The next 4 games will define this team and the season

[Sean Miller Fan]

4 games, 3 at home vs teams who wont make, or come close to making the NCAAT. In fact, its likely none will make the NIT. We have debated how much or if this team has improved from last season. Some have said all you have to do is look at their record and nothing else matters such as strength of schedule. To give you an idea why that's incorrect, last year we played 6 NCAAT teams in our 9 home games. We beat 2 of them. Of the 3 non-NCAAT teams we played, we beat 1 (ND) and lost to 2 that nearly made the NCAAT (NC St, Clemson). The home schedule was extremely tough. We played the best teams at home and the worst teams on the road. This year, its basically flipped.

If this team can really say its improved, its critical to come out 3-1. 4-0 puts us back on the fringes of the bubble. 2-2 would be tolerable I guess. 1-3 would be an abject failure.

 

[DT_PITT]

4 games, 3 at home vs teams who wont make, or come close to making the NCAAT. In fact, its likely none will make the NIT. We have debated how much or if this team has improved from last season. Some have said all you have to do is look at their record and nothing else matters such as strength of schedule. To give you an idea why that's incorrect, last year we played 6 NCAAT teams in our 9 home games. We beat 2 of them. Of the 3 non-NCAAT teams we played, we beat 1 (ND) and lost to 2 that nearly made the NCAAT (NC St, Clemson). The home schedule was extremely tough. We played the best teams at home and the worst teams on the road. This year, its basically flipped.

If this team can really say its improved, its critical to come out 3-1. 4-0 puts us back on the fringes of the bubble. 2-2 would be tolerable I guess. 1-3 would be an abject failure.

Even the 5th game in this stretch … at Virginia Tech … is at least winnable. The game after -- at Florida State I'm not counting as winnable.

I'm looking for at least 3-2 in the next five.

 

[Sean Miller Fan]

Even the 5th game in this stretch … at Virginia Tech … is at least winnable. The game after -- at Florida State I'm not counting as winnable.

I'm looking for at least 3-2 in the next five.

It is but I consider VT to be a step above the other 4. They are a possible NCAAT team and its on the road.

 

[Pitt2006]

Well we have a better non-conference win in Top 25 Rutgers this year than last year, so there is that. Whereas the league may be down, we still have a young team. It is not like we are 4-6 against bad competition with a senior team. I am pleased so far this year.

 

[Sean Miller Fan]

Well we have a better non-conference win in Top 25 Rutgers this year than last year, so there is that. Whereas the league may be down, we still have a young team. It is not like we are 4-6 against bad competition with a senior team. I am pleased so far this year.

I refuse to believe Rutgers is good. I'm sorry. I know their NET is ridiculous and they are winning games but to me, they are garbage. They have 3 players and I wouldn't even say are better than us, talent-wise. I dont know how they are doing it.

Even if we count Rutgers as a great win that plus opening night FSU arent as good of wins as FSU + Louisville last year.

 

[DT_PITT]

It is but I consider VT to be a step above the other 4. They are a possible NCAAT team and its on the road.

Don't disagree … but I do still see that game as at least possibly winnable.

 

[HOF Coach]

It is time to put it together this season and win most of the remaining games.

I love that HCJC basically said the same thing in his post-game media conference after the Duke game when he said getting patted on the back for being close is no longer good enough...we have to start winning those games.

1. We know that X and Trey can be proven difference makers...when they play smart.

2. Justin has proven that he can be effective scorer, both inside and outside, and can rebound well.

3. Au'Diese has found his offensive game and can defend against the best the ACC has to offer.

4. Ryan has had his moments. However, with Justin's and Au'diese's emergence, Pitt no longer needs him to be the 3rd offensive option. Perhaps he can settle into a role where he can busts zones and not try to do more than he is capable of. Never forget though, Ryan took and made the final shot to win a game. Maybe, lightning can strike twice in an important game down the stretch.

5. Center by committee is all I got. Ride the guy who is playing the best that night, just like HCJC did against Duke with Coulibaly.

The keys, moving forward, are:
1. Play great defensive and be difficult to score against

2. Create turnovers that lead to easy transition baskets. Pitt can be better at this, given their athletic abilities

3. Limit the opponents to one shot and limit second or third chances to score.

4. SHARE the basketball on offense so that everybody can contribute. Make your teammates better players by setting them up for easy baskets, instead of trying to do it all yourself. In return, they will do the same for you.

