope; the loser might be otherwise engaged in March.

2. Increased practice time

Capel loves the competition, but he also knows nothing is possible without practice. And Pitt has had plenty, even with two days off.

When the games happen every few days (in a normal season), it’s difficult to find time to work on everything that concerns a coach. But Pitt hasn’t played since losing to Virginia on Feb. 6.

“Monday and Tuesday were geared toward working on things we thought we needed to improve on,” Capel said on KDKA-FM. “Tweaking some things, adding some stuff.”

Pitt’s game at Louisville was postponed Wednesday, so the Panthers (9-6, 5-5) should be rested and prepared for Georgia Tech (9-8, 5-6).

If Pitt doesn’t show up with one of its best efforts of the season, it will be both a surprise and a disappointment to Pitt fans, but especially to Capel and his staff.

3. In the midst of a grind

Capel mentioned that some of his players are “a little bit banged up.”

He later revealed on his Thursday radio show that Justin Champagnie had a slight hand injury and didn’t practice Monday and Tuesday. Capel said Champagnie practiced with no limitations Thursday.

The unscheduled time off didn’t hurt.

“Hopefully, we’re a little bit fresher,” Capel said. “This time of year is very tough on everyone. This is the grind. The thing we miss is competition.”

Pitt has played only 15 games. Only Florida State (14) in the ACC has played fewer than 15. But now the highway gets busier. The Panthers are scheduled play three games in eight days, with N.C. State and Clemson arriving at the Petersen Events Center on Wednesday and Feb. 21.

Four postponed games have not been rescheduled.

4. Champagnie/Alvarado: A showcase

Neither team has created a great stir outside the ACC, but the game will feature two of the best players in the nation — Champagnie and Georgia Tech guard Jose Alvarado.

Georgia Tech finished fifth in the ACC last season, and four starters returned from that team. Alvarado (17.1) is one of four Yellow Jackets starters who average double-digit scoring. He is joined by Moses Wright (16.0), Michael Devoe (13.9) and Jordan Usher (11.4).

This season, Georgia Tech has lost twice to No. 9 Virginia, but led at halftime in both games. Friday night, the Yellow Jackets were leading Clemson, 72-69, with 18 seconds left. Alvarado, who had missed only six free throws all season and was shooting 88%, missed two and Clemson’s Nick Honor banked in a 3-pointer at the buzzer to hand Georgia Tech its third loss in the past four games.

Speaking of grinds, Georgia Tech is in the middle of four games in eight days and is 0-2 so far.

5. More scoring balance wouldn’t hurt

It’s not especially troubling that Champagnie, Xavier Johnson and Au’Diese Toney have scored 60.6% of Pitt’s points. After all, they comprise 60% of the starting lineup. Ithiel Horton has been a big contributor in recent games, hitting 12 of his past 28 3-pointers (almost 43%). Abdoul Karim Coulibaly leads the team with a 53.2 shooting percentage.

Capel awards minutes based on how players perform at practice, so it’s hard to know from game to game who’s coming into the game. But his bench is a bit thin while John Hugley remains on suspension.

Also, William Jeffress hasn’t played in the past two games. Nike Sibande has been NCAA-eligible for every ACC game, but he’s appeared in only seven while scoring 19 points.

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