Pitt outworked by No. 17 Virginia in blowout loss

Stephen Thompson, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette on Feb 3, 2026

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CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. — Offensive woes traveled with Pitt from Clemson, S.C., back home and with them on a road trip back south to Virginia. The previous time the Panthers visited John Paul Jones Arena, they upset a top 25-ranked Virginia team. A new group of Panthers tried to the do the same and pick up a signature victory but fell well short.

A strong start quickly dissipated as Pitt (9-14, 2-8 ACC) turned the ball over time and time again, giving No. 17-Virginia (19-3, 8-2 ACC) free points they didn’t need. Mix in a furious effort on the offensive glass Tuesday night from the Cavaliers and it resulted in a 67-47 defeat, Pitt’s sixth in seven attempts inside this building. Already overmatched in talent and depth, Pitt’s sloppy play meant they never had much of a chance to challenge the Cavaliers.

Pitt was damned if it did and damned if it didn’t. When the Panthers sprinted to close out on quality Virginia shooters at the 3-point line, they were either too late to contest or too far away from the basket to corral the defensive rebound. Worst-case scenario, the Cavaliers would pump-fake and drive past them to create offensive opportunities via a paint touch. There was little the Panthers could do to keep the Cavaliers from scoring.

Virginia gave themselves such a drastic advantage in opportunities that the rate of makes proved inconsequential. The Cavaliers shot only 4% better from the field than Pitt, but they attempted 11 more shots. Both teams shot at or below 35% from 3-point range, but Virginia attempted 30 3-pointers to Pitt’s 17 and took 14 more shots overall. Opportunities, not efficiency, is what sealed Pitt’s fate.

On the other end, Pitt’s offense could barely get off the ground before Virginia smothered them. After jumping to a 7-3 lead in the opening minutes, the Panthers committed five turnovers in a span of five minutes in the first half while going scoreless and allowing their opponents to score 12 unanswered points.

By the 7:13 mark of the first half, they had more turnovers (eight) than made field goals (six) but had assisted on all their made baskets. The Panthers’ deficit reached double figures for the first time with 5:48 to go until halftime. After it reached 14, Nojus Indrusaitis scored a couple of layups to make it a 10-point game with 75 seconds to go until the intermission. But Pitt’s final two possessions ended scoreless while Ugonna Onyenso made his eighth 3-pointer of the season for an early dagger.

Virginia never looked back after opening a double-digit advantage. Its largest lead eventually reached 20 because they had an answer for every one of Pitt’s counterpunches. Five times in the second half, Pitt cut the Cavaliers lead to 13 or fewer but each incursion was met with a timely bucket as the Cavaliers cruised to their first win by 10 points or more in a three weeks.

Player of the game

Thijs De Ridder was the face of Virginia’s dominant rebounding efforts. He has been Virginia’s leading scorer this season, averaging 17 points per game, but in lieu of his own buckets, De Ridder created extra opportunities for his teammates by eating up seven offensive rebounds and 12 total for the game, in addition to 10 points on 4-for-7 shooting and three assists.

Key stat

Pitt lost the rebounding battle for the first time in two weeks. As strong 3-point shooting exhibited during the non-conference slate fell by the wayside, Pitt had been using the offensive glass as an equalizer. But as they chased Cavaliers shooters around the perimeter, the Panthers had fewer bodies in the paint to collect defensive rebounds. And even when extra chances fell into their laps, the Panthers couldn’t do much with them.

They actually grabbed eight offensive rebounds to Virginia’s 13 but scored only six second-chance points, while the Cavaliers scored 13 off their extra opportunities.

Up next

The Panthers are back at home at 2 p.m. Saturday to face high-flying SMU. Ranking second in the ACC in tempo and fourth in overall offensive efficiency, according to KenPom, the Mustangs are averaging a league-best 86.6 points per game this season. SMU largely has taken care of business in ACC play, but they have only one win when scoring fewer than 80 points. The Panthers will need to tighten up defensively if they hope to spring an upset.