Nobody needed Nicholls State flashbacks. Literally nobody asked for that.
And yet, here stood these 2019-20 Pitt Panthers, mashing the rewind button on their season and forcing everyone in attendance at the Pete on this drizzling, freezing Monday night to prepare for an upset. Down seven, 46-39, to Northern Illinois with 8:56 to go in the game. The already-barren crowd discovered a new level of silence.
Pitt took a 10-day break for exams after falling to No. 1 Louisville in Kentucky on Dec. 6, adding an extra dose of intrigue to Monday's matchup. Despite being blown out on paper vs. Louisville, Pitt showed grit and resiliency, coming within five midway through the second half and briefly putting the college basketball world on upset watch. In that one, Capel was "proud" of his team after the game, and for good reason.
He was proud after this one — an eventual 59-50 win — too.
"I'm really proud of the fact that we were able to find something in the last eight minutes," Capel was saying after the game.
Crisis averted, but Monday's matchup against Mid-American Conference Northern Illinois should've been a showcase of Pitt's potential, right? Redemption, maybe?
Jeff Capel knew better. He was concerned. And for good reason.
"I actually thought we had one of our best practices of the year yesterday," Capel was saying after the game. "I mean, it was really, really good. Really good. But then I thought our shootaround today was one of the worst. And so I was really worried about this game because of that — because of the break but also because of how we were earlier today from 2 to 3."
Pitt was dead early. Poor shooting, poorer decisions, no want-to on the glass. It was everything that's plagued this Pitt team en route to a now-8-3 record through 11 games. And let's be clear: 8-3 is solid. But within those three losses — and even some of the wins — came sloppy, no-good basketball. If Pitt isn't tough and determined, its current roster can't make up the rest with sheer skill.
We saw plenty more of that tonight — Pitt down at the half, 30-29, while shooting 33 percent (11 for 33) from the field, including 10 percent (1 for 10) from three and 67 percent ( 6 for 9) from the charity stripe. Meanwhile, Northern Illinois' star senior, Eugene German, shredded them for 13 points on 5-for-9 shooting (3 for 6) from deep in that first frame, painting a bleak picture for the rest of the game.
"We just needed to lock back in, and thankfully it worked in our favor toward the end," Eric Hamilton said.
That quote sounds like a throwaway, something Hamilton tossed out for the cameras and microphones just so he could speedily snag the next sip of his smoothie on the podium, but it wasn't. At all.
Hamilton was dead on with that. Pitt just needed to "lock back in." To rebound. To make shots. To force bad shots.
To care.
And that all happened — and when it did, a 15-0 Pitt run followed. That run contained stuff like this:
That's Ryan Murphy connecting with Justin Champagnie for a ridiculous, mid-air-adjustment alley-oop to punctuate the victory at the end. Just moments before, Trey McGowens — who finished with a team-high 18 points on 4-for-8 shooting from deep — drilled it for three from the logo. Pitt ran away with this one, and that fact represents the crucial takeaway for Capel's young squad.
Earlier in the year, they lost to Nicholls State. They couldn't match West Virginia in the second half and dropped that one as a result, too. Louisville took over with 10 minutes to go and remained No. 1.
But in this one, Pitt found that second gear, pushed the accelerator to the floor and laughed as the trail of dust compounded in their wake. Bye, bye, Northern Illinois.
"This is a game, early in the year we probably don't win," Capel said. "This reminded me of Nicholls. It's a game, certainly last year, we probably don't win. So I'm proud that we found something within us to figure out a way to win."
Progress once more. Capel's crew is climbing, and game by game, that elusive top rung becomes more tangible than the bottom.
• All that good stuff McGowens did? Yeah, he didn't start this game. For just the second time in his career at Pitt, McGowens came off the bench.
“Just … coach’s decision, I guess," Capel said after the game. " ... It wasn’t any drawn-out thing or whatever. This is what I thought was best for our team today.”
