Tonight’s title game gives me hope

[HailToPitt725]

Tonight’s title game features two teams vying for their first national championship, one that is known for underperforming in the tournament (Virginia) and another that no one would’ve expected to be here even a year ago (Texas Tech).

We were Virginia at one time and are currently Texas Tech. All you need is a good coach and a little bit of luck. I believe we have that coach.

If they can play for a national championship, why not us?

In Capel we trust and Hail to Pitt!

 

[Protes]

Well, more than a little luck. Virginia easily could have been ousted twice. But I agree. If you have a good team, there's enough parity that if you get hot and lucky, you can make it.

 

[TD_6082]

Tonight’s title game features two teams vying for their first national championship, one that is known for underperforming in the tournament (Virginia) and another that no one would’ve expected to be here even a year ago (Texas Tech).

We were Virginia at one time and are currently Texas Tech. All you need is a good coach and a little bit of luck. I believe we have that coach.

If they can play for a national championship, why not us?

In Capel we trust and Hail to Pitt!

No. We do not have that coach. Far from it. Capel isn't even close to the caliber as Bennett & Beard.

Pitt had a nice run, but let's not short change UVA. Pitt was never quite what Bennett has built at UVA.

 

[Drew1208]

Tonight’s title game features two teams vying for their first national championship, one that is known for underperforming in the tournament (Virginia) and another that no one would’ve expected to be here even a year ago (Texas Tech).

We were Virginia at one time and are currently Texas Tech. All you need is a good coach and a little bit of luck. I believe we have that coach.

If they can play for a national championship, why not us?

In Capel we trust and Hail to Pitt!

Yeah and I think Capel has prioritized defense and shown he can coach it. This tournament has made the argument of how important defense is.
Now it's just about finding the right puzzle pieces.

 

[Sean Miller Fan]

Tonight’s title game features two teams vying for their first national championship, one that is known for underperforming in the tournament (Virginia) and another that no one would’ve expected to be here even a year ago (Texas Tech).

We were Virginia at one time and are currently Texas Tech. All you need is a good coach and a little bit of luck. I believe we have that coach.

If they can play for a national championship, why not us?

In Capel we trust and Hail to Pitt!

The following teams have been to a Final Four since Pitt got really good in 2002

Georgetown
Marquette
Villanova
Butler
Loyola
Gonzaga
UConn
Wichita State
Memphis
WVU
Texas
Texas Tech
Kansas
Oklahoma
Syracuse
Duke
UNC
UVa
Louisville
Georgia Tech
OSU
Mich
MSU
Wisconsin
Indiana
Maryland
Illinois
UCLA
Oregon
Kentucky
South Carolina
LSU
Florida
VCU
George Mason

Probably forgetting a few.

The good programs which HAVEN'T made it since Pitt got good in 2002 are

Pitt
ND
Cincy
Xavier
Purdue
Arizona
Oklahoma State
Arkansas
Tennessee
Washington
USC

It's pretty unbelievable that Pitt didnt reach a Final Four during that stretch, and really only got close once.

 

[recruitsreadtheseboards]

No. We do not have that coach. Far from it. Capel isn't even close to the caliber as Bennett & Beard.

Pitt had a nice run, but let's not short change UVA. Pitt was never quite what Bennett has built at UVA.

I disagree a bit. Pitt was a #1 seed 2 out of 3 years in 2009-11. In between 2003-2011, I would guess Pitt spent as much time in the Top 10 as UVa did in a similar span.

 

[Team_Pitt_Fan]

Better find a few shooters

 

[ThePanthers]

The following teams have been to a Final Four since Pitt got really good in 2002

Georgetown
Marquette
Villanova
Butler
Loyola
Gonzaga
UConn
Wichita State
Memphis
WVU
Texas
Texas Tech
Kansas
Oklahoma
Syracuse
Duke
UNC
UVa
Louisville
Georgia Tech
OSU
Mich
MSU
Wisconsin
Indiana
Maryland
Illinois
UCLA
Oregon
Kentucky
South Carolina
LSU
Florida
VCU
George Mason

Probably forgetting a few.

The good programs which HAVEN'T made it since Pitt got good in 2002 are

Pitt
ND
Cincy
Xavier
Purdue
Arizona
Oklahoma State
Arkansas
Tennessee
Washington
USC

It's pretty unbelievable that Pitt didnt reach a Final Four during that stretch, and really only got close once.

35 teams made it out of a possible 72 opportunities. This is also only 10% of the d1 field as well.

It's pretty difficult.

