Wake Forest out to cool off Pitt, snap tie in ACC standings

Field Level Media|published: Mon 19th February, 19:56 2024

Jan 31, 2024; Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA; Pittsburgh Panthers forward Blake Hinson (2) reacts with the PITT bench against the Wake Forest Demon Deacons during the second half at the Petersen Events Center. Pittsburgh won 77-72. credits: Charles LeClaire-USA TODAY Sports

Pitt is the hottest team in the Atlantic Coast Conference, while Wake Forest needs to heat up again as the teams meet Tuesday night in Winston-Salem, N.C.

The Panthers and Demon Deacons are two of the three teams in a fourth-place tie in the conference entering Monday.

Blake Hinson of Pitt (17-8, 8-6 ACC) is coming off one of the top performances of the season with a career-high 41 points in Saturday's 86-59 home win against Louisville. He sank a career-high-tying nine 3-pointers and also passed the 1,000-point mark at Pitt.

"It's the coaches letting me have the freedom and giving me the confidence as well. Mixed in with the work, this is the result," Hinson said.

It was a fitting outing for Hinson in many ways.

"He has the respect of everyone, all his teammates, not just respect, they revere him because of the type of guy that he is," Panthers coach Jeff Capel said. "He is an unbelievable teammate."

Pitt began its five-game winning streak with a comeback victory at home Jan. 31 vs. Wake Forest. That 77-72 outcome began a 3-3 stretch for the Demon Deacons, including consecutive road losses to then-No. 9 Duke and then-No. 21 Virginia last week.

Wake Forest (16-9, 8-6) plays four of its final six regular-season games at home, and this rematch with Pitt looms large after the Demon Deacons failed to pick up a quality victory last week.

Saturday's 49-47 loss to Virginia marked offensive shortcomings for Wake Forest, which had scored at least 64 points in every previous game this season.

"Our offensive execution was very poor down the stretch," Wake Forest coach Steve Forbes said.

On the plus side, Wake Forest's Hunter Sallis has scored in double figures in all 25 games this season.

"When we did share the ball, we had 11 assists on 19 baskets," Forbes said, "so we needed to be doing that more in my opinion."

In Pitt's earlier win over Wake, Carlton Carrington had a career-high 24 points, with the Panthers coming back from a 12-point second-half deficit. Hinson added 17 points, while Sallis' 22 points led Wake Forest.

Pitt's six road victories reflect one of the top marks in the country.

—Field Level Media

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