No. 15 Duke Falls at Pitt 76-62

Sunday, February 28

Pittsburgh, Pa.

2:00 PM

Duke University

Pitt

Allen Named to Wooden Award Final Ballot

No. 15 Duke Falls at Pitt 76-62

2/28/2016 4:10:00 PM | Men's Basketball

MBB vs. Pitt: Allen Steal Leads to Ingram 3-Pointer Coach K Postgame Press Conference: Pitt 76, Duke 62 MBB vs. Pitt: Kennard Steal and 3-Pointer MBB vs. Pitt: Plumlee Rebound and Kennard 3-Pointer Highlights: Pitt 76, Duke 62 Full Game Replay: Pitt 76, Duke 62 Condensed Game: Pitt 76, Duke 62 Notes Season Stats (PDF)Box Score (PDF)Box Score (HTML)

By: Associated Press

PITTSBURGH -- James Robinson held onto the moment. An hour after Pittsburgh's biggest win of the season, a decidedly one-sided 76-62 dissection of No. 15 Duke on Sunday, the senior point guard stood in a sparse Petersen Events Center surrounded by friends and family, posing for pictures and shaking hands.

Robinson's final home game won't be his last moment in the spotlight. A vintage performance by the Panthers and their steady leader made sure of that.

The Panthers, after a series of fits and starts, are improving. The NCAA Tournament, after a blowout of the defending national champions, is beckoning.

"We're a team that's matured and come together and played our best basketball and our seniors are playing their best basketball," coach Jamie Dixon said. "James Robinson is playing his best basketball. We've let him down in a few of these losses to ranked teams but I thought we made up for it."

Robinson was his typically efficient self, scoring 14 points to go with seven assists, three rebounds and just one turnover in his school-record 130th start. Jamel Artis added 17 points and the Panthers (20-8, 9-7 Atlantic Coast Conference) beat a ranked opponent for the first time in seven tries this season to give them some major momentum heading into March.

Pitt held Duke to 37 percent shooting (18 of 48) and outscored the Blue Devils in the paint 24-6.

"Their defense was outstanding and their pursuit of the ball was even better," Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski said. "They were superb and I'm not sure if we were. We were out of character."

Grayson Allen had 22 points for Duke.

Down to perhaps its last chance to earn the marquee victory it so desperately needs to assure the program of an NCAA berth, Pitt responded with a performance that hastened back to its rugged run as one of the bullies in the old-school Big East.

The grit the Panthers used to thrive on during its last decade in that league has largely disappeared. Pitt ranks near the bottom of the ACC in several major defensive categories and has struggled at times to keep seemingly lesser opponents from knocking down shots.

That wasn't a problem against the Blue Devils. At the end of a difficult stretch that included a road win at North Carolina, Duke looked a step behind at times and physically overwhelmed at others.

The Panthers scored the game's first 10 points and provided an emphatic answer whenever the Blue Devils appeared close to making it interesting. Pitt opened the second half with a 9-1 surge and put together an 11-0 run after a Luke Kennard 3-pointer drew Duke within 58-48 with 10:10 to go.

TIP-INS
Duke: The Blue Devils made just 11 of 32 3-point attempts. ... Duke finished 5-4 on the road in ACC play. ... Senior center Marshall Plumlee didn't even attempt a shot in 28 minutes and was held scoreless for the first time this season. He did have four rebounds and two assists.

Pitt: The Panthers outrebounded Duke 39-20 and shot 50 percent (28 of 56) from the field, including 8 of 20 from 3-point range. ... The Panthers' 222 wins at the Petersen Events Center since 2002 are the second-most in the NCAA. ... Pitt has defeated at least one ranked opponents in each of Dixon's 13 seasons.