Hugley returns to form, Pitt outlasts N.C. State

Pitt basketball played the kind of ugly game Jeff Capel has preached all season, and this time got John Hugley IV playing at the level he'd shown in spurts with his eighth double-double of the season as the Panthers beat N.C. State 71-69 Saturday at the Petersen Events Center.

Hugley has been Pitt's best player for most of the season and the driving force for most of the team's ten wins this year. But after back-to-back poor showings with only two points in each of the team's losses to Virginia Tech and only scoring seven against Florida State, questions continued to mount if he could overcome teams consistently double-teaming him throughout games.

He answered those questions emphatically Saturday by leading the team with 21 points, ten rebounds and a career-high of six assists. Hugley had only made one free throw over his past three games and only got to the line six times during that stretch. But against N.C. State, Hugley was earning free throw opportunities early and often, shooting 13-15 on the day.

When N.C. State double-teamed Hugley he made sure to either roll hard into it to force contact on a shot to earn his free throws, or worked to find the open man caused by his double-team to create opportunities for others. A key example was when he was walled off in this second half possession to find Mouhammadou Gueye on the opposite block of the paint. Gueye took the open look and finished with a strong dunk:

Hugley was doing the things Capel had been coaching to him for a while now, and acknowledged he had to wake up out of the slump he'd been in for the past few games.

"I have to stay more disciplined and listen to what coach was telling me," Hugley said. "I had to stay consistent. I was in a slump, but I had to watch film, execute and help my brothers. Coach kept telling me to keep playing through double-teams even when it's frustrating, and to not give up."

Capel acknowledged that Hugley was still in his first full-year of playing ACC basketball and the natural growing pains from that. 

"You teach," Capel said of helping Hugley through his slump. "All of this time of the year is new for John. He didn't get past December last year. Late January and February are difficult times for freshmen and that's basically what he is. You've normally hit a wall and never gone through the intensity of practices and games. With him it's even more with how physical teams come at him and how he has to figure out the different looks he gets. You talk with him, you watch tape with him, you watch a lot of tape with him and show him in practice what's open. Then you hope he figures it out, is receptive and doesn't get down on himself."

N.C. State head coach Kevin Keatts acknowledged that a big part of the Wolfpack's plan for Pitt was to continue to double-team Hugley and be physical with him to try and limit his opportunities, but that Hugley's response to the plan was to good on the day.

"We came in with the idea that we were going to double him," Keatts said of Hugley. "We were effective in that area, but he got to the free throw line. He had 21 points, but 13 came from the free throw line. He didn't score a lot from the field and from post-ups, but he got some important offensive rebounds. He's gotten better the last few weeks finding guys out of the double-team. He's talented, physical and knows how to play his position."

For Hugley, it was just a matter of being more patient when those double-teams came his way.

"Just have to make better passes," Hugley said. "I've had a lot of turnovers and that's unacceptable. I just have to make appropriate passes and avoid dumb mistakes. Just have to see the open man and take my time."

But Hugley wasn't alone in showing up big for Pitt in this game. After a struggling first half, Pitt had to adjust on both ends of the court to keep N.C. State from getting easier baskets and then work for better opportunities on offense.

"We did not play a good first half," Capel said. "All the things we talked about at Florida State like playing with force, being selfless, making the extra pass or the play that's in front of you, we didn't do a good job of that. It hurt us on both ends offensively and defensively. At halftime, that's all we talked about. I told them if we did that, we'd win the game. Our guys did a heck of a job of that."

Part of playing better came from understanding the identity Pitt basketball has to maintain this season, that of a team who wins ugly with tough defense and scoring however they can. Ithiel Horton in his second start of the season embodied that charge, as his 17 points came only a single three-pointer. Instead of being the designed sharpshooter he's normally been for the Panthers, he found different ways to contribute to the offense.

"We're accepting our identity in who we are and how we play," Horton said. "I think it's really sinking in. We're getting good chemistry in knowing our strengths and weaknesses. We just have to keep practicing, keep playing and keep getting better."

"I put myself in a box," Horton continued about his personal adjustments in the game. "I have to remember I'm not just a three-point shooter. I just told myself to keep fighting and find a way to help my team to win."

Horton's presence as a scorer from both mid-range jumpers and solid drives to the basket helped the rest of the team space out a bit more. It especially helped Hugley get better looks underneath and find more teammates to get out of his double-teams.

"He helps a lot," Hugley said of Horton. "It opens up the court more to know that when I'm doubled that I can kick it out to him. If I'm getting fronted against the help side I know I can just skip it to the corner. It works perfectly when he has my back."

But what may have been the most impressive part of Pitt's win was how it never cracked down the stretch when N.C. State kept forcing the issue of a close game. The Panthers took a 65-60 lead with a 6-0 run going into the final minute. But N.C. State responded with a 3-pointer and went right into full court press. Pitt broke the press, leading to Hugley finding Horton underneath the basket. But the Wolfpack responded with another 3-pointer that shrunk Pitt's lead to 67-66 with just ten seconds left.

The Panthers then got into a battle of possession basketball and free throws in the final ten seconds. It resulted in Horton making two free throws and Hugley making two free throws without any turnovers. Both teams shot very well from the strip as the Wolfpack made 14-16 and the Panthers made 23-25. But thanks to Pitt responding to each of N.C. State's scores with one of its own, Pitt forced the Wolfpack into a tough spot on its final possession.

Dereon Seabron led N.C. State with 17 points and earned praise from Capel as a "dynamic" player for his offensive talents. Keatts knew he had to get the ball in the hands of his best playmaker in the final seconds and did so on both of N.C. State's last possessions, each time with the Panthers up by three points.

