Moore, McGusty score 19 apiece, Miami beats Pitt 85-64

Associated PressFeb 23, 2022, 4:46 PM EST

Jasen Vinlove-USA TODAY Sports

PITTSBURGH — Charlie Moore and Kameron McGusty each scored 19 points and Miami beat Pittsburgh 85-64 on Tuesday night.

Moore was 7-of-10 shooting and had five assists. Sam Waardenburg and Jordan Miller scored 12 points apiece for Miami (20-8, 12-5 Atlantic Coast Conference).

The Hurricanes are tied with North Carolina for third in the conference standings, a half-game behind Notre Dame and 1 1/2 games behind first-place Duke with less than two weeks left in the regular season. The top four teams earn a double-bye into the quarterfinals of next month’s conference tournament.

Moore hit a 3-pointer 29 seconds into the game to open the scoring and Miami led the rest of the way. Waardenburg added a 3 before McGusty, Miller and Wong each scored in the lane to make it 14-2 about 3 1/2 minutes in, and Moore hit a turn-around jumper at the buzzer to give the Hurricanes a 20-point lead at halftime.

John Hugley led Pittsburgh (11-17, 6-11) with 20 points on 7-of-9 shooting and seven rebounds. Jamarius Burton scored 10 of his 12 points in the final 9 minutes.

Miami had 12 steals – including three apiece by McGusty and Miller — and scored 30 points off 20 Panthers’ turnovers.

The Hurricanes shot 55% (32 of 58) from the field and hit 9 of 20 (45%) from 3-point range.

Pitt’s Mohammed Gueye hit two 3-pointers and scored eight points on 3-of-3 shooting before leaving the game with an apparent hand injury midway through the first half. He returned to start the second half and finished with 11 points, five rebounds, two steals and a block.

Miami returns home to play on Saturday against Virginia Tech. Pitt plays its regular-season home finale when No. 3 Duke visits next Tuesday.

Pitt’s Ithiel Horton suspended indefinitely following arrest

Associated PressNov 9, 2021, 1:08 PM EST

Jim Dedmon-USA TODAY Sports

PITTSBURGH — Pittsburgh suspended junior guard Ithiel Horton indefinitely following his arrest over the weekend on charges of aggravated assault, resisting arrest, disorderly conduct and public drunkenness.

Pitt is scheduled to open the season on Tuesday night against The Citadel.

According to a criminal complaint, Horton hit an officer in the face with his cell phone early Saturday morning in the city’s South Side bar district. Horton was upset that his car was being towed. The report said Horton pulled away while he was being handcuffed and ran away before falling to the ground. When officers tried to detain him, Horton allegedly struck the officer.

Horton entered the season as Pitt’s leading returning scorer, averaging 8.9 points in 22 appearances last season.

The suspension came less than a week after the Panthers lost graduate transfer guard Nike Sibande for the season when he tore an ACL during an exhibition victory over Gannon.

Pitt loses senior Nike Sibande to right ACL tear

Associated PressNov 3, 2021, 3:31 PM EDT

Jim Dedmon-USA TODAY Sports

PITTSBURGH — Pittsburgh senior guard Nike Sibande is out for the season after tearing his right ACL in an exhibition win over Gannon.

The school made the announcement after an MRI revealed the extent of the injury.

Sibande injured the knee in the first half of the 89-64 win.

Sibande, who transferred to Pitt from Miami (Ohio) before the 2020-21 season, averaged 6.9 points and 3.0 rebounds for the Panthers last year. He was expected to take on a much larger role in the offense for Pitt, which lost its top three scorers from a year ago.

“I am really disappointed for Nike,” Pitt head coach Jeff Capel said. “He has been outstanding in his preparation for this season and has emerged as one of the most respected leaders in our program. He has done an amazing job dealing with adversity in the past and I am confident he will tackle his recovery in the same manner.”

The Panthers open the 2021-22 season on Nov. 9 against The Citadel.

Pitt forward Justin Champagnie to test NBA waters

Associated PressMar 23, 2021, 6:56 PM EDT

Rich von Biberstein/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images

PITTSBURGH — Pitt sophomore forward Justin Champagnie is going to test the NBA waters.

Head coach Jeff Capel made the announcement on Tuesday. Champagnie was one of the bright spots for the Panthers (10-12), earning All-Atlantic Coast Conference first-team honors after averaging 18.0 points and 11.1 rebounds.

