Some things just cannot and will not skate by tough competition.
These nonconference basketball games, especially the buy games against mid-major schools, are meant to serve as litmus tests and self-evaluation tools before the "real" season begins with conference play.
Pitt's season has been an even-steven affair, in more ways than just its 3-3 record through two weeks of play. The problem is, these yin-and-yang performances that the Panthers have displayed through six games cannot and will not fly once the ACC-only schedule begins in fewer than one month (minus a sprinkled-in tilt at NC State on Dec. 2).
Take these last two games as prime examples, and dissect the first half of each game for a true look at where this Panthers team stands. It trailed to 0-4 Alabama State at halftime, 34-31, but locked the Hornets down defensively in the second half in earning a 73-54 victory.
On Tuesday at the Petersen Events Center, Pitt was closely contested by Fairleigh Dickinson in the first half -- the Panthers led 35-27 at the break -- but turned ripping hot in the second half en route to a blowout 83-61 win.
"This is just the second time all year that this group has played together," Jeff Capel said after Tuesday's game. "Like I said, I've been saying, I think we're getting better. It's just going to take some time to get into the rhythm of everyone, and getting back, used to John (Hugley IV) and John getting used to playing with us."
Capel has a valid point, to give him the benefit of the doubt. Hugley missed six weeks of training camp and was banged up for the tournament in Brooklyn and did not play against either of West Virginia or No. 20 Michigan, the two Power Six opponents Pitt has seen to start the season. Will Jeffress is out for the season with a foot injury. Jamarius Burton missed Sunday's game with knee inflammation. And, this roster is still learning to jell with three impact transfers starting, more newcomers coming off the bench, and with Nike Sibande getting re-acclimated to a full-game speed after sustaining a torn ACL last November.
Winning games is the ultimate goal, but Pitt has not looked particularly sharp in either of these last two, especially on the offensive end in each first half. The Panthers have shot a combined 39.3% from the field in the first halves, compared to a whopping 63.6% in the second halves of each of the last two games.
On Tuesday, it was a 20-for-26 overall shooting effort and a perfect 17-for-17 mark from inside the 3-point arc in the second half which allowed the Panthers to pull away for the blowout win.
"We didn't even know until coach came in and told us," Hugley said of the 17-for-17 effort. "I didn't think were were locked in. I think we were just competing hard. I think our togetherness and just sticking together and really just on the defensive end, and it just turns to easy points on offense."
While welcomed on Tuesday, no team can rely on hitting 17 of 17 shots from inside the paint in a half of basketball. If Pitt wants to level up and become a contender within the ACC, there needs to be a benchmark of consistency.
The Panthers are last in the ACC in 3-point shooting, at 28.1%. On Tuesday, they made just 8 of 25 from distance, but got away with it with the strong effort inside.
This team's identity, at least early, is just of a streaky shooting basketball team which is still trying to figure out its own offense. That will need to change.
The woes in the first half are not even just about the shot selection. The offense at many points has struggled to find a consistent flow, to get into its own sets, and to hit open men for open looks. There is a clear lack of a second ball handler behind Nelly Cummings -- it seems like Burton is trying to be that -- but in each of the Panthers' last two games, at least three Panthers have committed three turnovers each.
Pitt committed seven turnovers in the first half of each of its previous two games, and it finished each game at an exact 1-to-1 assist-to-turnover ratio: 13:13 against Alabama State, and 15:15 against Fairleigh Dickinson.
"We've just got to be more connected," Burton said after Tuesday's game. "Understanding, going against pressure when they run and jump, that if your man leaves you to come and trap that, that you need to make yourself available. Just us continuing to practice, continuing to be more connected, understanding the schemes that other teams are trying to throw at us."
The Panthers entered Tuesday's game with the ACC's No. 13 scoring offense (66.2 points per game) and No. 13 scoring defense (71.0 ppg.) through its first five games. This included a 172-116 combined scoring deficit (86-58 average) against Michigan and West Virginia.
The addition of Hugley has brought another ingredient to the recipe, but we haven't seen Pitt's leading scorer and leading rebounder from last season at 100% yet. He has scored 27 points and grabbed 14 rebounds over these last two games, which is a good sign of his progress. On Tuesday, he said, "I've got to get in much more better shape," but he wouldn't gauge how healthy he truly feels.
"I won't give you the percentage," he said.
What ever that percentage is, it will need to be at 100 by the time Dec. 20 rolls around and Pitt travels to Syracuse to begin its ACC-only slate.
And, for that matter, Pitt needs to keep its list of fix-its at a minimum before that, too.
If you're reading this, you already know my preconceived notion around this Pitt team. I voted them to finish 14th in the ACC, because I feel the team skews more towards what we saw against West Virginia and Michigan. It's good that Pitt is beating mid-majors, with the exception of VCU in Brooklyn (which is a fringe-mid-major, anyway), but it's about the quality of the win it picks up along the way.
The top-half of the league doesn't struggle with Alabama State and Fairleigh Dickinson. Those teams find ways to impress, ways to dominate, and ways to neutralize the opponent before it has a chance to start up.
Pitt has showed that once this season, against Tennessee Martin, where it looked like a team that had been playing together for three years, not three months.
With more adjusting to come, what will the Panthers look like one month from now? I hope it's better than this.
