Jeff Greer

@jeffgreer_cj

Rick Pitino lost his jacket. He lost his tie. And he almost lost his mind.

Who could blame Louisville's coach after the 15th-ranked Cardinals took a 26-point lead two minutes into the second half of Wednesday's ACC tilt against Pittsburgh only to lurch and labor their way to an 85-80 win in front of an antsy KFC Yum! Center crowd?

"I look like Tony Montana," Pitino said, referencing Al Pacino's famous character in "Scarface."

"I'm sweating. My underwear's soaked, everything. It's very difficult coaching this group of guys, but it's one of the more enjoyable things."

OK, so the question is: What is the best way to interpret the win? Is it one of those a-win-is-a-win wins? Or is it one of those what-just-happened wins? (And yes, if we're sticking to the movie references, you can read all these questions in your best Joe Pesci from "My Cousin Vinny" voice.)

There are two paths to take here.

The first route, and probably the fairest given that it's mid-January and just four games into conference play, is acknowledging that Louisville did just notch its second league win to climb back to .500 in the ACC standings.

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The Cards (14-3, 2-2 ACC) shot 50 percent in the first half, only the third time that has happened this season, and led by 21 points at halftime. It was an impressive flourish, and it prompted plenty of questions about what is plaguing Pittsburgh after the Panthers once again fell behind by 20 in the first half for the second consecutive game.

Deng Adel, back in uniform after taking a knee to the head and leaving Saturday's game at Georgia Tech, played well over 32 minutes, totaling 15 points and six rebounds.

Quentin Snider continued his hot shooting streak, making 7-of-11 shots from the field and improving to 20-for-43 from 3-point range over the past five weeks, dating to the win at Grand Canyon on Dec. 3.

Ray Spalding was his usual efficient self, too, totaling 11 points from five shots and corralling eight rebounds for the fifth time this season.

And if you're into these types of things, Louisville extended its ongoing dominance for Pittsburgh, a former Big East foe, to nine consecutive wins.

"I mean, a win is always a win – it's a win in the conference," said junior big man Anas Mahmoud, who had four points, five rebounds, two blocks and two steals. "It's a great thing to learn from a victory. Coach always says that. We can go back and watch film of the second half. It's not the first time that that happened this year."

Mahmoud's answer, while both astute and fair, does lead the second approach, which is at least worth a thought: Louisville desperately needs to figure out a way to keep pushing when it takes a big lead and avoid these panic finishes.

U of L shot 44.4 percent in the second half, which isn't all that bad, but the Cards were 13-of-23 from the free-throw line and Pitt shot 52.9 percent. That's a good way to blow a 26-point cushion.

Jamel Artis (43 points) bundled buckets together in a similar fashion to Grand Canyon's Dewayne Russell, who scored 42 points on the Cards. He made seven 3-pointers. He got to the foul line. He beat defenders off the dribble. He made U of L's defense look like it was anything but the most efficient defense in college basketball.

And he sent Pitino's jacket and tie to a dark place.

"He was putting on a Steph Curry performance," Pitino said. "If you're guarding Steph Curry, you have to guard him as he crosses halfcourt. Make sense? I mean, David (Levitch) tried to give me an intelligent answer: 'He's 20 feet behind the line.' I said, 'It's a little bit of an exaggeration, but I told you to guard him when he crosses halfcourt.' He didn't give me an answer."

Beyond Artis' masterful performance, which Pitt coach Kevin Stallings aptly explained by saying the 6-7 senior is a good basketball player, U of L turned the ball over 18 times and repeatedly made mistakes that riled up Pitino.

He pointed out his guards dribbling to corners and sidelines against Pitt's 1-3-1 zone defense, which is exactly what he told them not to do.

Those turnovers led to 22 Pitt points, 18 of which came in the second half. And if that doesn't lead to bourbon-infused anxiety inside the KFC Yum! Center, it's unclear what will.

But Louisville did win.

And things ended a lot worse for Tony Montana.