

The Linked Press
GREENSBORO, NC — Nellie Cummings scored 13 points and 11th-seeded Pittsburgh held sixth-seeded Iowa State to 23 % shooting in a 59-41 victory in the 1st round of the NCAA Tournament on Friday.
Jamarious Burton added 11 points and Greg Elliott ten for coach Jeff Capel’s Panthers, who jumped out to a 22-two lead right after Iowa State missed its 1st 11 shots. Issues did not get a lot superior for the Cyclones, who had 3 stretches in which they missed at least eight consecutive shots.
Pitt (24-11), which beat Mississippi State in the 1st 4, moves on to Sunday’s Midwest second-round game against third-seeded Xavier, which had to rally from 13 points down to beat 14th-seeded Kennesaw State.
“What an wonderful defensive game,” Capel stated. “We’ve been a genuinely excellent defensive group for most of the year, except for the final month of the season – and we’ve genuinely come back in the final two games and played at an elite level.”
Gabe Kalsher and Jaren Holmes each and every had 12 points for Iowa State (19-14), which reached the Sweet 16 final year in coach TJ Otzelberger’s 1st season.
The Cyclones, who had lost nine of their prior 13 games, did not make a field target till Holmes’ brief jumper with 9:53 left in the 1st half, which drew sarcastic cheers from Iowa State fans.
Iowa State’s poor get started came as it shot the similar basket that officials have been operating to repair prior to the game, prompting a short delay.
“Iowa State asked us in the course of pre-game warmups to verify that the rim was level,” the NCAA stated in a statement. “The developing employees checked it and created minor adjustments prior to the game began.” We provided them added time to warm up, but they refused.
Otzelberger stated he wasn’t certain if the basket issue could have gotten into his players’ heads and contributed to their poor shooting, saying, “You have to ask the players.
Kalscher stated no, adding that players are educated to deal with adversity.
The Cyclones trailed 30-23 at halftime, but began the second half a lot like the 1st – producing two of their 1st 19 shots.
When Pitt’s Nike Sibande was fouled on a three-pointer from the left corner with much less than 5 minutes left and created the ensuing free of charge throw to place the Panthers up by 20, it was all more than.
The Cyclones went practically eight minutes without having a field target in the second half prior to Tammin Lipsey hit a three-pointer from the corner with two:13 left to reduce the lead to 19.
A single of the largest highlights for Pitt came late in the second half when wiry 7-foot center Jorge Diaz Graham hit his identical twin brother Guillermo for a dunk, sparking a celebration from the Panthers bench.
The brothers do not see lots of minutes on the floor with each other mainly because they are freshmen and play the similar position.
“It was an explosion of power,” Guillermo Diaz Graham stated. “That ball coming from my brother in specific… it was unbelievable.
Added Jorge Diaz Graham: “The funny issue is yesterday in practice he nailed me and (teammate) Nate (Hinson) and was speaking nonsense. So I told him, ‘OK, you want to speak now, but just do it in the game.’ So he did, and now I have to shut up and thank you for assisting me.”
Pitt also got an emotional enhance from center Federico Federico, who received a large ovation from the Panthers faithful when he checked into the game in the 1st half. Federico sat out a knee injury against Mississippi State, and the Panthers have been outscored by 21.
“We had anything to prove as the preseason ranked us 14th in our conference,” Cummings stated. “We had a chip on our shoulder the 1st time we saw it. Dayton (major 4 web page) was just yet another instance of us possessing to place a chip on our shoulder once again. We are certainly hunting forward to proving additional.”
The significant image
Pete: The Panthers knocked down eight three-pointers against a single of the major defenses in the nation in beating Mississippi State for their 1st NCAA Tournament win given that 2014. They stayed hot against Iowa State, producing their 1st 3 shots from beyond the arc.
Iowa State: Regardless of playing in Significant 12 competitors, the Cyclones weren’t fairly prepared for the significant stage, suffering a single of their worst shooting performances in current memory.
“We’re a group that is fueled by our defense and it felt like early on we did not dictate and disrupt as nicely as we necessary to to get our organic rhythm going,” Otzelberger stated.
PITTSBURGH (24-11)
G. Diaz Graham three-five two-two 9, Burton 1-7 9-ten 11, Cummings five-11 1-1 13, Elliott 1-five eight-9 ten, Hinson 1-eight two-two 5, Sibande two -three two-three eight, Federico – 1-two 1, Jay Diaz Graham 1-two – two, Santos – – . Total 14-41 25-29 59.
IOVA ST. (19-14)
Jones -five -three , T.King two-five 7-9 11, Holmes six-17 – 12, Kalsher four-14 three-five 12, Lipsey two-9 – five, Kunz – six – , Ward – – , Watson -1 – , Osunniii -three 1-two 1. Total 14-60 11-19 41.
Halftime_Pittsburgh 30-23. three-point objectives_Pittsburgh six-19 (Sibande two-three, Cummings two-five, G.Diaz Graham 1-three, Hinson 1-7, Elliott -1), Iowa St. two-21 (Lipsi 1-two, Kalscher 1-eight, T.King -1, Kunz -four, Holmes -six). Rebounds_Pittsburgh 36 (G.Diaz Graham, Elliott eight), Iowa St. 33 (Lipsi ten). Assists_Pittsburgh ten (Burton, Cummings three), Iowa St. 7 (Holmes four). Total fouls_Pittsburgh 19, Iowa St. 22. A_16,150 (23,500).





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