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Carlton Carrington #7 of the Pittsburgh Panthers drives to the basket against Ryan Young #15 of the Duke Blue Devils during the first half of the game at Cameron Indoor Stadium on January 20, 2024 in Durham, North Carolina.
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Analysis: Pitt's Jaland Lowe, Bub Carrington are double-edged swords of talent, inexperience

Grant Halverson/Getty Images

Analysis: Pitt's Jaland Lowe, Bub Carrington are double-edged swords of talent, inexperience

Pitt (12-8, 3-6) fell short in a 72-68 loss to Miami (14-6, 5-4) at Watsco Center in Coral Gables, Fla., in a game the Panthers turned from being a 19-point deficit into a shot attempt from Jaland Lowe in the final seconds that could’ve tied the game.

While there were positives that led to the comeback that show Pitt can be a competitive ACC team, there’s also the reality of how Jeff Capel’s Panthers have to live and die with the double-edged sword of their talented freshman guards, Bub Carrington and Jaland Lowe.

What worked: Pitt looked like it was down and out halfway through the second half. After barely staying within arm’s reach going into halftime, the Panthers allowed Miami to open the second half with a 13-5 run and maintain a 60-41 advantage with 10 minutes left in the game.

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The Panthers fell into that deficit because of terrible shooting to start the game, as they had only made 5 of their first 22 shots in the game. They ended the first half with a big shooting disadvantage of 32.2% to a hot Miami team’s 48.4%.

Carlton Carrington #7 of the Pittsburgh Panthers drives to the basket against Ryan Young #15 of the Duke Blue Devils during the first half of the game at Cameron Indoor Stadium on January 20, 2024 in Durham, North Carolina.
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When Pitt finally got some scoring, it was senior forward Blake Hinson, who started the game missing each of his first four shots. But once he got hot, Hinson made four straight baskets on his way to finishing with 21 points, making 8 of 19 shots with nine rebounds.

But even when his shots were falling in the second half, Pitt didn’t have other answers on offense to help Hinson reduce the Panthers’ deficit. 

Then, Pitt’s guards went to work. Lowe scored 15 of his 17 points during the second half, recorded five of his seven rebounds, three of his four assists and a steal, all with only one turnover. The Panthers offense looked like a completely different group when he found his confidence.

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“I thought he was terrific,” Capel said of Lowe. “He didn’t shoot the ball like he’s been shooting it early. I thought his teammates were terrific with him as well. He had a wide open three in the corner opposite of our bench in the second half and he shot an airball. He put his head down and then right away, they got on him about that. I thought that helped him get out of that. He was able to make big plays down the stretch.”

Lowe played a huge role in Pitt’s second-half push that included a 14-4 run that dwindled the deficit to nine points with four minutes left, then again with a 13-4 run that got the game down to a two-point deficit with Pitt having possession with 10.8 seconds left in the game.

The 6-foot-3, 170-pound freshman from Missouri City, Texas, was the driving force for Pitt’s offense, as he either made clutch shots, drove hard to the basket for layups or used those drives to create shooting opportunities for teammates. All three of his second-half assists were 3-pointers for either Hinson or junior guard Ishmael Leggett.

Leggett also stepped up in big moments for Pitt, as he finished with 14 points, four rebounds, four assists, two steals and only one turnover.

Jaland Lowe (15) of Pitt drives against Ryan Young (15) of Duke in the men’s ACC basketball game on Tuesday Jan. 09, 2024 at the Petersen Events Center in Pittsburgh.
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After overcoming early adversity, Jaland Lowe has provided new lift to Pitt's season

While Lowe’s fellow freshman Bub Carrington wasn’t shooting well, he also had eight rebounds, four assists, two steals and no turnovers. Carrington also came up with a vital offensive rebound off a missed Leggett 3-pointer that resulted in a possession-saving pass to center Fede Federiko, who found Lowe with a pass for an open 3-pointer that got the deficit to just two points with 45 seconds left in the game.

