Great team win! It is not easy to win on the road in the ACC, and Pitt has some good players. We played a really good game all-around. (Where was this effort in the last game?) A few notes:
-Lots of contributions from everybody. Moore and Sturdy both had solid games, and Deebo hit his shots, too. Moore hit a huge 3. Devoe did his usual thing, but added a helpful 6 rebounds and 3 assists.
-RODNEY! Maybe we are getting a glimpse of what Reveno/Pastner saw in him that made them not dip into the transfer pool (or maybe they dipped in and didn't catch anything...). His last few games have been really good. He has really improved around the basket, and I love how he goes strong to the rim. He almost threw one down that would have been....epic. We were +14 with him on the court.
-Usher had a great game. 10 points, 8 rebounds, 5 assists, and 4 steals. I'll take a player control foul or two if he does that every game.
-One of the big keys in this one was the fast break points. We were looking to turn rebounds and TOs into quick points and it really helped our offense. We had 17 points from fast breaks to their 4. Wow!
-The meltdown at the end felt inevitable. We were playing on the road and we all knew it was coming. It didn't help that they were in the bonus and get to take free throws every time down the court, but it is what it is. We held on.
-18 assists (and just 11 TOs!) on 26 made baskets. When we pass well and find the open man (and hit the shots), we do well.
-The zone looked pretty good, and I felt like we changed to man when we needed to. Even when Pitt was hitting every corner 3, the zone was still a net-positive.
Let's all hug the win and enjoy it! Maybe this will finally start the season-ending swing that we have all been waiting for. Win or lose, I'll keep cheering. Go Jackets!
