Pitt's rally from 28-point deficit falls short in loss to Virginia Tech

Jeff Capel has been disappointed in his team this season more often than he cares to remember. Saturday night, Pitt’s coach added embarrassment to what he was feeling.

But how often does a coach experience both of those emotions — and top it off with a dose of pride? All in a two-hour span.

That’s what Capel was dealing with after Pitt’s 76-71 loss to Virginia Tech before an announced crowd of 8,533 at Petersen Events Center.

If all you saw was the final score, you would have no idea how Pitt (8-15, 3-9 ACC) was thoroughly dominated by the Hokies (13-10, 5-7) in the first half. The Panthers trailed 52-24 with 19 minutes, 25 seconds left in the game.

Pitt’s poor defense and sloppy ball-handling — mixed with uncanny marksmanship by Virginia Tech in the first 20 minutes — seemingly put the game out of reach.

“The shooting display they had in the first half was as good as any I’ve seen in a really long time,” Capel said.

Of course, it was no surprise. Virginia Tech came into the game third in the nation in 3-point shooting percentage (41.1%).

Something clicked at halftime, however, when Femi Odukale spoke up in the locker room, frustrated by the team’s lackluster effort.

“I spoke up and said some words to my teammates,” he said. “Sometimes, we feel like robots.”

After the Hokies shot 75% (18 of 24) in the first half and hit 10 of 13 3-pointers, Pitt opened the second half playing with energy on defense, making shots on the other end and putting pressure on their guests. They outscored Virginia Tech 32-11 in the first 11:38 of the second half to slice a 49-22 halftime deficit to 60-54 on two free throws by Jamarius Burton.

“Really disappointed and, to be quite frank, embarrassed with how we played in the first half in all facets of the game,” Capel said. “Equally as proud of how well we fought in the second half. Our guys fought every possession. Didn’t do everything right. But there was a sense of urgency and we played hard.”

In the end, however, the hole Pitt dug for itself in the first half was too deep for the Panthers to escape. Pitt twice had opportunities to trim the lead from eight to five, but Femi Odukale and John Hugley both missed 3-point attempts. Finally, Odukale’s 3-pointer and two foul shots made the score 74-71, but by that time only eight seconds remained.

It must be noted, however, that for most of the second half, there was more palpable excitement inside The Pete than had been seen or heard all season.

But that was small consolation for Capel, who was consumed by what happened in the first half even while being pleased with his team’s comeback.

“We have to understand that’s what’s required for 40 minutes in order to have some semblance of a decent team,” he said. “And we didn’t do that.”

Capel said he wasn’t sure what he said at halftime, and he had no indication his team was on the precipice of a dramatic comeback.

“I wish I could get in their minds and tell you what they’re thinking. I didn’t know what I was going to get.

“But it’s Feb. 5. I shouldn’t have to say anything. It’s the time of the year where guys should know the value of every game, every possession, every minute, every second in each game. It’s disappointing that we didn’t show that for the first 20 minutes.”

Odukale led Pitt with 25 points – 22 after halftime — while contributing six steals, three assists and only three turnovers in more than 36 minutes. He is averaging 21.3 points over the past three games.

Burton and Mouhamadou Gueye added 21 and 13 points. With Odukale, they scored 59 of Pitt’s 71 points.

John Hugley, who leads the team in scoring (14.7), managed only two points and Ithiel Horton, who participated in only his fourth game of the season, was scoreless in more than 20 minutes.

The good news is Pitt gets a rematch with Virginia Tech on Monday night in Blacksburg, Va. It’s the makeup of a game postponed Jan. 1 due to covid complications among the Hokies. Pitt won’t have to wait long to make amends.

“I’m actually going to talk to everybody in a group and tell them what it is before the game starts,” Odukale said. “I feel like we can beat this team.”