PITTSBURGH _ With his team riding a four-game losing streak and its season hanging in the balance, first-year Pitt coach Kevin Stallings criticized the leadership and buy-in from his players the day before their game against No. 13 Louisville. His remarks were, at best, a motivational ploy and, at worst, a glaring example of a coach in search of answers brazenly throwing his players under the bus.
If the desired result was to elicit an inspired response from a listless team, it backfired about as spectacularly and gruesomely as it could have.
A lethargic Pitt offense managed to make just 25.5 percent of its field goals and a ghastly defense allowed Donovan Mitchell to score 29 points on 9 of 13 shooting as the Panthers were throttled by Louisville, 106-51, Tuesday night at the Petersen Events Center. The loss was the second-worst in program history, trailing only a 106-13 loss to Westminster in February 1906.
Miami's 72-46 victory Jan. 14 against Pitt, then the worst defeat in Petersen Events Center history, was a record for all of 10 days. In their past two contests in a building in which they were, in a not-so-distant era, seemingly invincible, the Panthers have lost by a combined margin of 178-93.
The game's final result, even from its early moments, was almost never in doubt. The Cardinals jumped out to a 17-5 lead and after a layup from Cameron Johnson got Pitt within 17-7, it went the next 12:11 without a made field goal. In that time, Louisville outscored the Panthers, 31-8, and took a 51-18 advantage into halftime. Pitt made just four of its 23 shots (16 percent) in the first half, the third-worst shooting performance in a half in program history.
The situation only grew direr as the game continued. With 14:27 remaining, and his team trailing by 41, Stallings was ejected for arguing with an official shortly after forward Sheldon Jeter fouled out of the game. Given how the game was progressing, being forced to leave the sideline was likely more a reward than a punishment.
Michael Young scored a team-high 12 points for Pitt, making him the only player on his team to crack double figures.
The Panthers return to action Saturday with a home game against Clemson.