“.The feedback I will gain from meetings, workouts and outside evaluations will shape the final decision on whether to remain in the draft or return to the University of Pittsburgh for my junior season,” Champagnie said. “This process will only help my development and allow me to become a better player at Pitt or in the NBA.”

The 6-foot-6 Champagnie was the first Panther since DeJuan Blair in 2008-09 to average a double-double and the first Pitt player since Billy Knight in 1973-74 to average at least 18 points and 10 rebounds.

Capel called Champagnie’s season “terrific,” though his potential departure would throw another wrench in Capel’s rebuilding process. The team had two starters – junior guard Xavier Johnson and junior guard/forward Au’Diese Toney – enter the transfer portal late in the season.

Georgia Tech’s Wright named AP player of the year for ACC

Associated PressMar 9, 2021, 3:40 PM EST

Brett Davis-USA TODAY Sports

Georgia Tech senior Moses Wright is The Associated Press men’s basketball player of the year for the Atlantic Coast Conference, while Virginia Tech’s Mike Young and Louisville’s Carlik Jones also earned individual honors.

Young was named the ACC coach of the year and Jones was named newcomer of the year in results announced Tuesday.

Wright, a 6-foot-9 forward, was the only unanimous first-team pick on the AP’s all-ACC teams. He earned 10 votes for player of the year, well ahead of two votes each for Pittsburgh’s Justin Champagnie and Virginia’s Sam Hauser after voting from 15 journalists covering the ACC regional footprint.

Wright, also named ACC player of the year by the league, is averaging 18 points and 8.1 rebounds. But he stood out by elevating those numbers to 23.5 points and 10 rebounds while shooting 65.6% during the six-game winning streak that clinched the Yellow Jackets’ top-four league finish, which has them in position to make the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2010.

Young received seven votes to beat Florida State’s Leonard Hamilton (four) for coach of the year. Young led the No. 22 Hokies to a third-place finish after being picked to finish 11th in the preseason.

Jones, a Radford graduate transfer averaging 17 points, earned seven votes for newcomer of the year. That edged out Hauser, a Marquette transfer with six votes.

On the AP all-ACC teams, regular-season champion and 16th-ranked Virginia joined Georgia Tech as the only schools with multiple picks. The Cavaliers had Hauser on the first team and Jay Huff on the second, while the Yellow Jackets had Jose Alvarado on the second team behind Wright.

Duke sophomore Matthew Hurt joined Wright, Champagnie, Jones and Hauser on the first team. Virginia Tech’s Keve Aluma, Florida State’s M.J. Walker and Clemson’s Aamir Simms joined Huff and Alvarado on the second team.

The 2020-21 AP All-ACC team, with players listed alphabetically with name, school, height, weight, class and hometown (“u-” denotes unanimous selections):

FIRST TEAM

u-Moses Wright, Georgia Tech, 6-9, 233, Sr., Raleigh, North Carolina

Justin Champagnie, Pittsburgh, 6-6, 200, So., Brooklyn, New York

Carlik Jones, Louisville, 6-1, 185, Gr., Cincinnati

Sam Hauser, Virginia, 6-8, 218, R-Sr., Stevens Point, Wisconsin

Matthew Hurt, Duke, 6-9, 235, So., Rochester, Minnesota

SECOND TEAM

Jay Huff, Virginia, 7-1, 240, R-Sr., Durham, North Carolina

Keve Aluma, Virginia Tech, 6-9, 235, R-Jr., Berlin, Maryland

Jose Alvarado, Georgia Tech, 6-0, 179, Sr., Brooklyn, New York

M.J. Walker, Florida State, 6-5, 213, Jr., Riverdale, Georgia

Aamir Simms, Clemson, 6-8, 245, Sr., Palmyra, Virginia

—

Coach of the year – Mike Young, Virginia Tech

Player of the year – Moses Wright, Georgia Tech

Newcomer of the year – Carlik Jones, Louisville

—

AP All-ACC voting panel:

Rick Bozich, WDRB-TV, Louisville, Kentucky; Lauren Brownlow, WCMC-FM, Raleigh, North Carolina; Chris Carlson, The Post-Standard of Syracuse, New York; Bennett Conlin, The Daily Progress of Charlottesville, Virginia; Ethan Joyce, Winston-Salem (North Carolina) Journal; Michelle Kaufman, Miami Herald; Kevin McNamara, WPRO, Providence, Rhode Island; Craig Meyer, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette; Joshua Needelman, The Post and Courier of Charleston, South Carolina; Tom Noie, South Bend (Indiana) Tribune; Adam Smith, The Times-News of Burlington, North Carolina; Ken Sugiura, Atlanta Journal-Constitution; Curt Weiler, Tallahassee (Florida) Democrat; Steve Wiseman, The Herald-Sun of Durham, North Carolina; Norm Wood, Daily Press of Newport News, Virginia.

