Chapel Hill, North Carolina — North Carolina has failed to settle Pittsburgh again. The Panthers beat the Tar Heels 65-64 Wednesday night at ACC Basketball at the Smith Center before Jamalius Burton made the lead with his 3.4 seconds left on the free throw.
UNC inbounded from the frontcourt with 0.6 seconds remaining and Caleb Love attempted to get off a fade three-pointer that was denied by Pitt’s Nike Sibande. , earning him his third consecutive visit to Chapel Hill here.
The Tar Heels (15-7 overall, ACC 7-4) returned from a seven-day break between games, suffering their first home defeat of the season but were beaten by the pits (16). 7-9, 9-9) missed chances. 3) In a crowded league standings, he hogs 3rd place. UNC went into the night 10-0 at home, including 5-0 in the ACC game.
But it’s been an uphill battle for the Tar Heels, shooting just 34.8% from the field, 18.5% from 3-pointers, and 59.1% from the free-throw line, a record four-game winning streak. is left. UNC scored a three-pointer in the second half past his arc and he took a 1-for-14 lead, but when Pete converted his nonce with his bucket cutting the lane, bending his arms and giving an agitated reaction. We led 46-40.
Love broke UNC with 22 points. Armando Bako (15 points, 11 rebounds) and Nance (13 points) also reached his double figures. Baccott and RJ Davis combined to shoot 25-for-6 from the field and 19-for-11 from the free-throw line.
Nellie Cummings connected with five 3-pointers and contributed 21 points to Pit. Burton scored his 19 points on his 18-for-6 shooting, and he taught the Heels how to match up on defense. UNC defensive specialist Leaky Black was whistled for his third and fourth fouls on back-to-back calls in the first four minutes of the second half.
Burton scored a career-high 31 points five weeks ago when the Panthers won the two teams’ season openers in Pittsburgh. Ultimately, he haunted the Tar Heels again on Wednesday night with a game-winning free throw.
UNC then fell behind by seven points three times in the last 9½ minutes of the game, trailing 61-55 with less than five minutes left, and led 64-63 on a pair of Bako’s free throws with 1:07 remaining.
Armando Bako early under wraps
Baccott, who scored second in the ACC, could not break the scoring row until the 5:06 mark in the first half. His slow start recovered soon after, with the big man scoring five consecutive points when the Tar Heels didn’t change the edge of the court.
Burton turned over with 4:38 remaining, and UNC effectively held possession until the 3:43 mark. Nance kept two Baccott-missed free throws alive on the offensive board as Baccott tucked a free throw around the bucket from a deep post-up to produce a five-point stop on that side of the court.
He finished the game 10-for-3 from the floor and 15-for-9 from the free-throw line.
Caleb Love’s active start
Love started Wednesday night with 13 points in the first half, but it didn’t start with the same efficiency as last week’s win in Syracuse. Love had his 10 shots off the field by halftime here against Pittsburgh. This was taking more shots than he attempted in the game at Syracuse. 15 points.
Still, the Tar Heels needed an attack from Love (30.6% from the field) to stay within 34-33 of Pitt by the end of the first half on cold shots. He scored 9 of his 17 points in his UNC first and 12 of his 22 points in his team’s first. Love and Nance had combined 19 of his 22 points in the team’s first when his third 3-pointer connected.
next to the schedule
North Carolina will be looking for a three-game winning streak against rival Duke on Saturday night. The Tar Heels beat Cameron in Durham, North Carolina in his final game at his indoor stadium, 94–81, defeating Duke in retired coach Mike Krzyshewski’s farewell match at home. Four weeks later in New Orleans, UNC had another epic win against the Blue Devils, in the Final Four where he won 81-77 and retired Krzyzewski with the loss.
Duke is currently 11-0 at home and 5-0 in ACC games this season under coach John Scheer. The Blue Devils (16-6, 7-4) have won three of their last four games since losing to league-leading Clemson, and have been hit hard by North Carolina State in Raleigh in January’s opener. Since then, they have won four of their last six games.