H2P

 

[Straight Eye Larry]

I refuse to believe Rutgers is good. I'm sorry. I know their NET is ridiculous and they are winning games but to me, they are garbage. They have 3 players and I wouldn't even say are better than us, talent-wise. I dont know how they are doing it.

Even if we count Rutgers as a great win that plus opening night FSU arent as good of wins as FSU + Louisville last year.

you used NET against me an argument last week but now have different thoughts about it? Stay consistent at least.

 

[DT_PITT]

It is time to put it together this season and win most of the remaining games.

1. We know that X and Trey can be proven difference makers...when they play smart.

2. Justin has proven that he can be effective scorer, both inside and outside, and can rebound well.

3. Au'Diese has found his offensive game and can defend against the best the ACC has to offer.

4. Ryan has had his moments. However, with Justin's and Au'diese's emergence, Pitt no longer needs him to be the 3rd offensive option. Perhaps he can settle into a role where he can busts zones and not try to do more than he is capable of. Never forget though, Ryan took and made the final shot to win a game. Maybe, lightning can strike twice in an important game down the stretch.

5. Center by committee is all I got. Ride the guy who is playing the best that night, just like HCJC did against Duke with Coulibaly.

The keys, moving forward, are:
1. Play great defensive and be difficult to score against
2. Create turnovers that lead to easy transition baskets. Pitt can be better at this, given their athletic abilities

3. Limit the opponents to one shot and limit second or third chances to score.

4. SHARE the basketball on offense so that everybody can contribute. Make your teammates better players by setting them up for easy baskets, instead of trying to do it all yourself. In return, they will do the same for you.

H2P

On the keys, #1 is not complicated for us to write, but much more difficult to accomplish. We already do well with turnovers, and our FG% defense and 3pt% defense are kinda in the middle of the pack for the league. Doing better to limit second and third opportunities seems like our best chance at improvement.

 

[Pitt2006]

How is FSU this year not as good as last year? They are like top 10 this year, lol. And we basically replicated a home win in OT against UL, which should have occurred in regulation this year. This year has been better. Beating UNC twice is awesome. They recruit far superior talent. They may not have had all their pieces, but still on paper they should have beat us.

 

[PittMan 72]

you used NET against me an argument last week but now have different thoughts about it? Stay consistent at least.

You're forgetting the mantra of the "faux fans":

If Pitt loses, Pitt sucks

If Pitt wins, the other team sucks

Keeping that in mind w/r/t responding to certain posters and their posts can make things a little more understandable.

 

[FieldHouse12]

Not too optimistic to tell ya the truth .
It would be nice to not shoot ice cold to start the next game and not start in a ten point deficit for a change.
Wonder why this keeps on happening ...

 

[Straight Eye Larry]

Not too optimistic to tell ya the truth .
It would be nice to not shoot ice cold to start the next game and not start in a ten point deficit for a change.
Wonder why this keeps on happening ...

super young team. super inconsistent. they show flashes, but in the next year or two those flashes will be how they play most of the time.

 

[PittMan 72]

On the keys, #1 is not complicated for us to write, but much more difficult to accomplish. We already do well with turnovers, and our FG% defense and 3pt% defense are kinda in the middle of the pack for the league. Doing better to limit second and third opportunities seems like our best chance at improvement.

Doing the above and also:

Pitt needs to convert/finish their OWN 2nd & 3rd chance opportunities when they get them

Pitt needs to get to the FT line more often than the opponent; then make a very high %age of those FT's

 

[Sean Miller Fan]

How is FSU this year not as good as last year? They are like top 10 this year, lol. And we basically replicated a home win in OT against UL, which should have occurred in regulation this year. This year has been better. Beating UNC twice is awesome. They recruit far superior talent. They may not have had all their pieces, but still on paper they should have beat us.

FSU last year and FSU this year are similar wins. I consider's last year's to be better because FSU had a veteran team which was in mid-season stride. This year, they had 4 new starters and we got them on opening night when no team is at their best including us.

 

[JD1976]

FSU last year and FSU this year are similar wins. I consider's last year's to be better because FSU had a veteran team which was in mid-season stride. This year, they had 4 new starters and we got them on opening night when no team is at their best including us.

Last year we got FSU less than 48 hours after they lost a heartbreaker at home to Duke so you could argue we caught them in favorable situations both years. Not to diminish the results though... both are fantastic wins that will be looked back upon as key bricks in Capel's foundation if this program returns to prominence in the next 2-3 years.

