On location: Pitt 89, No. 12 North Carolina 76

Heels will get there. Running a couple great back-door looks, hitting outside shots. Really seem to have settled.

Randall played very solid, useful minutes today. More than held his own against UNC's McDonald's All American big men.

Lol? Really?

North Carolina had no issues scoring inside. Had Pitt not shot 65%, completely different game. They were outrebounded. Again.

One of Pitts biggest issues, could be not having a strong, low post defender who can rebound. That effects everything on the floor.

We had a significant rebounding advantage in the first half, when the game was still being contested. Being out rebounded 31-27 against a team with multiple McDonald All-American bigs is not an issue. And Pitt's shooting percentage was much more a factor of excellent passing and quality looks than it was any fluke of making tough shots. I'm laughing out loud right back at you, I guess.

Jeter struggled defensively early on. To be fair, they all did. But Dixon did say a few weeks ago he needed to do a better job of working him in.

I think the do have an conference tourney run in them, because a lot of these ACC teams are overrated the more ive watched.

I didnt plan on it but im gonna watch WF-Virginia later.

+1

I am really looking forward to the column. Earlier in the week, I was convinced it was going to be an obituary. Now it looks like their rounding into form at the right time. Something Dixon teams rarely did in the past.

All the way back to last year, I said keep an eye on Jeter. I had friends from Vandy, and "scouts" from high school ball tell me he could be the real deal.

Jamie clearly has blown it big time this year in regards to Jeter! Yes he had some defensive lapses earlier in the year, but so did most of this team !

I feel Jeter could have made the difference in 3-4 games this year, turning losses into wins. Think what THAT would do for Pitt's NCAA hopes.

Shout out to Kevin Varley/Lad9 who put up with my "rants" about Jeter last year. Shout out also to Dixon for finally waking up and playing the kid.

You really must have been watching a very different player from the one I saw, having been at or watched every game on TV, dating all the way back to the Blue-Gold scrimmage. Jeter was completely lost and very soft with the ball. Made a lot of casual, sloppy passes and played no defense. From what I've heard anecdotally and through Paul Zeise's excellent coverage of the team, he has worked very hard to buy into a system which has to be infinitely more hard nosed than anything he saw at Vandy. The story here is his consistent improvement, not the failure to have played him earlier. Based on what I've seen in person and from following him closely, I actually think we might have lost a couple more games (BC, Wofford, possibly even Samford) if Jeter had played more minutes during the early season. Now, he's much smarter and tougher with the ball. Scrapping hard on defense and crashing the oars very effectively. That's a testament to him as a man and also to the consistent pushing and emphasis of the coaching staff.

Finally,
Dixon releasing the reins a bit and letting them play.
That is part in parcel the problem with Dixon recruiting. Kids don't like his style of coaching and "control".
"Let'm Play"

There isn't any problem with Dixon's recruiting, any more than there is with all but like 8 teams nationally. Such a tired, uninformed narrative. He gets good kids who work hard to improve and wins games at an exceptional pace. This fan base is incredibly unappreciative of what they have, I must say.

Rivals has them ranked 51st last I saw. Losing Rowan hurts. Hopefully Nix is better than your boy Randall.

And love that he's loosened the reins a bit on offense.

Dixon's really finding his comfort zone.

Jeter was no more "lost" than some of the others on this team. Not sure what you were watching. People that know the game have wanted Jeter in the lineup before the last four games.

I was watching the Oakland and BC games, where he fumbled the ball multiple times on the glass and waved at dribble-drivers. I've seen every minute of playing time he's had in his Pitt career.

Surprising win and unexpected. But that is where the program is right now. What is surprising is how the Tarheels have just not been a factor in BB since their NC year. Williams just isn't recruiting or coaching nearly as well as he should.

Yes, chet. Not a good UNC team. They said during the telecast, the academic scandal along with Dean Smith passing, just a bad year.

UNC was in the Elite 8 in both 2011 and 2012. So, they have missed being in the national quarterfinals for two straight years. I'd fire the guy!

Who said fire, JR? We're talking about 2015. They've lost 3 of 4 going to Cam Indoor next.

The initial comment was that UNC has not been a factor since winning the national championship in '09. In an of itself, that seems a bit crazy, since that was only 5 seasons ago. But doubly so when you figure that they made the Elite 8 in 2 of the ensuing 5 seasons. And, although they're not playing great right now, I would not be shocked at all if, given the right bracket, they made a nice run this year too. Plenty of talent on that team, which we absolutely whipped six ways to Sunday today.

I like the team they bring back next year.

But they shot 65% today. Over 20% their average, which is 44%, 128th in the country. They only had 4 turnovers. Made twice as many threes than normal.

They played extremely well today offensively, but the D is still an issue.

Just feels like an outlier. Hope I'm wrong and better things are around the corner.