But instead of allowing Seabron to shoot a three-pointer, Capel called for his defense to foul Seabron on the floor, forcing him to only shoot two free throws and never giving him a chance to tie the game. After making both free throws on the Wolfpack's penultimate possession, Pitt responded with Hugley making two free throws.

The next time Seabron came down, Pitt fouled him again to force two more free throws, but with only 1.6 seconds left. Seabron hit the first, but had to intentionally miss the second one in hopes for an offensive rebound and quick put-back. Jamarius Burton got the rebound for Pitt, and the game was closed out.

There were several opportunities for Pitt to show its youth, inexperience and lack of fully grown talent during those final minutes with crucial mistakes that proved costly, but the Panthers didn't fold.

"We're getting more poise as a team," Horton said. "Our discipline is growing and we're trusting each other. We're not panicking, and that's because of our discipline and maturity."

"We made big-time free throws this afternoon," Capel said. "We were able to attack the pressure, get to the basket and make layups. I'd like to think we're getting better but we can't continue to make those mistakes."

But the game wasn't without Pitt's own boneheaded mistakes. After Hugley got a block for Pitt on a crucial stop, Femi Odukale came over for a congratulatory dap between the two in front of N.C. State's bench that was loud and heckling the players all game. The move was silly, and N.C. State pounced on it by stealing the ball away from Odukale and setting up a three-point play for Seabron.

Capel couldn't hide his emotions while standing in front of Pitt's bench, showing his frustration on the play. After the game, he talked about that moment being a measuring stick for growth and maturity from his young sophomores.

"We have to be better in those situations," Capel said. "We got a good defensive play and then we gave it away. This is where we need to become more mature and understand what we need to do. We got a great stop and got the basketball, but then we talked trash to one of their guys and then they took the ball from us. We have to know teams scout us to see that we haven't been strong when we rebound. We have to understand that."

In addition to growth in moments like that, Capel dug into the minutia of where Pitt needed to be smarter on defense and limit N.C. State's better shooters from open three-point shots. The Wolfpack made 9 of 24 three-pointers on the day.

"We talked about no threes and no fouls," Capel said. "We can't go for a fake from (Jerciole) Hellems and back up. If he dribbles and drives and takes a contested two, that's good for us. Instead we took the bait and we got in rhythm hitting three-pointers. We made a free throw and then instead of getting back we tried to sneak up for a steal, but then we gave them numbers and they get a three. We have to be better in those situations."

There were other signs of maturity for Pitt, including how the team responded to losing Gueye early in the game. Gueye only played 18 minutes Saturday, the least amount of floor time he had seen against any ACC team this season. He acquired two first half fouls that kept him on the bench until halftime, and then fouled out of the game with 9:58 left in the second half.

Gueye had been a spark plug for Pitt's offense and defense as the team's fifth-leading scorer with nine points per game, second-leading rebounder with 5.9 per game, and the team's leader in blocks with 55 on the year. No other player has more than eleven blocks.

Still, Pitt managed without him.

"Guys stepped up," Capel said of Gueye's absence late in the game. "William (Jeffress) stepped up for us and got five rebounds while making big plays for us. Mo's (Gueye) very important to us and we'd rather have him in the game. But if he's out we've learned how to adjust and do different things."

One player who did different things in this game was Odukale. Despite his turnover that came from congratulating Hugley and only scoring four points, he managed Pitt's offense well with three assists and only two turnovers while also helping out with nine rebounds and two blocks. It was a performance that showed growth in the eyes of his teammates.

"He just has to keep his head in the game," Horton said of Odukale. "He's a point guard and I know he wants to score, but whenever he doesn't have it in a game he's constantly encouraging and keeping his head up. Last year he got down on himself a lot as a freshman, but he's really matured and grown as a leader on our team."

The win for Capel was his first ever against N.C. State, coming on his 47th birthday. His team made sure to celebrate with him in Pitt's locker room after the win:

Historically the win ended several bad streaks for Pitt. The Panthers hadn't won against N.C. State since Jan. 4, 2014, and was on a 12-game losing streak going into Saturday. For a point of reference of how long ago that was, Aaron Donald was preparing for the NFL Scouting Combine after his final season with Pitt football and current head coach Pat Narduzzi was still defensive coordinator at Michigan State.

But if you asked the Panthers, they weren't concerned about history.

"That's not even a thought on our mind," Hugley said of N.C. State's prior success against Pitt. "Our thought it just to keep fighting hard and get the one in front of us. Forget the twelve previous, we've just got to fight to get this one, and we did."

The other streak that ended for Pitt was a stretch of 393 days since the last time Pitt won back-to-back ACC games. That last time was Pitt's Jan. 16, 2021 win over Duke. It was refreshing for Capel and the Panthers to end that streak, but not something that stops them from focusing on their final five regular season games and the ACC Tournament.

"It's two wins," Capel said. "We haven't won two in a row in a while, so it's good. But we have to get back to the drawing board and get better. It doesn't get easier in this league and we go on the road Wednesday. It's good and we're happy about it. But we're going to really enjoy this day off tomorrow and back Monday ready to work."

But bigger than ending streaks or just finishing this season though, is the direction of the program. For Pitt basketball to take real steps back to being relevant in the ACC, it will take the growth in maturity and skills with Pitt's core players like Hugley, Odukale, and Horton, who each have multiple years of eligibility after this season.

The important grinding point for Capel to see growth in those players is for them to grasp who they are and how to win even in the toughest of games. Capel often preaches about the price of winning and how close the lines are between winning and losing. If those key players and others who stick with the program can embrace that, it could be the building blocks for the program's resurgence.

"I don't think it's about hope," Hugley said about the hope to change things for Pitt basketball. "I don't believe in hope. We just have to keep fighting, keep playing together, keep playing as a team and a family and believe in each other. That's not hope, that's heart. That's what we need."