 

[TD_6082]

Bennett

I disagree a bit. Pitt was a #1 seed 2 out of 3 years in 2009-11. In between 2003-2011, I would guess Pitt spent as much time in the Top 10 as UVa did in a similar span.

Possibly. UVA has 4 ACC titles in the last 6 years, with each of those coming in a 30+ win season. I'd give the edge to UVA, but the programs were comparable.

Obviously tonight he set his program apart.

 

[JohnnyGossamer]

The following teams have been to a Final Four since Pitt got really good in 2002

Georgetown
Marquette
Villanova
Butler
Loyola
Gonzaga
UConn
Wichita State
Memphis
WVU
Texas
Texas Tech
Kansas
Oklahoma
Syracuse
Duke
UNC
UVa
Louisville
Georgia Tech
OSU
Mich
MSU
Wisconsin
Indiana
Maryland
Illinois
UCLA
Oregon
Kentucky
South Carolina
LSU
Florida
VCU
George Mason

Probably forgetting a few.

The good programs which HAVEN'T made it since Pitt got good in 2002 are

Pitt
ND
Cincy
Xavier
Purdue
Arizona
Oklahoma State
Arkansas
Tennessee
Washington
USC

It's pretty unbelievable that Pitt didnt reach a Final Four during that stretch, and really only got close once.

Okie State actually beat Pitt in route to a FF in 2004.

 

[recruitsreadtheseboards]

Bennett


Possibly. UVA has 4 ACC titles in the last 6 years, with each of those coming in a 30+ win season. I'd give the edge to UVA, but the programs were comparable.

Obviously tonight he set his program apart.

Yes absolutely. Watching them well now last night, made me a bit sad, especially for that 2009 team. I think that was our shot.

 

[str61166]

Yes absolutely. Watching them well now last night, made me a bit sad, especially for that 2009 team. I think that was our shot.

Being a Pitt fan - can you imagine seeing everything go their way down the stretch, despite trailing in multiple games with seconds remaining, like what happened with Virginia?

Maybe one day...

 

[DC_Area_Panther]

Being a Pitt fan - can you imagine seeing everything go their way down the stretch, despite trailing in multiple games with seconds remaining, like what happened with Virginia?

Maybe one day...

IMO, the result shows how much luck is really involved. Random made and missed shots by each team in each game and calls correctly or incorrectly made by the officials--and calls missed or ignored by the officials, as well as player injuries, etc., played a huge role.

That being noted, the blue blood teams dependent on reloading yearly with one-and-dones didn't make it to the final four this time. We may never know if that was a one year aberration since the NBA is lowering its age to join the league to 18 from 19 and that will mean going forward that one and done players will become a much more rare phenomenon than in the past.

In the end, this year's tourney big picture (how it went overall--not just who got to and won the final) may have merely been a one time outlier and may not be as predictive of what future tourneys will look like as it appears this morning. But, then again, maybe it will prove predictive, if only by happenstance, given the expected greatly reduced future impact of one and done type players resulting from the NBA rule change on the minimum age to be drafted to play in the league.

 

[thebadby2]

Yeah and I think Capel has prioritized defense and shown he can coach it. This tournament has made the argument of how important defense is.
Now it's just about finding the right puzzle pieces.

This tournament has also emphasized how important having good team perimeter shooting. One or two good shooters ain't enough. You need a few of them.

 

[Pitt79]

Tonight’s title game features two teams vying for their first national championship, one that is known for underperforming in the tournament (Virginia) and another that no one would’ve expected to be here even a year ago (Texas Tech).

We were Virginia at one time and are currently Texas Tech. All you need is a good coach and a little bit of luck. I believe we have that coach.

If they can play for a national championship, why not us?

In Capel we trust and Hail to Pitt!

This is exactly why the NCAA Basketball Tournament is great. And Football, NOT SO MUCH. Because there is always a chance that someone gets a crack at the best teams, and the best teams don't win it all 9 of 10 times like in football. Look at Virginia? Champs this year, making UMBC famous last year. This year, we had VA, Texas Tech, MSU and Auburn... NO Duke, UNC, KY.... That's GREAT, that's not bad, what's bad is like in football, Bama and Clemson EVERY FRIGGIN YEAR! OVER AND OVER AND OVER.

 

[Pitt79]

But we do need some serious knockdown shooters and shot creators. That's what matters most in these tournaments.

 

[Drew1208]

This tournament has also emphasized how important having good team perimeter shooting. One or two good shooters ain't enough. You need a few of them.

Yeah definitely.