Interesting ACC results tonight.

[DC_Area_Panther]

Wake beat NC State at Wake 71-67.
UVA destroyed VA Tech 81-59
N Dame in a Dog Fight with UNC at UNC by a point or two until UNC finally pulled out the win by 6 over the last 5 minutes or so.

It ismostly a cautionary tale--we shouldn't get too pumped up and expect more than 5-6 total wins or we might get very disappointed. The ACC on the road is extremely difficult and some teams expected to be bad aren't nearly as bad as expected--especially at home.

Yes we may do better than expected before beating Louisville and FSU at home, but it won't be as guaranteed as some seem to now believe to win more than 3-4 more games.

 

[Smitch8989]

The only teams that I can't see pitt beating are UVA and Duke..other than that they could lose to any other team but they can also beat every other team

 

[DiehardPanther]

Wake beat NC State at Wake 71-67.
UVA destroyed VA Tech 81-59
N Dame in a Dog Fight with UNC at UNC.

It is mostly a cautionary tale--we shouldn't get too pumped up and expect more than 5-6 wins or we might get disappointed. The ACC on the road is extremely difficult and some teams expected to be bad aren't nearly as bad as expected--especially at home.

We were predicted to be in the last place, so anywhere but the bottom is a step in the right direction.

 

[DC_Area_Panther]

The only teams that I can't see pitt beating are UVA and Duke..other than that they could lose to any other team but they can also beat every other team

Don't disagree but it isn't a 50-50 likelihood vs those opponents. In most of those games it will be an upset if we win. We are unlikely to be favored on game day in more than 2-3 of our remaining games.

 

[pittbb80]

Pitt can beat just about anyone and lose to just about anyone. Not much different for any ACC team

Hope for the best. But enjoy the process regardless of the results. Every win froM Here out is gravy boys and girls

 

[jfk6668]

This season is about growth, and getting a few big wins to energize our players and excite some recruits....

As of today we have a chance to play in the tournament, one game at a time

But you're definitely right, road wins are looking really tough to come by.....Fortunately I don't think our freshman know they're not supposed to win road games

The one thing I think we should keep in mind is we are built to be in every game.....we play relentless defense and we get to the line.....

 

[TIGER-PAUL]

yep, long way to go and ACC a meat grinder. My worry Pitt has little depth. McGowen and Johnson played 38, 36m last game.

 

[DC_Area_Panther]

yep, long way to go and ACC a meat grinder. My worry Pitt has little depth. McGowen and Johnson played 38, 36m last game.

As long as they remain healthy the minutes shouldn't be a problem for the young guys. Some NBA players play 40 or more minutes every game.

 

[Jeffburgh]

So far what has struck me is how deep these top half teams the Panthers have played are. That to me makes it really tough for a team as shallow as the Panthers are to beat them on the road.

The other factor is the two day turnaround from Saturday to Monday games - you can see how they are flatter on the Monday games, and how much HCJC relies on the zone to protect X and Tre.

Put those two factors together, and it isn't a surprise that their upsets came on Mondays at home - that seems the sweet spot to knock off the teams that have a real overall talent edge on them. The home court advantage on the two day turnaround helps to smooth out the talent edge.

We have seen enough now with how great of a job HCJC and his staff are doing, and the sheer talent and competitiveness of X and Tre, that I am hoping to see them take advantage and get wins against the lower half teams at home regardless of when it is, and maybe pull out a road game against them somewhere along the lines, and maybe be able to get some other upset wins against top half teams at home if things line up right.

 

[DC_Area_Panther]

S

So far what has struck me is how deep these top half teams the Panthers have played are. That to me makes it really tough for a team as shallow as the Panthers are to beat them on the road.

The other factor is the two day turnaround from Saturday to Monday games - you can see how they are flatter on the Monday games, and how much HCJC relies on the zone to protect X and Tre.

Put those two factors together, and it isn't a surprise that their upsets came on Mondays at home - that seems the sweet spot to knock off the teams that have a real overall talent edge on them. The home court advantage on the two day turnaround helps to smooth out the talent edge.

We have seen enough now with how great of a job HCJC and his staff are doing, and the sheer talent and competitiveness of X and Tre, that I am hoping to see them take advantage and get wins against the lower half teams at home regardless of when it is, and maybe pull out a road game against them somewhere along the lines, and maybe be able to get some other upset wins against top half teams at home if things line up right.

" . . . I am hoping to see them take advantage and get wins against the lower half teams at home regardless of when it is, and maybe pull out a road game against them somewhere along the lines, and maybe be able to get some other upset wins against top half teams at home if things line up right."

So am I--but, it will be difficult. Just trying to enjoy the grit and the effort game by game while resisting the temptation to ratchet up my expectations for enough wins to make the NIT or better. If that happens, fine. If it doesn't, given the effort and good coaching, that will be fine also.

 

[plcp]

As long as they remain healthy the minutes shouldn't be a problem for the young guys. Some NBA players play 40 or more minutes every game.

I don't think NBA players exert as much energy as these fresh.

 

[Delpanther]

Every game will be a dog fight. How many games Pitt wins will depend on how much productivity they get from JWF, Brown, Ellison and N'Dir. If these guys can complement the core and generate some offense, Pitt could very well win-6-8 games.

 

[Jeffburgh]

S


" . . . I am hoping to see them take advantage and get wins against the lower half teams at home regardless of when it is, and maybe pull out a road game against them somewhere along the lines, and maybe be able to get some other upset wins against top half teams at home if things line up right."

So am I--but, it will be difficult. Just trying to enjoy the grit and the effort game by game while resisting the temptation to ratchet up my expectations for enough wins to make the NIT or better. If that happens, fine. If it doesn't, given the effort and good coaching, that will be fine also.

I am a fairly pragmatic guy and can adjust to the conditions on the ground. So, I am fairly confident it will play out this way for the most part. But, I also get what you are saying and can adjust my expectations if the frosh hit a bit of a wall in the next two months.

 

[DC_Area_Panther]

I don't think NBA players exert as much energy as these fresh.

You may be correct on the game day exertion level, since the NBA guys play 3-4 times the number of games in a season (exhibition through playoffs) so that a typical regular season NBA game gets to be like taking your lunch bucket to another day on the job. On the other hand, the college season is so much shorter and these guys aren't yet even 20 years old so I think they can handle over 30 minutes a game. A greater concern is probably getting in foul trouble considering our lack of depth.

 

[wbrpanther]

Don't disagree but it isn't a 50-50 likelihood vs those opponents. In most of those games it will be an upset if we win. We are unlikely to be favored on game day in more than 2-3 of our remaining games.

With 14 games left, 6 at home, I definitely can see us getting to 7 wins. That's a 5-9 record going forward. Very doable, even in a tough league. Don't be surprised if we do better than that.

 

[DC_Area_Panther]

With 14 games left, 6 at home, I definitely can see us getting to 7 wins. That's a 5-9 record going forward. Very doable, even in a tough league. Don't be surprised if we do better than that.

That would be nice and its not beyond the realm of posiblilities. However, I am not counting on it unless or until it actually happens.

ESPN Power Ratings now has Pitt favored in 3-games and overall (counting upsets) 4 games. Sagarin's "Recent" games ratings are the most favorable predicting 7 more wins (4 hoe and 3 away).

I think most of our most enthusiastic fans are counting on the later level of play reflected by the Sagarin "Recent" ratings to continue to the end of the season. The regular (entire body of work) Sagarin ratings appear (without looking at the math) to predict similar results to the ESPN Power Ratings.

Certainly hope the Sagarin "Recent" ratings trend can be maintained.