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#16 Minnesota at #2 Nebraska

Nebraska took the match in 4 sets. Point production was close....Nebraska 17 points/set.....Minnesota 15 points/set. Minnesota gave back way too many points....29 attack errors (21 by Nebraska) and 12 service errors (5 by Nebraska). Minnesota only hit .130....but Nebraska wasn't much better at .199. Nebraska's block stood out.....12 to Minnesota's 7. This match could have been won by Minnesota without their terrible error rate.

Perspective

I know the past two games have been disappointing but most of us did not think we would be this successful at this point. I'm definitely getting ahead of myself but how do you feel we will be next season? I haven't been this optimistic about future PITT teams since 2007 when you could see we were going to have something special in the future. QB, RB, LBers all look solid. Narduzzi's secondary is always strong.
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Early Season Lineup Productivity

This is inspired by the Morning Pitt this morning. I subscribe to a site called cbbanalytics.com, which gives you full access to one team (Pitt) with a free membership. One of the most interesting tools on the site is the lineup tool, which tracks the statistics for each individual group of five players that a team uses.

It’s a small sample size with three games and 120 total minutes played, but I think it’s interesting. Here are the four highest usage lineups we have used this year, with their ORTG and DRTG.

1. Lowe, Leggett, Dunn, Guillermo, Corhen (31 minutes) - 119.2 ORTG, 83.8 DRTG (+35.4)

2. Lowe, Leggett, Dunn, Austin, Corhen (14 minutes) - 142.8 ORTG, 48.9 DRTG (+93.8)

3. Lowe, Leggett, Cummings, Austin, Guillermo (9 minutes) - 170 ORTG, 68 DRTG (+102)

4. Leggett, Dunn, Austin, Guillermo, Corhen (8 minutes) - 91.5 ORTG, 77.5 DRTG (+14.1)

A few takeaways:

1. The lineups that have Guillermo and Corhen on the court are not as productive as the lineups that only have one of them on the court. This is true both offensively and defensively.

2. The Lowe, Leggett, Dunn, Austin, Corhen lineup is obnoxiously efficient on both ends of the floor. That’s probably because the group of Leggett, Dunn and Austin has been a 97th percentile trio in college basketball this season (just those three in isolation are 132.8/77.8/+55.1). It’s still early, but I think that will end up being their best lineup this season.

3. Ish Leggett’s numbers have been absurd, and he is operating on a first team all-ACC level early in the season. He is 13/13 in attempts at the rim, his EFG% is 76.6% (94th percentile), he’s taken our toughest defensive assignments (and is in the 100th percentile for defensive win shares) and his advanced stats are pretty much in the very high 90 percentiles across the board. He is on pace to have a special, special year.

4. Zack Austin has also been a stupid good defender. His Hakeem Percentage (the total of a player’s steal rate and block rate) is 16.2%, good for 97th percentile. His block percentage alone is one of the best in college basketball. If he can provide enough offense to stay on the floor, he is a special defender, and is operating at an ACC all-defensive team level right now, if not ACCDPOY.

Just some thoughts as I play around with the lineup tools. Again, it’s a really small sample size and trying to draw too much from lineup data with under 10 total minutes played is going to be pretty faulty. But I think it’s an interesting look - partially because I think it tends to align with the eye test that a lot of us have been talking about.

PSU and IU haven't beaten a Top 40 team and they are 4 and 5

We need to talk about how weak these Big Ten schedules are. The league, in and of itself is as bad as its ever been outside of Oregon and Ohio State. PSU and IU are decent teams but more like 8-4 or 7-5 SEC type teams. Neither plays Oregon and there's not another good team in the league. Its amazing how far beating a bunch of glorified mid-majors can get you. Of course, we lost to one on Saturday.
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Recruiting Update Witherspoon Signs Scholarship Agreement to Join Pitt Basketball Program

Release from Pitt:

PITTSBURGH Omari Witherspoon, a top prospect out of Washington, D.C., signed his scholarship agreement to join the Pitt Men’s Basketball program for the 2025-26 season, head coach Jeff Capel announced Thursday morning.

“Omari is an exciting young player who has made a big jump in his play and in the recruiting rankings in the past year,” said Capel. “He is an intense competitor and versatile guard with the ability to impact the game in a variety of ways. We are excited to have him in our program and look forward to watching him continue to grow and develop.”

Witherspoon, a 6-foot-4 guard out of St. John’s College Prep in D.C., is an attacking combo guard with the ability to score at all three level as well as utilized his size and court vision to set teammates up. Last season, he helped his high school squad to a 25-8 and a top 10 ranking in the state (No. 9), while earning DCSAA First Team Class AA All-State honors. He was also named MVP of the Behan Strong Invitational.

Current Pitt standout Ishmael Leggett also attended St. John’s College Prep.

Witherspoon surged up the recruiting rankings with a strong performance on the AAU and camp circuit this summer. A four-star prospect according to 247 Sports, he jumped from No. 191 in the nation all the way up to No. 104 overall in 247’s summer rankings update.

Last summer on the Under Armor circuit with DC Premier U17, Witherspoon averaged 14.7 points, 4.2 rebounds and 2.9 assists over a 16-game schedule.

Witherspoon held nearly 30 scholarship offers and chose Pitt over a finalist group that included Maryland and Vanderbilt.

Article Film review: Pitt's hits and misses on defense against Virginia

The Pitt defense held Virginia in check for most of the night on Saturday, forcing Anthony Colandrea into two interceptions. However, two third-quarter touchdowns and a late field goal secured the victory for the Cavaliers.

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