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stephenthompson.bsky.social
I write about Pitt athletics for the Pittsburgh Post Gazette, vote in the AP men's basketball poll and love the Boston Celtics | he/him | be where your feet are
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They were up 25-3

Mobley and Allen have been non-factors. Tatum is frying them.

Celtics.

Bartholomew clocks a 4.71 on his second run.

You know what, I hate Max Strus.

Stephen Thompson has NOT met formally with the Pittsburgh Steelers, he told reporters at the NFL Combine. Projected day two pick with upside.

10.5 hours of non-stop heaters in here. Thank you to the hero who created it.

Watching Bismack Biyombo and Jeff Green play in the same basketball game in the year of our lord 2025

I think I’m one of the few people who still likes Jay Bilas as a color commentator but it’s so unnatural listening to him call an NBA game.

Passing the bar down the street omw to trivia and watching them set up the hot dog stand outside

Ohio State transfer Jayden Bonsu, who was listed as "S/LB" when Pitt announced he had signed, said "the idea" is for him to play STAR LB for the Panthers. Bonsu was a four-star S coming out of high school. Stands 6'1.5, weighs 209 right now. Worked with both position groups since joining the team.

Pitt freshman DB Mason Alexander: "Some corners don’t like to hit. They say we get paid to cover. I don’t believe in that. I get paid to hit, cover, lock you up, make sure you don’t get one catch. ... I love hitting.”

NFL player report card day is my favorite holiday.

I swear, sometimes Verizon will charge you extra during a random month just to see if you're paying attention or if they can scam you.

Familiar mistakes ended with a familiar result for Pitt in a last-minute loss to Georgia Tech. Rebounding, 3-point defense, late-game offense - ghosts of the past are haunting the present and Lowe's heroics couldn't save them. “I’m taking this one hard because I think it’s on me."

Capel said he didn't feel Pitt was worn down due to a short rotations were tonight (only 7 Panthers played). But added that he called timeout with 1:15 left after Lowe cut the deficit to 2 with a 3 because he thought "we were a little tired and fatigued in that moment" and wanted to set the defense.

Jeff Capel was asked about the defensive rebounding effort tonight. Here was his answer: "We have to have a will to go get the basketball and we have not shown that we do.”

Final: Georgia Tech 73, Pitt 67 The Panthers tied the game with 75 seconds left and proceeded to miss 6 shots in a row inside of a minute left. It's their 10th loss in 13 games.

This was the last time anyone made a field goal. Last 11 points have been scored at the free throw line.

A third foul on a 3-point shooter. Tech is 3-10 from 3 this half. Why make it easier on them?

Pitt takes the lead, 59-58, with 5:30 left to play on a 3 from Brandin Cummings.

Pitt has scored 7 in a row, capped by a Jaland Lowe triple. Georgia Tech calls timeout clinging to a 56-54 lead with 6:33 to play.

Pitt trails 56-47 with 7:50 to play in the second half. It hasn't gotten the deficit under 4 points since there was 2:39 left in the first half.

Pitt just fouled Duncan Powell shooting a 3 pointer for the second time tonight. He converted the free throw both time. It's his 6th made 3-pointer of the night and Georgia Tech is up 52-43 as the clock winds inside of 11 minutes left in the game.

I would *love* to know what Jaland Lowe is shooting on pull-up vs. catch-and-shoot 3's this season.

Georgia Tech is holding onto a 32-27 lead at the first media timeout of the second half. Corhen's got 6 quick points in this half. Powell is up to a game-high 18 points after a layup and 3. Defense been a little better for the Panthers after halftime, starting to get their hands on the ball.

Jeff Capel comes out a few steps onto the court to applaud Jaland Lowe for diving after a loose ball, creating a turnover and fast break opportunity for Zack Austin, who will get free throws after attempting to murder a Georgia Tech defender at the rim.

Halftime: GT 35, Pitt 30 Stop me if you heard this one before, but Pitt incurred a double-digit deficit in the first half before rallying to make it a more competitive game. Zack Austin hit a buzzer-beating 3 to send them into halftime with some momentum.

Damar Hamlin is at the Pete tonight. Got a big hand when he was introduced on the jumbotron.

Pitt cut the deficit to 4 at the 6:59 mark, but hasn't scored in the 3:02 since. The good news is that GT hasn't scored in 2:02 either. Jackets lead 30-23, 3:56 to go until halftime.

Under-8 timeout and Pitt still trails, 25-18. It has found a bit of an offensive rhythm, knocking down 5 of 7 shots, including the team's first 2 3-pointers of the night. Gaps in rebounding and paint points are starting to close a bit, but Pitt still has a lot of work to do.

Pitt trails 17-8 at the under-12 timeout. This has not been an inspired effort from the Panthers on the defensive end, to put it mildly. In other news that won't surprise you, Pitt is -9 in total rebounding, -4 in offensive rebounding and -6 in 2nd chance points through 8:04 of play.

It was Lance Terry who shot it but he didn't get it off in time. Still 11-6, Tech.

Cam Corhen blocked a shot out towards half court as the shot clock was winding down. But a Georgia Tech player picked it up, put up a heave from 30+ feet out and banked it in. They'll review the shot.

Pitt trails 9-4 at the first media timeout. It forced GT into a shot clock violation going into the break, but only after 2 Pitt players stripped a ball and stood watching as it bounced out of bounds. Tech has made 3 of its first 5 shots while Pitt has made 1 of its first 5.

Pitt wins the tip and we're underway.

Starters for Pitt and Georgia Tech tonight.

Reporting Live From The Gutter

Pitt is an 8.5-point favorite over Georgia Tech tonight. Over/under set at 140.5.

UNC has signed Hubert Davis to a contract extension, which ties him to the program through 2030. Details: - Agreed to July 1, signed mid-December - Base salary up to $1.25 mil/year - Supplemental income starts at $1.7 mil this year, 100K increase every year - Additional $550K/year from Learfield

Georgia Tech will be without 4th-leading scorer Javian McCollum tonight at Pitt, per Jon Rothstein. Averages 12.2 points and 3.4 assists per game, 44/36/87 shooting splits for the year in 19 games (11 starts). Not a shock he's out - McCollum hasn't played since 12/4 because of a concussion.

#PittBS

Georgia Tech is rolling, while Pitt is still sliding, into a Tuesday night clash at the Pete. Will these Panthers ever figure out their defensive issues? They'll have to if there's any hope of salvaging a miserable slog through ACC play. More on tonight's game:

Every time I've seen a basketball team go for the 2-for-1 at the end of a half/quarter, it ends in spectacularly bad shots.

It's going to look kind of funny in hindsight when North Carolina wins 20 games against what's probably going to end up being one of the 20 toughest schedules in D1 and makes the tournament and the whole time, the dominant narrative was the coach being on the hot seat.