Pitt snaps No. 21 UVA’s win streaks with 74-63 upset at JPJ

By Scott Ratcliffe

The last time Virginia had lost a game at John Paul Jones Arena prior to Tuesday’s ACC tilt against Pittsburgh, Kihei Clark was still wearing a Cavalier uniform.

With Clark in attendance, watching the game from his front-row seat at halfcourt Tuesday, UVA found itself in a blow-for-blow grudge match with the visiting Panthers, who were hot from long range and walked away with a 74-63 win, in a game that featured nine ties and 11 lead changes.

As a result, the 21st-ranked Wahoos (19-6, 10-4 ACC) saw their eight-game winning streak come to an end, along with what was the nation’s longest home winning streak of 23 games, as Pitt took advantage of poor UVA shooting down the stretch.

The Panthers (16-8, 7-6) have won their last four games (and six of their last seven), and Tuesday’s upset win pulled them into a tie for sixth place, along with NC State.

Pitt leading scorer Blake Hinson was the straw that stirred the drink Tuesday, pouring in a game-high 27 points (well over his average of 17.9 ppg; which was good for fifth in the ACC). Hinson wound up with the highest scoring total amongst UVA opponents this season.

A good amount of Hinson’s damage came from behind the 3-point line, where he leads the conference in makes per game (3.3) — on Tuesday, he cashed in 5 of them, part of a 14-for-32 night (44 percent) for Jeff Capel’s team from downtown.

The Hoos started the second half down by seven points after a Hinson trey on the first trip down the floor, but quickly regained the lead after a 12-2 run made it a 43-40 ballgame, capped by a three-point play by Reece Beekman at the 15:43 mark.

An Isaac McKneely basket in the lane gave UVA a 49-47 edge — and an 8-for-8 start from the field out of the locker room — with 13:22 remaining, but that turned out to be the Cavaliers’ final lead of the contest.

Hinson responded on the ensuing possession with another triple, and Pitt never trailed again, following that up with three more dagger 3-pointers across the next six and a half minutes to stretch the lead to double digits, 64-54, with 6:30 to play, silencing the once-boisterous JPJ crowd in the process. All told, it was an extended 17-5 scoring spurt, and one the Hoos couldn’t recover from.

After the hot-shooting start to the half, Virginia cooled off considerably, misfiring on 11 of their last 15 attempts from the field over the final 12:30 of action. UVA was still able to shoot 50 percent on the evening (25 for 50), including just 29 percent from beyond the arc (4 of 14). The Cavaliers missed four free throws (9 for 13; 69 percent) and were outrebounded, 35-25 (Pitt collected 11 offensive boards to UVA’s 3, outscoring the Hoos by a 13-2 margin in second-chance points).

UVA, a team that’s last home loss came against Houston in December of 2022, was paced by Beekman’s 19 points and 6 rebounds — both team-highs — to go along with 5 assists, a steal and a pair of turnovers.

McKneely added 15 points (two 3-pointers), 3 rebounds and 3 assists in the loss, while Ryan Dunn had 8 points, 5 blocks and 3 rebounds. Jake Groves finished with 7 points (2 for 6; 1 for 4 from deep) in 24 minutes off the bench.

Despite Tuesday’s loss, the Hoos are still just one game back in the ACC standings of first-place North Carolina, as the seventh-ranked Tar Heels (19-6, 11-3) were also knocked off Tuesday, 86-79, at Syracuse.

The Cavaliers host UNC later this month, and could still control their own destiny with a win on Feb. 24 at 4 p.m. Virginia also travels to Cameron Indoor Stadium in early March for a crucial matchup against second-place Duke (19-5, 10-3).

For Pitt, Hinson was 11 for 19 Tuesday (including 5 for 13 from long distance), registering his 10th game this season in which he posted at least 20 points. Ishmael Leggett (13 points, game-high 8 rebounds) and Jaland Lowe (12 points) also finished in double figures, with star freshman point guard Carlton Carrington adding 9 points, 8 rebounds and a game-high 6 assists.

Team Notes

Courtesy UVA Media Relations

• UVA’s eight-game win streak and nation-leading 23-game home win streak ended with the loss
• UVA’s streak of holding 48 straight ACC opponents to fewer than 70 points at John Paul Jones ended
• UVA is 2-3 as a ranked team
• Pitt’s 14 3-pointers and 32 3-point attempts were most by UVA opponent this year
• Blake Hinson’s 27 points marked a season high vs. UVA this season (David Jones, Memphis, 26 points)
• Pitt led 35-31 at the half
• Pitt outrebounded UVA 35-25
• UVA forced one shot-clock violation (19 in 2023-24)

Series Notes

• UVA is 19-5 all-time vs. Pitt in the series that dates to 1957
• UVA has won eight of the last 10 contests in the series
• Virginia’s six-game win streak vs. Pitt in Charlottesville ended
• UVA is 12-3 against Pitt since 2013-14 when the Panthers joined the ACC.
• Tony Bennett is 12-4 all-time vs. Pitt

Player Notes

• Double Figure Scorers: Reece Beekman (19), Isaac McKneely (15)
• McKneely reached double figures for the 20th time
• Beekman reached double figures for the 51st time
• Beekman (1 steal) is five steals shy of setting the UVA all-time record
• Ryan Dunn (5 blocked shots) moved into 10th on UVA’s single-season blocked shots list with 55
• Andrew Rohde tied a season high with six assists

UP NEXT

After seven-straight weekends on the road, the Cavaliers will stay put in Charlottesville in preparation for Saturday’s home game (yes, you read that right) against Wake Forest (noon, ESPN2). The Hoos will be hosting their first Saturday ACC game since the opener against Syracuse on Dec. 2.