The resilience and fight from Pitt is commendable, but the final result of coming up short is also a reminder that no matter how exciting Lowe and Carrington are as playmakers, they’re still going to have their freshman moments.

What didn’t work: After what looked like a Carrington who figured out his shot with 19 points against Georgia Tech on Tuesday, it was a surprise to see him struggle Saturday. Carrington finished with just four points against Miami, making only 2 of 11 shots, including 0 for 5 on 3-pointers.

Several of those 3-pointers were open looks generated from good ball movement by Pitt’s offense. Carrington has the talent to make those shots, but when they weren’t falling, he didn’t have an adjustment to create points for Pitt in other ways.

Against Duke, Carrington struggled shooting at times but resorted to creating for others on offense to not worsen the Panthers’ problems. But it took a while for Carrington to figure out his best ways to contribute on offense against Miami.

However, do not mistake those struggles from Carrington to mean that he didn’t bring a good effort to the game. His defense consistently challenged Miami on the night and he was locked in as far as Pitt’s game plan was concerned during the late push in the game.

“We wanted the ball in his hand at the end, just to make a play, whatever play was there,” Capel said of the final play. “He tried it, but unfortunately, it was a little bit short. In that situation, you have to have the ball in a guard’s hand. Blake was involved in the play. Blake is not a guard for us, so a guard has to be the guy to make a decision in that situation.”

The play Pitt designed got Lowe the ball around the perimeter against Miami’s forward, Norchad Omier. It was the matchup Lowe wanted, similar to the big shot he hit over Duke center Kyle Filipowski to help Pitt seal a win just a week ago. 

“[Miami] switched the ball screen,” Capel continued. “He saw a matchup. Blake was obviously an option in that play, but you know, a guard has to have the ball in that situation to initiate what we’re trying to get into.”

Lowe did draw contact on the play, as Omier contacted the freshman’s head and hand during the shot, but no call came and Miami took possession with less than two seconds left.

While Lowe isn’t responsible for a foul not being called, it was still a teachable moment. On the play, he had different options available to him. One would’ve been Carrington, who was left alone in the corner for a 3-pointer. Another would’ve been to simply create with more time on the clock, as his shot came with five seconds left.

And yet another would’ve been to drive on Omier to the basket to either get a good look at a layup or force Miami to collapse on him for the shot and open up a clean shot for Hinson to win the game.

Still, neither this nor Carrington’s shooting struggles is a badge of shame for the freshman guards. They’re still playing well for the Panthers and a big part of their team. But moments when inexperience plays a factor can sometimes cost team in close games.

That component to Pitt’s game is a double-edged sword that can either be a major factor to the Panthers’ wins or an obstacle to overcome.

But in addition to the reality of Pitt’s freshman guards needing to grow, the Panthers are still struggling at the free-throw line. Against Miami, Pitt only made 9 of 16 free throws for a rate of 56.3%. That’s still only the fifth-worst free-throw shooting performance for the Panthers this season.

Just like when Pitt shot 45.8% from the stripe in its 81-73 loss to Syracuse and 54.5% in their 79-70 loss to Clemson, the Panthers lost a game where even an average rate of 75% would’ve given Pitt a significant boost in its chances to win the game late.

What’s next: The Panthers come back from their three-game road trip to face Wake Forest (13-6, 5-3) at Petersen Events Center for a Wednesday 7 p.m. tip-off. The Demon Deacons are coming off a 21-point loss to North Carolina on Saturday and have split their last six games.

Christopher Carter: ccarter@post-gazette.com and on Twitter @CarterCritiques

First Published: January 28, 2024, 11:00 a.m.

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Carlton Carrington #7 of the Pittsburgh Panthers drives to the basket against Ryan Young #15 of the Duke Blue Devils during the first half of the game at Cameron Indoor Stadium on January 20, 2024 in Durham, North Carolina.  (Grant Halverson/Getty Images)
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