Miami Hurricanes vs Pittsburgh Panthers Match Player Stats On Mar 09, 2021

Isaiah Wong once again paced Miami in scoring with 20 points as the Hurricanes secured a 79-73 victory over the Pitt Panthers in the opening round of the ACC tournament Tuesday in Greensboro, N.C.

Miami (9-16), the No. 13 seed, won its second consecutive game after losing six in a row and will next play No. 5 seed Clemson (16-6) on Wednesday in the second round. No. 12 seed Pittsburgh (10-12) lost for the seventh time in eight games.

All five starters for the Hurricanes, who had only six scholarship players available, scored in double figures. Anthony Walker, Elijah Olaniyi and Kameron McGusty each had 14 points while Nysier Brooks finished with 12. It was the fifth time in the last seven games that Wong led Miami scorers.

The Hurricanes did a solid job of limiting All-ACC first team forward Justin Champagnie's chances near the rim despite him totaling 11 points and 10 rebounds.

The Panthers, whose lineup had been depleted in recent weeks after guards Au'Diese Toney and Xavier Johnson each entered the transfer portal, had two unlikely sources of offense on Tuesday.

Freshman Femi Odukale led Pitt with a career-high 28 points on 11-of-16 shooting and had six rebounds. Senior Nike Sibande scored 24 points with five 3-pointers and grabbed six rebounds.

Both players entered the game averaging just 5.6 points per game.

The Hurricanes took advantage of 14 Pitt turnovers and only committed six of their own. Miami also finished with a marked edge at the free throw line.

Wong hit 9 of 10 free throws and the Hurricanes converted 22 of 28 attempts. The Panthers struggled at the stripe, making only 5 of 14 attempts.

Wong's layup with 2:13 left in the second half broke a 66-66 tie. It was part of a 9-0 run that gave Miami the lead for good.

The surge sealed a tightly contested game with seven ties and 14 lead changes.

Ithiel Horton came off the bench to score 10 points for Pitt.

--Field Level Media