Jaland Lowe is accustomed to handing out presents to those closest to him, and he’s doing it this season like almost no other player in the ACC.

While averaging 16.7 points per game, Pitt’s sophomore point guard is third in the conference with an average of six assists per game.

So it was no wonder that when Lowe went home for the holidays, he was in a giving mood. He really didn’t want anything for himself.

“I told my parents, ‘I’m just glad to be home.’ My favorite Christmas gift was giving presents to my brothers and my family,” he said.

Lowe’s teammate, Zack Austin, echoed those sentiments.

“I realize it’s better being Santa,” he said.

Aside from assorted gift cards and hoodies, Lowe also gave his younger brothers Eion and Landon a present by not challenging them to a one-on-one game on the basketball court. Coaches frown upon random pick-up games away from Petersen Events Center for obvious reasons. There were no challenge games among the brothers for now.

Actually, Landon might have given Jaland a good run. He won a free-throw contest at the Greenbrier Tip-Off when Pitt was there in November.

“When season’s over,” Lowe promised. “I let them know they’re still not messing with me.”

Pitt’s players started their break after the Sam Houston game Dec. 21, stepping away from basketball until returning to campus Dec. 26 for a practice that night. The season resumes at 2 p.m. Wednesday when the Panthers (10-2, 1-0 ACC) confront California (7-5, 0-1) at the Pete.

“We enjoyed a lot of family time back home,” Lowe said. “We’re ready to go now.”

Specifically, Lowe said it’s time for the team to “go to another level” with only ACC games on the schedule for the next 10 weeks.

“Everybody is upping their game,” he said. “You have to be in tune with every single detail now. It means a lot more now, for sure. We got this little break. We have a journey ahead of us, and we’re ready for it.”

It’s no secret that the ACC and Pitt have much to prove in terms of national relevancy, with every conference team other than No. 4 Duke unranked in the Associated Press Top 25.

“The outside media doesn’t really respect the ACC like it used to,” Austin said.

The record is good, but the Panthers are aware that they have not played many complete games among their first 12.

“We can always take it to another level,” Lowe said. “Through most of our games, we didn’t play two good halves. Most of the time, we played one. We can see that next level we can go to, really compete at a high level with every team and be one of the top teams in the country.”

Austin, who is averaging 10 points and four rebounds per game while standing fourth in the conference with 18 blocks, said Pitt sometimes has “a tendency of playing down to our competition, no offense to a couple of the teams we’ve played.”

“We feel like we’re one of the top 20 teams in the country. To prove that, we have to put a whole game together, making sure we’re not doing the lazy things, like trying to get a steal that’s not there or not boxing out.

“Each possession matters.”

There is a sense among the team that even better days are ahead, especially when senior guard Damian Dunn, who has missed the past five games with a hand injury, returns. Coach Jeff Capel has set no definite timetable for Dunn’s return, but it’s expected in early to mid-January.

“We’re the best (group of) college guards in the country, especially when Dame comes back,” Lowe said.

But he also knows that’s just talk at this point and there is so much more work to do.

“We have to continue to dominate each game,” he said. “I’m not going to take (the 10-2 record) away from us, but we know what it takes to accomplish our goals and how to get there.”

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