Florida State Seminoles at Pittsburgh Panthers

Trey McGowens leads Pitt to 75-62 upset of No. 11 FSU

Join me, Capel said. Let's bring the swagger back together.

Less than nine months later, what Capel cautioned would be a lengthy process appears to be well ahead of schedule behind his three precocious freshmen, who have shrugged off the program's regrettable recent past with a competitive fire that points to a promising future.

"All three of them are naturally competitive," Capel said after Pitt's first win over a ranked team in nearly two years. "They have a toughness about them and they aren't afraid. We're trying to develop that, trying to make that the culture. Toughness, togetherness. Today was a big step."

"I just feel like that's how we like to play," McGowens said. "We've got some competitors. That's just what we like to do."

"You don't ever want to accept that," Hamilton said. "It was an emotional loss for us, but that's part of what you have to prepare for in the ACC. Pitt lost Saturday too. They bounced back and we didn't."

The Panthers gave away size at nearly every position. Yet rather than try to shoot over the Seminoles, Pitt decided to try and run through them.

The Panthers drove to the basket all night, particularly McGowens. He missed a breakaway dunk early on but tried to go right back to the rack by attempting to rise over 6-foot-10, 250-pound Mfiondu Kabengele. That dunk missed as well, but McGowens drew the foul and appeared to send a message that Pitt would not be intimidated.

"We feel like we are going to fight every time we play," Capel said. "If we fight and we play with some semblance of intelligence, we'll have a chance."

McGowens hit a 3-pointer to give Pitt the lead for good with 11:22 to go. Florida State fell behind by 10 but trimmed it to 60-55 after a pair of free throws by Forrest with 4:25 to go. Johnson shook off a seven-turnover night by hitting a jumper and then a driving layup to help push the advantage back to double digits.

By the end, the fans mocked Florida State by doing the school's war chant and then followed it up by shouting "We want Duke!" The top-ranked Blue Devils visit next Tuesday in a game that no longer looks like a mismatch.

"We've got two (ACC wins)," said center Terrell Brown, one of the few holdovers from a club that went winless in ACC play last season under coach Kevin Stallings. "We have more to get."

BIG PICTURE

Florida State: The Seminoles need to make more shots, particularly on the road. Florida State shot just 34 percent from the floor in a loss to Virginia last week and had similar issues against the Panthers. Florida State hit 20 of 58 field goals (35 percent), including just 2 of 22 3-pointers.

UP NEXT

Florida State: Visits Boston College on Sunday.

Pitt: Travels to longtime rival Syracuse on Saturday. The Orange are coming off a win at No. 1 Duke.

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How can I watch Florida State vs. Pittsburgh?

• TV Channel: Florida State at Pittsburgh 2021 College Basketball, week 11, is broadcasted on ESPNU.
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