GAME RECAP: Pitt Defeats Georgia Tech 7160

© Photo by Rich Von Biberstein/ICON Sportswear via Getty Images

Basketball is a strange game sometimes. You might see the box score, then the final score, and sometimes the two don't make sense. If I told you that Pete only had three turnovers and 17-20 free throws (while GT had none) the entire game, how many points do you think he won by? At first you think at least 15, maybe 20. But then you stop and think, wait a minute, they only threw three bags? Oh no, how many triples have they made? Twelve? Ha ha And Pitt played pretty well but still couldn't put the game on hold.

Nike Siband posted a season-high 21 points and Jamarius Burton added 19 as Pitt broke a two-game losing streak with a 71-60 win over Georgia Tech. The Panthers are now 5-2 and tied for 2nd place in the ACC with 4 other teams (Miami, Virginia, Wake Forest and Syracuse). For this recap, I thought I'd mention a few things I've noticed about each player

Nellie Cummings - Cummings struggled in the first half and played seven minutes before halftime. In the second, he hit a layup and a 3-pointer on back-to-back possession to increase Pitt's lead to double digits before the 16-down timeout. He shot 5-6 (5-7 for the game) in the second half and finished with 11 points.

Blake Hinson - Hinson helped the Panthers get the second half off to a good start by completing a pass on Tech's first possession and scoring at the other end. He stole another pass from under Pete's basket and tried to find Burton on the quick break. Unfortunately, he probably took an extra dribble before passing it and it went wide. It's hard to see from the corner, but a back pass gave JB a clear path there. Pitt regained the ball but missed. Although he didn't have a great day on the show (4-14), I asked Hinson to try different things. He did some post-ups and even attempted to pass the ball to the Fed in good positions in the suit. I would like to see more.

Nike Sibande - Nike's Heckuva game. He scored fourteen points in the first half, including three 3-pointers and a game-high 3-pointer. Georgia Tech had fourteen offensive rebounds in the game, but Siband did his part to stop Tech's second-half offense by picking up six rebounds (all defensive) in the second half. With Pitt trailing just five minutes into the last three minutes, the game of the game was over. After good defense on the Fed base, he picked up a loose ball in infield, fired it, hit it with Euro's plate and landed the circus shots with a miss. He and one beat him and threatened him. The camera panned to Elliott after Sibande scored and the guy was excited. He was the first to congratulate him from the chair. It's a pleasure to watch this interaction with this pit crew. Everyone on this team has a strong desire to win, and nobody cares who leads the way.

Greg Elliott - Speaking of Elliott, he didn't have a shot today (1-7) and didn't play much in the second half, but he did have five big rebounds when Tech was active on the board.

Guillermo Diaz-Graham - He only played five minutes and only had one rebound, but there is one streak I want to point out. Georgia Tech had the ball with less than 13 minutes into the 2nd half. The top was passed to his man, who quickly moved it back and forth. Diaz-Graham went to the station, stayed with him and blocked him on the base. He kicked a teammate in the middle. Diaz-Graham blocks the shot and instead forces a pump and ball fake that misses. He then raised his hand to block his man's follow-up shot. But unfortunately the ball landed in the corner and the yellow vests lost the three points. Honestly, this might be the most impressive line of defense I've seen all season. Terrible instincts.

Nate Santos - Santos didn't attempt a shot in his 11 minutes but had a sick block in the first half.

Federico Federico - The Fed continues to play solid defense with three blocks and two interceptions. His teammates seem open to post-ups. One thing I noticed about him is that he's usually not ready to make a pass when he comes to the basket. Sometimes someone like Burton goes with him and gives it to him, but sometimes he doesn't look. As many people have said on Twitter, and I agree with them, post-game development takes time. He's strong defensively now and I expect him to improve offensively.

Jamarius Burton - JB is JB. He scored and played a good game overall. wash off the foam. repeat

Pitt travels to Louisville for his next game on Wednesday to face the 2-16 Cardinals. I hope to win by a 50 margin. Let us know what you think of Pete's performance in the comments.

Hell for Piet.

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