Pitt hits the road to meet Florida State in quest for redemption

Jeff Capel knows there is too much basketball left on Pitt’s schedule to label Wednesday night’s encounter at Florida State a must-win game.

But it is certainly is a must-see event for the coach. After losing two in a row, including a 29-point margin of defeat at Duke and Pitt’s first home loss of the season last Saturday against Louisville, Pitt has much to prove.

“There is a sense of urgency. We don’t sweep it under the rug,” he said.

Pitt (12-4, 3-2 ACC) has fallen to No. 27 in the NCAA NET rankings, but defeating No. 71 Florida State would be a Quad 1 victory. Pitt is only 2-3 in such games. The NCAA Tournament is two months in the future, but losing to Florida State will do the Panthers no favors in March.

The main problem in the loss to Louisville was an inability to secure the opponent’s missed shots. The Cardinals grabbed 17 offensive rebounds, which is similar to a football team making a third-down stop on defense but committing a penalty and handing out a free first down.

“We have to finish our defense by rebounding the basketball,” Capel said. “We have to pursue the basketball better. We have to go after it, period. It’s not any tricks.”

Florida State won’t make rebounding easy for the Panthers. The Seminoles have four players in their regular rotation who are 6-foot-9 or taller, led by Malique Ewin (6-11, 230 pounds), who is fifth in the ACC with 48 offensive rebounds while averaging 13.8 points and 7.6 rebounds. Ewin is also slick with the basketball when he’s not shooting.

“Malique brings a different skill set to our team that we have not been accustomed to having with our center,” coach Leonard Hamilton said. “He’s an extremely good ball handler and passer. He makes great decisions with the ball. He seems to be crafty enough that wherever he catches the ball on the floor, he has the mobility that he can score from outside and inside, which is not always what you find from most big guys.”

Another big man to watch is Florida State freshman 7-footer Alier Maluk, a Baldwin native who led Imani Christian to WPIAL and PIAA championships in 2023. Maluk averages only 10.6 minutes, but he has recorded 11 blocks. In fact, Florida State leads the ACC in blocks with 84. Pitt is second (74).

Pitt will pay special attention to Jamir Watkins (6-7), who is fifth in the ACC in scoring (18.2 points per game). Watkins put together a recent streak of at least 23 points in four consecutive games.

“He has a competitive toughness and a competitive urgency,” Capel said. “He’s a good offensive rebounder, and he’s a really aggressive, hungry player.”

Pitt hopes to counter Florida State’s size with forward Cam Corhen (6-10, 235), who is returning to the Donald L. Tucker Center in Tallahassee, Fla., where he played his home games the past two seasons.

Capel, ever the pragmatist, said the game is much more than a homecoming for Corhen.

“We’ve lost two games in a row,” he said. “Our focus should be on whatever we have to do to win. This is not about Cam vs. Florida State. This is about Pitt vs. Florida State.”

The Seminoles’ size presents a unique challenge for the Panthers, but Florida State (11-5, 2-3) has been humbled in three of its five ACC games with 10-, 14- and 20-point losses to N.C. State, Louisville and Clemson. At home, however, FSU is 6-2, losing only to Louisville (90-76) and No 5 Florida (87-74).

“Hopefully, we can be good, we can be poised,” Capel said. “My main thing is we have to be tough and do the things necessary to be able to win on the road in this league, which is difficult.”

With two days of practice this week at Petersen Events Center before traveling to Tallahassee, Capel and his players had plenty of time to work on their issues, including guards Jaland Lowe and Ishmael Leggett shooting less than 30% in the past two games.

Also, Capel didn’t use anyone off his bench for most of the second half against Louisville. He said practice will determine who gets playing time Wednesday.

“There’s opportunity there,” he said, “if guys want to defend and rebound and understand what we’re doing defensively and offensively and be able to affect the game that way.”

The losses to Louisville and Duke still sting.

“We can’t flush them,” Capel said. “At least, I can’t.”