** My bad.

** I’ll take the blame for this loss.

** Driving home, it occurred to me that we have won every home ACC game when I’ve enjoyed a pre game adult beverage or two, and tonight I stayed dry.

** Come to think of it, I didn’t have a beverage for the Miami home game with the 12 noon start, but since I enjoyed a few adult beverages the night prior, I may have had a tiny twinge of a hangover. So that counts.

** Unfortunately tonight, as they have for most ACC games, the Panthers came out like they were sporting a hangover.

** Because of that, this season falls even deeper into a drunken mess.

** Actually, at this point, my per game adult beverage consumption theory makes as much sense to me as any in regards to what has happened to this team this season.

** Sure, there are consistencies. Our rebounding remains woeful, which leads to its own share of issues.

** And for much of this game, our defense was inept as usual.

** The switch to zone did indeed enable the Panthers to get back into the contest and even take the lead. But really, should we really need the aid of a matchup zone to give us a chance to win against a 14-14 team at home? I guess so.

** Nonetheless, this night, more than anything else, we were done in by substandard shooting, both from deep, and also critical misses from in close.

** First on that list was the usually reliable senior Zack, who for the second game in a row struggled getting the ball to go down.

** Add to that, the typically 2 of 3 from the foul line type team that the Yellow Jackets are turned in a brilliant 90% effort, and a sub .500 ACC season for the Panthers is now all but assured.

** For the last two months, since the Panthers started 3-0 in conference, it seems like it’s always something.

** I suppose that’s what happens when you aren’t a very good team.

** Like all other Panther fans, I’ve tossed enough vitriol at our Head Coach, so adding to it now doesn’t seem to serve much purpose.

** Still, I am left to wonder just exactly what it was in South Bend that our Bosnian guy did to earn Jeff’s displeasure. Seems like it’s something.

** So this pains me to say, but I’ve now reached the point where I want this season to end.

** So I’ll be watching the Louisville game on Saturday as I always do. And since it's on Saturday night, I know I’ll be doing it while enjoying some adult beverages.

** But since it's an away game, I don’t expect my consumption superstition to have an impact on the game. Instead, this could be the only way I can watch what I expect to be a troublesome outcome. I doubt I'm the only one.

** Nonetheless, Hail to Pitt!

Is there a possibility that Pitt could be one of the odd teams out for going to the ACCT if they lose the next three games? I know that UM is out for sure, but looking at the reminding schedules of the teams below us in the current standings, I think there is. NC State and BC would have the tie breaker over us if we all had the same record, as would FSU, ND, and UVA. Pitt has the leg up over VaTech, Cal, and Syr

What a fitting end to the season if THAT happens

This is from this afternoon in Point Breeze. I can't imagine how fast someone had to be going to accomplish this. And how do you go that fast on residential streets??

As I sit here absolutely disgusted by Jaland Lowe's regression this season, I was thinking to myself that he's having the worst high volume shooting season that I can ever recall from behind the arch since I became a Pitt fan during the 2000-01 season. I decided to take a look and it's true, outside of one other similar output (I was surprised).

Jaland is 2-9 tonight from 3 and now shooting 27.4% for the season (37 - 135). There has not been another single Pitt player this century to shoot over 130 3's in a season at under 30%.

Trivia question:
Pitt has had 5 players shoot over 100 3's in a season at under 30% this century. Who are they?

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I don’t even care that the usually OT fanboys will drag this thread down. I’m hype.

It’s time.

Seems like every year there is a player or two in the draft that seem destined to be Steelers: Najee, Pickett, Benton, JPJ, Frazier.

This year it seems like Azareyeh Thomas is the guy. If they can nab him in the 2nd or 3rd that would be sweet. His one knock is his speed so it’ll be interesting to see how he runs in Indy. If he beats expectations he probably doesn’t fall that far.

I’m guessing Egbuka or Burden is their pick at 21 if either is still on the board. Wouldn’t be surprised if they double dip at WR.

DL is the strength of this draft class, so maybe they can wait there. But I think Philly proved the wisdom of investing in the DL and I still think PGH leans that way at 21, unless one of those WRs falls. I’ve seen “experts” predicting Nolan from Ole Miss. Harmon from Oregon is another kid that seems like a fit and could slot there.

You gotta wonder what goes on in practices.
They must not spend enough time on rebounding. GeoTech’s defense was much more active pressuring the ball. Nothing will change as long as JC is there which is probably a few more years.

Barnes started it. Heather finished off Pitt Basketball. 2 worst AD's in Pitt history.

2 unnecessary years with Stallings

7 years and 1 NCAAT with Capel + a lame duck year next year where we will be lucky if we make the ACC Tournament with a roster full of low dollar transfers as I'd imagine the NIL donors will take the year off and save up for the next coach.

10 frigging years of terrible mismanagement. Could have hired guys like Cronin, Miller, Oats, Hurley (though would have had to overpay quite a bit for Oats and Hurley).

Someone who has won at a lower level and is familiar with the area.

Jerrod Calhoun is the answer.

