Pitt exits ACC Tournament in first-round loss to Miami, big offseason awaits - TribLIVE

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Femi Odukale shot the basketball 16 times, often fighting through traffic, slithering in and out of tiny gaps, ending up with 28 points.

The total was a career-high for the Pitt freshman who showed an ability to shoulder huge amounts of responsibility over the final four games after two of his older teammates left the team.

Odukale and Nike Sibande, who scored 24, combined for 52 points and 31 of Pitt’s 61 shot attempts Tuesday in a 79-73 loss to Miami in the first round of the ACC Tournament in Greensboro, N.C.

It concluded a turbulent 10-12 season for Pitt, which hasn’t had a winning record in basketball since Jamie Dixon left for TCU in 2016. After coach Jeff Capel inherited a team that was 0-19 in the ACC in 2018, his record at Pitt in February and March is 7-26.

The loss triggered what Capel said will be an important offseason.

First, Capel and his staff need to hit the recruiting road to bolster a roster that carries only 10 scholarship players, with no one committed for next season. But coaches also must get in the gym and help the returning players.

Odukale said the offseason will start for him as soon as he returns to campus.

Asked when he plans to get back in the gym to put up some shots, he said, “Five minutes after I get off the flight, I’m going to go straight to the free-throw line.”

Odukale’s free-throw shooting — he ended at 49.3% (36 of 73), only slightly better than his field goal accuracy (46.4%, 51 of 110) — is one part of his game that needs immediate attention. He made only four of eight free throws, part of Pitt’s 5-of-14 effort.

Capel said everyone needs to have a productive offseason, something that was taken away last year by the covid-19 pandemic.

“I’m very hopeful we have a spring and summer where we can work with the guys and help them get better,” he said. “That’s one of the things that hurt us.

“Any team that’s relying on young guys, you didn’t have the spring and the summer to really, really work. We have some guys who really need to change their bodies, get stronger, get in great shape.

“I look forward to having the opportunity to do that with these guys. Like I said at the end of last year, this is a big offseason for us. Unfortunately, last year, we didn’t get to have the offseason.”

The loss to Miami unraveled in a strange manner. Neither team led by more than seven points at any time.

Justin Champagnie, who was named first-team All-ACC on Monday, missed a career-high 15 shots on 20 attempts, including seven of eight from beyond the 3-point arc. He finished with his ACC-leading 14th double-double (11 points, 10 rebounds), but he wasn’t able to complement the efforts of Odukale and Sibande, who combined to hit 20 of 31.

“Just had an off day. It happens,” Capel said. “It’s unfortunate that it happened (Tuesday).”

Only four players scored Tuesday. Odukale, Sibande, Champagnie and Ithiel Horton (10 points) attempted 59 of Pitt’s 61 shots. Abdoul Karim Coulibaly and Terrell Brown tried one each — both in the first half and both missed.

Pitt held its last lead, 66-64, on a basket by Champagnie with 3 minutes, 36 seconds left. But Miami (9-16) scored 15 of the game’s final 22 points as Pitt allowed a team into the 70s for the 15th time this season.

Next up for Champagnie is his decision to enter the NBA Draft or return to Pitt for his junior season. Capel plans to be an advisor to Champagnie and his parents, but he said he won’t push them in any direction.

“The biggest thing is that Justin and I and his family have to be on the same page because there will be a lot of people trying to divide us,” he said. “And what I mean by that, there will be people saying that I’m going to try to make him come back to school for me. My thing is that Justin doesn’t owe me anything. He needs to do what’s best for him.

“Because of my connections, because of people that I know that are in the NBA, I will be able to get him accurate information, not information that you see on a draft website or mock draft or any of those things.

“I will share that with him in complete honesty, and his family. And then I will support them in whatever way they want me to in making the decision.

“Now, if they ask me my opinion, I’ll give them my opinion. I’m not just going to volunteer my opinion because that’s between a kid and his family.”

Champagnie’s decision will impact next season’s Pitt team in a big way. He would be the centerpiece of team Capel is eager to see grow.

“I wish we could have had a little more time with this group,” he said. “I think we could have grown into something that could be pretty good.”

Get the latest news about Pitt basketball and all things Panthers athletics.

Jerry DiPaola is a Tribune-Review staff writer. You can contact Jerry by email at jdipaola@triblive.com or via Twitter .

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Pitt exits ACC Tournament in first-round loss to Miami, big offseason awaits - TribLIVE

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