If you needed to know if Pitt could win without any of its big three players leading the way, you found out with the Panthers' 70-55 road win over Miami in its ACC opener.
Because leading the team in scoring was Ithiel Horton with 18 points, and behind him was a strong performance from the Panthers' bench.
The thing about Horton's points was that they all came in the second half. Pitt led Miami just 27-25 at the break, but started extending that lead when Horton got hot.
And the Panthers needed him to do that, as Justin Champagnie, Xavier Johnson and Abdoul Karim Coulibaly all got two fouls early and saw limited action in the first half.
Here's the shot that started a 19-2 run for Pitt in the second half. You see Johnson drive to the paint and draw four defenders inside, but he keeps his head up to find Horton for an open 3-pointer:
It was Horton's first since he hit five 3-pointers against Northern Illinois, but it wouldn't be his last.
"It was great to see Ithiel step up and start making some shots," said coach Jeff Capel, whose Panthers won their fifth straight and improved to 5-1. "That’s something that we’ve seen a lot in practice and hopefully this is a game that gets him going, that gives us a weapon when he’s shooting the ball and playing with confidence like that. So for him to do that in his first ACC game on the road is big-time."
Horton finished 4 of 6 from behind the arc after all eight of his 3-point attempts in Pitt's last two games. But Capel has maintained throughout his highs and his lows that Horton must keep working to find his shots. Horton shot 0 of 3 from the field in the first half, but didn't let that deter him from shooting in the second half.
"If it’s a good shot and it’s our shot, then we live with that," Capel said when asked about Horton's shot selection. "The thing we talked to our guys about, especially guys that we think are good shooters (is that) the good shooter has to have convenient amnesia. If you’re missing and you’re taking good shots then you have to forget about it and feel like if you get going and you make one, then that’s going to get you going. Ithiel is a kid who can shoot. He works. He’s gotten in the gym and done extra stuff recently."
Pitt's starting five becomes much more dangerous if it can get consistent performances like the one Horton produced Wednesday night.
Opponents have to account for a 20-20 threat like Champagnie, a consistent driving threat like Johnson and a rising scoring threat in Au'Diese Toney. It forces the opposition to mind the paint and keep Pitt from slashing to the basketball.
The best way to do that is with stingy zone defenses. To break those zones, it needs shooters that can punish teams from beyond the arc.
That's where Horton comes in.
Watch how Miami is concerned about Champagnie when he gets the ball in the post. Champagnie keeps his cool, finds Horton and he shoots the perfect shot:
That's right about where Mike Breen would say "BANG!" in the broadcast.
Horton wasn't alone in stepping up in the absence of the starters. Pitt's freshmen also stepped up, as Femi Odukale, John Hugley, William Jeffress and Noah Collier all saw nine or more minutes in this game.
Hugley had the biggest impact of the group as he established himself in the paint with nine points. Hugley's struggled from the floor in his first five games, but this was the most confident he looked with the ball in his hands.
Watch how he works in the post here, backing down his man without the ball, receiving an entry pass and finishing at the rim.
The really impressive part is how he positions himself before the basket by using his size.
It Pitt can get more production from Hugley, it will add an additional paint presence. Combine that with the addition of a real sniper in Horton, and Pitt may have the complete roster it's been looking for under Capel.
• Nike Sibande was cleared to play with the NCAA waiver just an hour before tip-off. He played eight minutes, scoring three points with two rebounds.
"It was great to have Nike out there and as he continues to get in game shape," Capel said. "You saw that he got us going with a three, but you saw the rust. He hasn’t played a game since early March. He’s another person that gives us another weapon."
• Toney took time after the game to address how Florida's Keyontae Thompson, who collapsed in the middle of a game Saturday and was in critical, but stable condition earlier in the week, impacted him. Toney and Thompson are cousins and Capel mentioned Monday that he saw how deeply Thompson's episode affected Toney.
"The day of the game we were in shoot arounds and they said he collapsed on the floor," Toney said. "I was just like, 'for real?' It was devastating to hear that because he was doing so well on the court and it was heartbreaking or me. His career was in jeopardy and it was crazy. It felt like a burden because you don't want that for anybody. But he's doing great now. I talked to him on Facetime and he's lifted up his own spirits and he just wants to get back out there and play and that's great news.
"It's really tough. That could happen to anybody and the simple fact that it happens to your family, it's heartbreaking and shocking. Knowing that, you try to take your mind off of it. But you try to take your mind off of it with basketball, because I use basketball as my sanctuary to get away from my problems. But it's still very hard to deal with."