Another slow start put Pitt in a hole that the Panthers couldn’t climb out of Tuesday night, and they left the penultimate home game of the season with a 73-67 loss to Georgia Tech.

The teams: Pitt (16-12, 7-10 ACC) vs. Georgia Tech (14-14, 8-9 ACC)

Top performers
Jaland Lowe - 25 points, 7/21 FG, 2/9 3 FG, 9/10 FT, 8 assists, 2 turnovers
Ishmael Leggett - 20 points, 5/14 FG, 3/6 3FG, 7/8 FT
Duncan Powell (GT) - 26 points, 8/15 FG, 6/10 3FG, 4/4 FT
Lance Terry (GT) - 20 points, 6/14 FG, 2/9 3FG, 6/7 FT
Baye Ndongo (GT) - 11 points, 17 rebounds

Storylines

A chance at the end
Pitt trailed for virtually the entire first half and most of the second half before a Brandin Cummings three with 5:34 to go gave the Panthers their first lead.

After that, Pitt kept the score within four points and had a chance to win in the final minute, but a series of misfortunes befell the Panthers. After Jaland Lowe hit a three to tie the game at 67-67 with 1:14 left, Cummings committed a foul to give Georgia Tech two points and the lead. Back on the offensive end, Lowe drove to the basket and kicked out to Zack Austin, who missed a three.

Lowe grabbed the offensive rebound, though and kicked to Ishmael Leggett, who had a clear path to the basket. But the senior guard had a rare miss from close range, Georgia Tech collected the rebound and Yellow Jackets guard Lance Terry converted to put the lead to four.

Pitt even had one more opportunity in the final 20 seconds - four opportunities, actually. After Terry’s layup, Leggett and Lowe missed back-to-back three-point attempts, Austin missed a layup and Lowe missed one more three to seal the loss.

Duncan goes off
In every game, it seems there is a player who scores well above his season averages against Pitt, and that was certainly the case on Tuesday night. This time, it was Georgia Tech forward Duncan Powell, who averaged 10.7 points and 1.2 made three-pointers per game in the Yellow Jackets’s first 27 contests. Against Pitt on Tuesday night, Duncan scored a career-high 26 points, made a career-high six three-pointers (his previous high was three) and was generally unstoppable, including on his two converted three-and-1s.

First-half deficit
As per usual, Pitt fell behind in the first half Tuesday night. The Panthers scored the first points of the game with two free throws by Ishmael Leggett, but Georgia Tech scored two quick baskets to get ahead and never trailed again until Cummings drained a three to give Pitt a one-point lead with 5:34 left in the game.

The biggest lead of the game came when GT guard Lance Terry drained a three at the 11:13 mark of the first half. That gave the Yellow Jackets a 12-point advantage, marking the ninth time in 17 ACC games that Pitt has trailed by double digits in the first half.

Bench usage
In Saturday’s loss at Notre Dame, Jeff Capel made very little use of his bench. Freshmen Brandin Cummings and Amsal Delalic were the only reserves to see the court; Cummings logged 10 minutes and Delalic played three.

The bench got a lot more time on Tuesday night. In fact, the reserves - in this case Cummings and Jorge Diaz Graham - saw 16 minutes in the first half alone. And while Delalic didn’t play against Georgia Tech, Cummings finished with three points on 1-of-3 shooting in 22 minutes of playing time.

Cummings’ three points actually stood as the only bench points in the game; Georgia Tech’s reserves combined to play 36 minutes but took just one shot (and missed it).

Shutting down the lineup
Lowe scored 25 points, Leggett had 20 and Cam Corhen put up 12 on Tuesday night, but perhaps the most impactful stats came from the players who didn’t produce.

Austin, for instance, scored four points on 1-of-9 shooting and 1-of-7 from three. And Guillermo Diaz Graham scored three points on 1-of-4 shooting (with all of his shots from beyond the arc).

Georgia Tech coach Damon Stoudamire said after the game that preventing Austin and Diaz Graham from producing was key to the Yellow Jackets’ victory.

More rebounding issues
As Capel acknowledged after the game, Pitt has not been a good rebounding team all season, and that continued Tuesday night when the Panthers were out-rebounded 37-27 by a Georgia Tech team that has been more or less dead even with its opponents on the glass this year.

The low light of Pitt’s rebounding efforts on Tuesday night came from Corhen, who had just two rebounds; both of those were in the second half.

In the meantime, Georgia Tech grabbed 11 offensive rebounds and turned them into 17 second-chance points. Pitt actually had 10 offensive boards, but was only able to get two points out of them.

A long end
After each team had five fouls called in the first half, the referees fired up their whistles in the second half. All told, Pitt and Georgia Tech were called for 27 fouls after halftime - 12 on GT and 17 on Pitt - leading to 42 free throws and an interminably long second half. Those free throws also accounted for 36 of the 75 points scored in the second half.

Up next
Tuesday night’s loss dropped Pitt to 16-12 overall and 7-10 in the ACC. On Saturday, the Panthers will travel to Louisville to face the Cardinals, who entered Tuesday night’s game at Virginia Tech with a 21-6 overall record and a 14-2 mark in the ACC.

