North Carolina (10-5, 5-3 ACC) vs. Pittsburgh (8-3, 4-2 ACC)
Pittsburgh, Pa. – Petersen Events Center
Tuesday, January 26, 19h
ACCN (Dave O’Brien, Cory Alexander)
Quotable
“I don’t see any growth because he kicked our ass in the two times we played last year. I thought he was doing really well last year, but he is really playing at a very high level. ”- UNC head coach Roy Williams on Justin Champagnie de Pitt
“I think we will wait until Wednesday to decide what we are going to do because I still think there is a possibility. We have an open match on Saturday, who knows if we could play against another ACC team or what we are doing. And therefore, we are not making plans publicly. ”- Williams on UNC’s opening date this weekend
Pre-match notes
Two-digit delight: For the first time this season, five Tar Heels scored double figures against NC State last Saturday. This led to a 86-76 victory and increased Roy Williams’ ability to at least share the series of the season with Wolfpack. Armando Bacot continued his effectiveness downwards with 17 points out of 8 out of 12 shots. Garrison Brooks faced problems throughout the second half, which opened the door for Day’Ron Sharpe, who had 16 points and 10 rebounds for the third double of the season. Caleb Love (15), RJ Davis (10) and Anthony Harris (10) completed the double-digit scorers.
Pittsburgh Spotlight: This team is difficult to discover. The Panthers opened the ACC game with a 15 point win over Miami away from home followed by a 10 point loss to Louisville at home. Two weeks pass due to the postponements of COVID-19 and they are striving for a three-point victory over Syracuse on the road. Ten days pass due to more postponements and Jeff Capel’s team takes Syracuse down by 20 at home and fights against Duke 79-73. So, while UNC was running the business against Wolfpack, the Panthers laid an egg and lost to a Wake Forest team, then without a win. After leading 45-38 at the break, Pitt scored 30 points in the second half and the Demon Deacons won by one. The Panthers are 90th nationally in adjusted offensive efficiency (106.5) and 42nd in adjusted defensive efficiency (93.3), according to kenpom.com.
Champagnie in the ACC POY conversation: At this stage of the season – most teams are in seven conference games – sophomore striker Justin Champagnie is the best player in ACC, and is not particularly close. The 6-foot-6, 200-pound wing averages 19.9 points and 12.4 rebounds per game. Both statistics lead the conference and he is the only player averaging a double-double. In addition, he is doing this efficiently. Champagnie hits 53.4 percent of his shots, despite hitting 35.3 percent beyond the arc. This percentage of field goal is the fifth in ACC.
Defensive consistency: The winning and losing record may be inconsistent in the ACC game for Pitt, but it is not because of his defense. He leads the conference in defensive efficiency in conference-only games, allowing 96.3 points per 100 possessions. It is the third in percentage of effective field goal keeping teams of 46.6 percent. The teams throw 29 percent of three (2nd) and 49.2 percent of two (5th). The Panthers’ defense throughout the season is the 42nd in the nation (93.4 points per 100 possessions). Despite their exceptional three-point defense – allowing 28.5 percent in the season, 19th NCAA – the teams still kick in: 42.2 percent of opponents’ field goal attempts are three points.
Offensive fights: UNC and Pitt have not been very effective on the offensive side of the ball since the beginning of the ACC schedule. UNC’s effective field goal percentage is 47.5% (14th ACC). Pitt’s effective field goal percentage is 49.0% (10th ACC). The problems are close to the edge. UNC is shooting 46 percent of two (15th ACC) and Pitt is shooting 48.5 percent (12th ACC).
Offensive glass: UNC is number 2 in the country in percentage of offensive rebound (40.7 percent). This is obviously the best thing about ACC. Second place in the ACC is Pittsburgh. Panthers hit 35.3 percent of missed shots, which is good for 21st place in the country. That percentage dropped to 31.5 percent for ACC games, which is fourth during the conference game. The percentage of UNC in conference games is 40.2%.
Last meeting: Pitt scored 43 in the first half, led by 20 points, and then scored 23 in the second half to win, by 66-52, on January 18, 2020. UNC kicked 31.7 percent off the ground and turned the ball 16 times in the the Petersen Events Center.
Series history: UNC leads the all-time series, 14-4, but lost both games to the Panthers last season.
UNC starters designed:
1 Leaky Black (Jr., 6-8, 195) – 7.0 ppg, 6.0 rpg
2 Caleb Love (Fr., 6-4, 195) – 10.3 ppg, 2.4 rpg
5 Armando Bacot (So., 6-10, 240) – 11.7 ppg, 7.6 rpg
15 Garrison Brooks (Sr., 6-10, 240) – 10.6 ppg, 7.4 rpg
24 Kerwin Walton (Fr., 6-5, 205) – 6.1 ppg, 1.6 rpg
Pitt designed for beginners:
0 Ithiel Horton (R-So., 6-3, 200) – 8.3 ppg, 2.4 rpg
1 Xavier Johnson (Jr., 6-3, 200) – 14.5 ppg, 4.2 rpg
5 Au’Diese Toney (Jr., 6-6, 210) – 16.0 ppg, 6.7 rpg
11 Justin Champagnie (So., 6-6, 200) – 19.9 ppg, 12.4 rpg
12 Abdoul Karim Couibaly (So., 6-8, 215) – 5.1 ppg, 4.1 rpg
Major Pitt Reserves:
2 Femi Odukale (Fr., 6-5, 185) – 4.8 ppg, 2.2 rpg
21 Terrell Brown (Sr., 6-10, 235) – 2.6 ppg, 2.0 rpg
24 William Jeffress (Fr., 6-7, 205) – 2.3 ppg, 2.8 rpg
UNC Information
Schedule / Results
List and Bios
Statistics
Pittsburgh Info
Schedule
List and Bios
Statistics