Capel clearly wasn't going to say too much on this front. But McGowens did when I asked him about it:
"We just kind of had a heart-to-heart," McGowens later added.
• The best player on the court tonight was German (sorry, Mr. McGowens) despite some late inefficiency.
"Northern Illinois, I think, is a dangerous team because of German," Capel said after the game.
He actually said that. It's not a slight or a dig or anything like that, but still, wow, right? Not to condense a team to one player, but German really was electric.
"He can really, really score, and he does it in such a unique way," Capel continued. "He shoots it from deep. He can drive it, and he has total freedom."
German, though, despite all this praise, scored just five points in the second half as Northern Illinois floundered against Pitt's 2-2-1 zone. Credit Capel for making that crucial adjustment — and credit his players for executing it when it mattered.
• Abdoul Karim Coulibaly logged just six minutes, registering one free throw, a rebound, a turnover and a foul in the process.
But don't underestimate his impact. He was on the floor during that Pitt run to pull the curtain on this matchup, and Capel was effusive with his praise of Coulibaly's role post-game.
"I thought Karim coming in and the minutes that he played were huge for us," Capel was saying. "I thought that was a big thing that changed the game — just his energy."
• Ryan Murphy's shooting slump continues — but there's a positive here. Murphy drilled a crucial baseline jumper Monday after beginning the game 0 for 5, a sign that he may soon regain form.
"He's a good shooter, but you gotta take good shots," Capel said. " ... He got some really good ones tonight, and he missed 'em. But he got a big one on the baseline. The thing we tell all our guys is that if you have a good shot, it's our shot. And shoot it. We have confidence in you, and it's our shot."
I watched Murphy on the court working after this game, too, clearly trying to work through his woes. If he shoots like this in-game, Pitt becomes that much deadlier:
• Oh, hey, Sunday and I cut a Java from the Pete after this one too:
Sure, the court/jumbotron combo looks like a green screen, but we were seriously there, I swear it.
• Pitt's social media team does some really slick work. I highly recommend you follow them, especially for stuff like this:
Fought down the stretch. #PittUncut pic.twitter.com/WHFXpplkyG
— Pitt Basketball (@Pitt_MBB) December 17, 2019
• With Monday's second-half comeback, the Panthers are now 2-3 on the year when trailing at halftime.
• I literally had to suppress my laughter when Capel said this:
You give us far too much credit, Coach.
• Northern Illinois went 0 for 11 from the field during that scoreless stretch in the final 6:35.
• After a strong first half shooting 6 for 15 (40 percent) from deep, Northern Illinois made just one three-pointer in 13 attempts in the second half. Again, credit that zone adjustment.
• Pitt won the turnover battle, 20-7, in this one.
• With his 18 points, McGowens eclipsed 500 in his Pitt career. It was his 44th game played.
• Gerald Drumgoole, Jr. is still out with an ankle injury. His status is TBD, although Capel said after the game he doesn't expect Drumgoole to be available in Pitt's next game Friday, Dec. 20, as he's currently only available for light shooting and jogging. Here's his full response when I asked him about it:
THE ESSENTIALS
• Boxscore
THE STARTING LINEUPS
For Capel's Panthers:
Xavier Johnson, guard
Ryan Murphy, guard
Justin Champagnie, guard
Au'diese Toney, forward
Eric Hamilton, forward
And for Montgomery's Huskies:
Eugene German, guard
Gairges Daow, guard
Trendon Hankerson, guard
Noah McCarty, forward
Lacey James, forward
THE SCHEDULE
Pitt's taking a shorter break this time, returning Friday to take on Binghamton at the Pete. Tip-off's once again at 7 p.m. and I'll be there for all the coverage.
THE COVERAGE
Visit our team page for everything.
MATT SUNDAY GALLERY
Pitt vs. NIU, Petersen Events Center, Dec. 16, 2019 -- MATT SUNDAY / DKPS