No. 8 North Carolina keeps rolling, tops Pitt
PITTSBURGH - Justin Jackson scored 23 points, Joel Berry added 19 and No. 8 North Carolina continued its march to the Atlantic Coast Conference regular season title with an 85-67 victory over Pittsburgh on Saturday.
The Tar Heels (25-5, 13-3) have won four straight following a loss to arch rival Duke two weeks ago. North Carolina can clinch its second straight ACC regular season crown and 31st overall with a win at No. 18 Virginia on Monday.
Jackson bookended a 10-0 run to end the first half with two deep, contested 3-pointers to give North Carolina all the breathing room it needed. The Tar Heels dominated the smaller Panthers (15-14, 4-12) in the paint, outrebounding Pitt 48-28.
Michael Young and fellow senior Jamel Artis finished with 17 points each in their final game at the Petersen Events Center.
The Panthers took the Tar Heels to the final buzzer in Chapel Hill last month, losing only after Artis' off balance heave fell short. Pitt's four outgoing seniors - Young, Artis, Chris Jones and Sheldon Jeter - came in looking for one last vintage performance in front of the Oakland Zoo to take some of the sting off a disappointing season.
No chance. North Carolina has tightened up defensively since the Blue Devils lit them up on Feb. 9. The Tar Heels held Pitt to 40 percent shooting (19 of 48) and responded immediately whenever the Panthers appeared ready to threaten in the second half.
After a layup by Jones pulled Pitt within 44-36, a 15-5 surge fueled by Berry pushed North Carolina's lead to 59-41. When a free throw by Young trimmed the Panthers' deficit to 62-50 with just under 10 minutes to go, another 12-6 burst capped by a dunk by Jackson gave the Tar Heels a 74-56 lead that turned the final minutes into a somewhat solemn going away party for Young and company.
Barring an improbable run in the ACC Tournament, the Panthers will miss the NCAAs. That won't be a problem for the Tar Heels, who could be in line for a top seed when the brackets come out next month if they can continue their machine-like run through the nation's toughest conference.
BIG PICTURE
North Carolina: The Tar Heels are rolling. They have won their last four by an average of 19 points and seem to have figured things out defensively. The Panthers shot 56 percent in the first meeting but went more than 7 minutes without a field goal late in the first half as the Tar Heels used their length to disrupt Pitt's timing.
Pitt: The Panthers weren't outplayed so much as they were out-talented. Often Pitt would have position under the basket to grab a rebound only to see the Tar Heels reach over top of them and tap the ball back to a teammate. North Carolina outscored Pitt in the paint 42-24 and had 28 second-chance points to just nine by the Panthers.
UP NEXT
North Carolina: Will try to sweep the season series from Virginia. The Tar Heels dominated the Cavaliers 65-41 in Chapel Hill earlier this month.
Pitt: Wraps up the regular season with a two-game trip starting Tuesday at Georgia Tech.