Lance White

For weeks, Lance White knew that his team was on the verge of getting back into the win column. Five straight losses, amplified by how close the Panthers were in most games, did not break Pitt’s focus going forward. That focus was on full display in Tuesday’s win over Boston College.

PITTSBURGH — Aside from turnovers, Pitt did everything right in the first half against Syracuse on Sunday. After giving up 26 points in the first quarter against the Orange under two weeks ago, the Panthers limited their ACC foe to 22 points in the entire first half. In the process, the Panthers held Cuse to a 22.6% shooting mark.

Two big runs from Syracuse led to a 23-point victory for the Orange on Thursday against a Pitt team that seemed to have nothing left in the game’s final minutes. Head coach Lance White emphasized that his team has a lot of room to grow, and that their month-long sabbatical due to the COVID-19 pandemic has impeded their ability to grow.

On the surface, Pitt’s win over Clemson on Wednesday was a great team effort that saw the Panthers notch a crucial ACC win Looking deeper, the win serves as something more than that due to it being the team’s first win since Dec. 13 when they beat, you guessed it, Clemson.