UNC basketball falls to Pitt ahead of rivalry showdown with Duke

Rodd Baxley, The Fayetteville Observer
·2 min read
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CHAPEL HILL — North Carolina basketball will limp into its rivalry showdown with Duke after a 65-64 loss to Pittsburgh on Wednesday.

Jamarius Burton's free throws with 3.4 seconds remaining led the Panthers (16-7, 9-3 ACC) to their third straight win against the Tar Heels (15-7, 7-4) at the Smith Center. Burton, who scored 19 points Wednesday, had 31 points in the first meeting earlier this season.

"We weren't disciplined enough to win the game, we weren't tough enough to win the game and we didn't shoot the ball well enough to win the game," UNC head coach Hubert Davis said.

"We didn't play good enough defense to win the game. ... At the end of the day, you gotta score and you gotta get stops. And, in a crucial moment when the only thing you needed to do was get a score or a stop -- or both -- we got neither. That's the frustrating part."

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Pitt has won five of its last six games against UNC, which finished 13 of 22 (59.1%) at the free-throw line and shot 35% from the floor.

Caleb Love, who led the Tar Heels with 22 points, had his 3-point attempt blocked as time expired. Armando Bacot finished with 15 points and 11 rebounds. He gave UNC a 64-63 lead with a pair of free throws before Burton's answered with the go-ahead points.

"It was everything. It's not just one play or two plays," Love said. "I feel like it was the whole game. We made mistakes and (there were) little things that we could've done that affected the whole thing."

Caleb Love, Pete Nance start strong

The Heels struggled offensively in the first half, but the aggression of Love and Pete Nance kept UNC within striking distance.

Love had nine points in the first 7½ minutes and Pete Nance scored seven in the first 10 to give UNC an early lead. Love and Bacot combined for 22 of UNC’s 33 points in the first half as Pitt carried a one-point lead into the locker room.

Bacot was scoreless through the first 15 minutes before making a free throw. He was 1-of-5 shooting in the first half and UNC missed 25 of its 36 shot attempts, shooting 31%.

Defensively, UNC limited Pitt to 44% shooting.

Duke on deck

North Carolina forward Armando Bacot, center, battles Pittsburgh guard Jamarius Burton, left, and center Federiko Federiko (33) for a rebound during the first half of an NCAA college basketball game Wednesday, Feb. 1, 2023, in Chapel Hill, N.C. (AP Photo/Chris Seward)
North Carolina forward Armando Bacot, center, battles Pittsburgh guard Jamarius Burton, left, and center Federiko Federiko (33) for a rebound during the first half of an NCAA college basketball game Wednesday, Feb. 1, 2023, in Chapel Hill, N.C. (AP Photo/Chris Seward)

The Tar Heels head to Duke (16-6, 7-4) on Saturday (6:30 p.m., ESPN) to face a Blue Devils squad that hasn’t lost at Cameron Indoor Stadium this season.

Staff writer Rodd Baxley can be reached at rbaxley@fayobserver.com or @RoddBaxley on Twitter.

This article originally appeared on The Fayetteville Observer: UNC basketball: Tar Heels lose to Pitt with Duke up next