** My bad.

** I’ll take the blame for this loss.

** Driving home, it occurred to me that we have won every home ACC game when I’ve enjoyed a pre game adult beverage or two, and tonight I stayed dry.

** Come to think of it, I didn’t have a beverage for the Miami home game with the 12 noon start, but since I enjoyed a few adult beverages the night prior, I may have had a tiny twinge of a hangover. So that counts.

** Unfortunately tonight, as they have for most ACC games, the Panthers came out like they were sporting a hangover.

** Because of that, this season falls even deeper into a drunken mess.

** Actually, at this point, my per game adult beverage consumption theory makes as much sense to me as any in regards to what has happened to this team this season.

** Sure, there are consistencies. Our rebounding remains woeful, which leads to its own share of issues.

** And for much of this game, our defense was inept as usual.

** The switch to zone did indeed enable the Panthers to get back into the contest and even take the lead. But really, should we really need the aid of a matchup zone to give us a chance to win against a 14-14 team at home? I guess so.

** Nonetheless, this night, more than anything else, we were done in by substandard shooting, both from deep, and also critical misses from in close.

** First on that list was the usually reliable senior Zack, who for the second game in a row struggled getting the ball to go down.

** Add to that, the typically 2 of 3 from the foul line type team that the Yellow Jackets are turned in a brilliant 90% effort, and a sub .500 ACC season for the Panthers is now all but assured.

** For the last two months, since the Panthers started 3-0 in conference, it seems like it’s always something.

** I suppose that’s what happens when you aren’t a very good team.

** Like all other Panther fans, I’ve tossed enough vitriol at our Head Coach, so adding to it now doesn’t seem to serve much purpose.

** Still, I am left to wonder just exactly what it was in South Bend that our Bosnian guy did to earn Jeff’s displeasure. Seems like it’s something.

** So this pains me to say, but I’ve now reached the point where I want this season to end.

** So I’ll be watching the Louisville game on Saturday as I always do. And since it's on Saturday night, I know I’ll be doing it while enjoying some adult beverages.

** But since it's an away game, I don’t expect my consumption superstition to have an impact on the game. Instead, this could be the only way I can watch what I expect to be a troublesome outcome. I doubt I'm the only one.

** Nonetheless, Hail to Pitt!

Here's video of Jeff Capel's post-game press conference from tonight.

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And he held Ndongo under 20 rebounds. Only 17.

I am wondering under what circumstances you would actually take Corhen back next season. Like let's say he absolutely loves it here and desperately wanted to come back, I guess I would for $0 NIL and let him know that he will play 5-10 MPG in a backup role. He is very possibly the worst rebounding big in Pitt history. And he is a below average defender. What a miss!!!

Do we make it 18 straight P5 games of trailing by at least 6, 17/18 trailing by at least 8, and 16/18 trailing by at least 8 in the 1st Half?

If you want to experience this in person and own at least 2 American Dollars, you are in luck because that's the price they are going for. This is exactly why I am not renewing my season tickets. It's not about the team or Capel. Demand is at an all-time low, even counting the 0-19 team. I'm just going to get the whole season on Stubhub next year for $20

Wow.

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Anyone have a particular passion for any of the movies that have been nominated for Best Picture? I've seen many of them except for The Brutalist (left the theater close to my home before I got a chance to go), The Nickel Boys (probably will watch this weekend) and that one that no one cares about, I'm Still Here, which I doubt I'll ever see.

I started trying to watch as many of the best picture nominees that I can every year to expand my horizons beyond just the popular blockbuster type movies and have really enjoyed some that I didn't think I would, like Barbie and Maestro last year.

I liked most of the movies this year with the exception of The Substance, which I thought was terrible. The performances were great. But the story was not good.

Anora & Conclave were my favorites. Anora was totally not what I expected. One part pretty woman, one part Eastern Promises, one part The Hangover. Seriously. The russian kid and the mobsters were hilarious. But the movie had heart and depth. Not sure if it is Best Picture worthy, although I didn't think Everything, Everywhere All At Once was even watchable and it won.

Conclave was just good old fashioned drama and intrigue. Not sure how realistic it was, but a pretty cool subject and very well done. I can understand how some Catholics wouldn't like it. But I really enjoyed it.

So, out of the 7 that I saw, my vote would go to Conclave. Really hope to find a way to watch The Brutalist at a reasonable price before Sunday as well. But that isn't looking like it will happen. If it wins, I'll watch it once it streams on one of the services I have.

This hire was an unmitigated disaster from the beginning.

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Nm.

You have to think Greene pulls the trigger and sacks him. Yeah, it's alot of money but there is nothing positive right now about this program and it could get quite ugly next season.

Thats all. If they find a way to fire Jeff, thats my pick. Hail to Pitt

He's not awful by any stretch, but it cracks me up how he pronounces Leggett's name with a fancy French dialect.

And I'm Jerry Cougar Mellencamp.

This tweet is funny, this JBR dude loves Pitt for some reason.

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