 

[JS School]

4 games, 3 at home vs teams who wont make, or come close to making the NCAAT. In fact, its likely none will make the NIT. We have debated how much or if this team has improved from last season. Some have said all you have to do is look at their record and nothing else matters such as strength of schedule. To give you an idea why that's incorrect, last year we played 6 NCAAT teams in our 9 home games. We beat 2 of them. Of the 3 non-NCAAT teams we played, we beat 1 (ND) and lost to 2 that nearly made the NCAAT (NC St, Clemson). The home schedule was extremely tough. We played the best teams at home and the worst teams on the road. This year, its basically flipped.

If this team can really say its improved, its critical to come out 3-1. 4-0 puts us back on the fringes of the bubble. 2-2 would be tolerable I guess. 1-3 would be an abject failure.

Let's get this straight. You are criticizing people who judge the season by a team's overall record, but you are going to judge the season by their record over 4 games?

I wait until the end of the season to see what their record is, and judge them by that. I'm not smart enough to do anything else.

 

[Tonyt66]

Now even though I think these next stretch of games we need to come out of them winning 3 to 4 out of 5. I truly believe that we will because I'm more of a guy that looks at the glass half-full instead he have empty and negativity is never in my DNA but if we lose we will fight hard because of our coach and there is help on the way to get us better in the next year or two . In these next few game I really need coach to change his strategy a little meaning when we get down to the last five minutes of the game and whether we are up by a few points or losing by a few points he has to please stop putting the ball solely in the hands of X or Trey and trust them to do the right thing because they're just not there yet so I would say still run offense that got you there stop slowing the ball down to the last seven seconds and think Trey or X will create and make the right play there hero ego takes over and they have proven 90% of the time they will take a wild and crazy shot and we end up losing more times than not. IMO!
Just some thoughts!!!

 

[below0w]

My predictions:

We'll beat Miami, GT and Clemson.

We'll lose to Notre Dame.

The game against Landers Nolley Tech is a push. If we can slow Landers Nolley down, we'll surely beat Landers Nolley Tech. If Landers Nolley is too much to handle, then I suspect we'll lose to Landers Nolley Tech.

3-2 wouldn't be a disaster, 4-1 and we're in great shape.

 

[Sean Miller Fan]

Let's get this straight. You are criticizing people who judge the season by a team's overall record, but you are going to judge the season by their record over 4 games?

I wait until the end of the season to see what their record is, and judge them by that. I'm not smart enough to do anything else.

It is extremely to foolish to just look at overall record to judge a season. As I said, this is the weakest the ACC has ever been. Last year, 9 of our 18 games were vs NCAAT teams and we played the bottom 5 teams (besides ND) on the road only making wins extremely hard to come by. Before last season, I posted 0-18 was possible given the difficulty of THAT schedule.

This year's schedule is so much easier. Only 5/20 games vs NCAAT teams and we play all the worst teams (besides ND) at home.

 

[Joe the Panther Fan]

This year's schedule is so much easier.

Last season's Pomeroy strength of schedule: 56
This season's Pomeroy strength of schedule to date: 58

Last season's Sagarin strength of schedule: 57
This season's Sagarin strength of schedule to date: 51

SMF's knowledge of basketball: 0

 

[TIGER-PAUL]

4 games, 3 at home vs teams who wont make, or come close to making the NCAAT. In fact, its likely none will make the NIT. We have debated how much or if this team has improved from last season. Some have said all you have to do is look at their record and nothing else matters such as strength of schedule. To give you an idea why that's incorrect, last year we played 6 NCAAT teams in our 9 home games. We beat 2 of them. Of the 3 non-NCAAT teams we played, we beat 1 (ND) and lost to 2 that nearly made the NCAAT (NC St, Clemson). The home schedule was extremely tough. We played the best teams at home and the worst teams on the road. This year, its basically flipped.

If this team can really say its improved, its critical to come out 3-1. 4-0 puts us back on the fringes of the bubble. 2-2 would be tolerable I guess. 1-3 would be an abject failure.

2-2 will be a challenge.

 

[IamHeisenberg]

No they won’t. Just like every team in every sport, the end of the season defines the team. The Panthers have quite an erratic definition right now. Capable of losing to teams that they probably shouldn’t. Capable of getting down by huge numbers, to even very good teams, and making a comeback to get close.

And even if the definition continues to be wildly erratic, that likely still would mean that they are both better and worse than last seasons in various respects.

I will tell you one thing they are damned entertaining regardless.