No. 2 NC State women get hot from outside, beat Pitt 83-53

Associated PressFeb 25, 2021, 11:36 PM EST

Jim Dedmon-USA TODAY Sports

RALEIGH, N.C. — Second-ranked North Carolina State rolled in its home finale while looking as comfortable as ever shooting from outside in the familiar Reynolds Coliseum setting.

Wes Moore just needs his Wolfpack to carry that into the postseason, too.

Raina Perez scored 14 points and helped N.C. State hit 16 3-pointers to beat Pittsburgh 83-53 in Thursday’s home finale. The Wolfpack matched the program single-game record for made 3s.

Jakia Brown-Turner also scored 14 points for the Wolfpack (16-2, 11-2 Atlantic Coast Conference), who made 16 of 26 3-pointers. The shots fell from throughout the lineup, too, a reminder of the outside punch for a team that already has a strong paint presence with Elissa Cunane.

“I hope we’re trending up,” Moore said. “Now again, when you shoot 16 out of 26 from 3, everything’s fine. I’m worried about on the day we’re 6 for 26. Are we going to defend well enough and rebound well enough to survive and advance when we get into postseason? That’ll be the real trick.”

Perez led the outside-shooting blitz by making 4 of 5 from behind the arc, helping N.C. State match its mark of 16 made 3s set in December 2014 against Mount St. Mary’s.

Kayla Jones and Kai Crutchfield each hit three 3s, among of the Wolfpack’s eight different players to hit at least one. That included freshman reserve Dontavia Waggoner knocking down her second 3 of the season to close the third quarter and give the Wolfpack a 71-34 lead.

“It keeps the defense on their toes,” Crutchfield said, adding: “Just for us to stay diverse is a big thing for us to keep doing.”

Freshman Sandrine Clesca had a season-high 12 points to lead the Panthers (5-12, 3-11), who missed 15 of 18 shots in the opening quarter to find themselves in an immediate hole. Pitt finished the game shooting 40%, a figure boosted by a 7-for-10 shooting performance in the final quarter with the outcome no longer in doubt.

“They started in the paint and then they have kids that can shoot it,” Pittsburgh coach Lance White said. “You’ve got to pick your poison.”

BIG PICTURE

Pittsburgh: The Panthers had lost seven of eight in the past month, the outlier being an 83-80 win at Boston College on Feb. 16, in a schedule that has included six postponements this season. Pitt was seeking the program’s first win against a top-5 team, but fell behind by double figures midway through the opening quarter while playing without No. 2 scorer Dayshanette Harris (12.4) and Gabbie Green due to recent injuries.

“For us, we looked out there and we had four freshmen on the floor a lot today,” White said. “Those kids obviously aren’t ready for the No. 2 team in the country.”

N.C. State: Moore keeps talking about trying to get this year’s team peaking entering the postseason while describing these final regular-season games as “dress rehearsals.” His team has won four straight and is still alive in the battle with No. 6 Louisville for the No. 1 seed in next week’s ACC Tournament.

“I have liked what we’ve seen the last few games,” Moore said.

TIP-INS

N.C. State blew the game open with a 20-0 stretch during the third quarter. … Pittsburgh has lost six straight meetings and hasn’t beaten the Wolfpack since February 2015. … Five players scored in double figures for the Wolfpack, including Cunane (13 points, eight rebounds) and Jones (10 points, six rebounds and seven assists). … Panthers leading scorer Jayla Everett (14.9) finished with seven points on 2-of-15 shooting.

UP NEXT

Pittsburgh: The Panthers close the regular season at Georgia Tech on Sunday.

N.C. State: Syracuse hosts the Wolfpack on Sunday to close the schedule.