 

[Drew1208]

4 games, 3 at home vs teams who wont make, or come close to making the NCAAT. In fact, its likely none will make the NIT. We have debated how much or if this team has improved from last season. Some have said all you have to do is look at their record and nothing else matters such as strength of schedule. To give you an idea why that's incorrect, last year we played 6 NCAAT teams in our 9 home games. We beat 2 of them. Of the 3 non-NCAAT teams we played, we beat 1 (ND) and lost to 2 that nearly made the NCAAT (NC St, Clemson). The home schedule was extremely tough. We played the best teams at home and the worst teams on the road. This year, its basically flipped.

If this team can really say its improved, its critical to come out 3-1. 4-0 puts us back on the fringes of the bubble. 2-2 would be tolerable I guess. 1-3 would be an abject failure.

No.
The season can only be judged by after its over.
I think there's 10 more games to go plus the ACC tourney.
After that is the appropriate time to evaluate.

 

[Sean Miller Fan]

Last season's Pomeroy strength of schedule: 56
This season's Pomeroy strength of schedule to date: 58

Last season's Sagarin strength of schedule: 57
This season's Sagarin strength of schedule to date: 51

SMF's knowledge of basketball: 0

Ummm...I'm talking about conferences games, big guy. It takes common sense to realize this years conference schedule is MUCH easier than last year. In fact, this may be Pitt's weakest conference schedule since their Eastern 8 days.

 

[Bethlehemjohn]

Even the 5th game in this stretch … at Virginia Tech … is at least winnable. The game after -- at Florida State I'm not counting as winnable.

I'm looking for at least 3-2 in the next five.

There is no game the rest of the way that is not winnable. You have to remember that we always play FSU well and we likely will again. Even our Stallings teams had success against FSU. And if you watched Virginia and Kehai Clark constantly isolate themselves against an FSU big on Tuesday without any adjustment by Hamilton, you have to be even more encouraged.

 

[Bethlehemjohn]

I refuse to believe Rutgers is good. I'm sorry. I know their NET is ridiculous and they are winning games but to me, they are garbage. They have 3 players and I wouldn't even say are better than us, talent-wise. I dont know how they are doing it.

Even if we count Rutgers as a great win that plus opening night FSU arent as good of wins as FSU + Louisville last year.

I have been on the Rutgers is not so great train too, but at some point you need to buy in. This RU team reminds me of Howland's first few teams. The sum of the parts is much better than the individuals.

 

[Sean Miller Fan]

I have been on the Rutgers is not so great train too, but at some point you need to buy in. This RU team reminds me of Howland's first few teams. The sum of the parts is much better than the individuals.

Yea because their players are worse than ours. I really dont get it. I didn't even think we played good against them

 

[JS School]

It is extremely to foolish to just look at overall record to judge a season. As I said, this is the weakest the ACC has ever been. Last year, 9 of our 18 games were vs NCAAT teams and we played the bottom 5 teams (besides ND) on the road only making wins extremely hard to come by. Before last season, I posted 0-18 was possible given the difficulty of THAT schedule.

This year's schedule is so much easier. Only 5/20 games vs NCAAT teams and we play all the worst teams (besides ND) at home.

I guess I'm extremely foolish, then. If a team were to finish 14th in their conference last year and 9th this year, I'm going to think they've improved. I'm not going to believe that the entire conference has regressed in comparison to the other 300 some teams in Division 1 to the point that a 9th place finish is no improvement over 14th.

 

[pittchagg]

Yea because their players are worse than ours. I really dont get it. I didn't even think we played good against them

Maybe the difference between the Big Ten and the ACC isn't quite as wide as it's been made out to be?

 

[JohnnyGossamer]

Maybe the difference between the Big Ten and the ACC isn't quite as wide as it's been made out to be?

It's not. College hoops at large is WAY down this season... Especially compared to last season.

 

[Sean Miller Fan]

Maybe the difference between the Big Ten and the ACC isn't quite as wide as it's been made out to be?

I don't think it is and I think we make the NCAAT if we were in the Big Ten but NET says the Big Ten is like the NBA while the ACC is the American and thats all that matters

 

[below0w]

I don't think it is and I think we make the NCAAT if we were in the Big Ten but NET says the Big Ten is like the NBA while the ACC is the American and thats all that matters

I don't care what NET says right now. The top 3 teams in the ACC are comfortably better than any team in the Big Ten. The Big Ten has an advantage in terms of the mid tier teams, but several of them are trending downward and the picture could be completely different by March.