** I wanted so much more tonight.
** In fact, I was almost expecting a win.
** Think about that. Our Panthers who started the ACC season 1-5 have been playing so well that I was almost expecting a win against an NCAA Tournament #1 seed in the ACC Tournament semifinal. I suspect many of you felt the same.
** And our Panthers were nearly up to the task. Hats off to them.
** More than that actually. Our Panthers made us proud. Really proud.
** I just realized however, that I am writing these thoughts this night with the fullest expectation that our name will not be called to the field on Sunday’s Selection Show. And it’s tough to get a full handle on how to feel about that.
** First, knowing what I know about selection criteria and “body of work,” I’ll certainly understand why we more likely won’t be selected.
** And just about all of the teams with whom we were competing for those precious few last spots also won big games. I’ll only have a gripe if a team such as Indiana State gets in and we don’t.
** But I know what Jay Bilas knows along with each and every Pitt fan. In my mind this night, Pitt is absolutely an NCAA Tournament Team. This can still be true even if we don’t make the Tournament.
** I suspect that UNC would say the same thing.
** What was most impressive about our Panthers who were tied with the Tar Heels near the Final TV timeout was that the played toe to toe with the best without our best being their best.
** Our pair who scored 50 the day before managed just 13 for an encore.
** But our Panthers have learned how to play their best as a team. They didn’t know how to do this two months ago. The journey to get where and how they played tonight has been pretty extraordinary.
** More than that though. Overall, our guys have learned how to be the best team they can be. Can we really ask more than this?
** The first half certainly showed that to be the case. With the Tar Heels completely removing Blake from the equation, others took his place.
** Plain and simply, Guillermo played his best half of basketball in his two years as a Panther. Jaland added his game and Austin hit a big shot too.
** And everyone defended well, against a team who is very hard to defend.
** But we took a two point lead to the locker room because Bub was so special.
** The reality for Bub is that he’s had ups and downs this season, just as most freshman do. The only issue is that he set such a high bar for himself from the start that he could only go downward afterward.
** But this night, he was the best that he can be. He scored. He rebounded. He defended. He led.
** This was without a doubt his finest 40 Panther minutes. And I say 40 because he played 40. Would you have taken him out?
** His sidekick Jaland was pretty special also. Can you believe that floater to tie the game at 62?
** They were an amazing pair, but we must realize that UNC has a pretty decent pair in two guys named Davis and Bacot. Even if Bub was the game’s best player, these two combined to make a difference our Panthers could not overcome in those fateful last four minutes.
** So now, all we can do is sit and wait and hope for a wonderful surprise on Sunday.
** But even if that doesn’t come to pass, I’m still glad we will get to watch this Panther Basketball team at least one more time.
** I’ll even try to remember that after the game when the Panthers dropped to 1-5 in the ACC, then I even thought the NIT was out of reach.
** And if I’m sitting at the Pete watching an NIT game, I’ll even try remind myself that before this season started, I thought it was more than a stretch to expect a team who lost all four senior guards to make the NCAA’s.
** Fortunately, Coach Capel restocked the floor with three pretty great guards to take their place. And over the last two days, all three have had some really special moments.
** So however the journey of this season continues, I’m glad it continues.
** Even if we didn’t get all we wanted tonight.
** In fact, I was almost expecting a win.
** Think about that. Our Panthers who started the ACC season 1-5 have been playing so well that I was almost expecting a win against an NCAA Tournament #1 seed in the ACC Tournament semifinal. I suspect many of you felt the same.
** And our Panthers were nearly up to the task. Hats off to them.
** More than that actually. Our Panthers made us proud. Really proud.
** I just realized however, that I am writing these thoughts this night with the fullest expectation that our name will not be called to the field on Sunday’s Selection Show. And it’s tough to get a full handle on how to feel about that.
** First, knowing what I know about selection criteria and “body of work,” I’ll certainly understand why we more likely won’t be selected.
** And just about all of the teams with whom we were competing for those precious few last spots also won big games. I’ll only have a gripe if a team such as Indiana State gets in and we don’t.
** But I know what Jay Bilas knows along with each and every Pitt fan. In my mind this night, Pitt is absolutely an NCAA Tournament Team. This can still be true even if we don’t make the Tournament.
** I suspect that UNC would say the same thing.
** What was most impressive about our Panthers who were tied with the Tar Heels near the Final TV timeout was that the played toe to toe with the best without our best being their best.
** Our pair who scored 50 the day before managed just 13 for an encore.
** But our Panthers have learned how to play their best as a team. They didn’t know how to do this two months ago. The journey to get where and how they played tonight has been pretty extraordinary.
** More than that though. Overall, our guys have learned how to be the best team they can be. Can we really ask more than this?
** The first half certainly showed that to be the case. With the Tar Heels completely removing Blake from the equation, others took his place.
** Plain and simply, Guillermo played his best half of basketball in his two years as a Panther. Jaland added his game and Austin hit a big shot too.
** And everyone defended well, against a team who is very hard to defend.
** But we took a two point lead to the locker room because Bub was so special.
** The reality for Bub is that he’s had ups and downs this season, just as most freshman do. The only issue is that he set such a high bar for himself from the start that he could only go downward afterward.
** But this night, he was the best that he can be. He scored. He rebounded. He defended. He led.
** This was without a doubt his finest 40 Panther minutes. And I say 40 because he played 40. Would you have taken him out?
** His sidekick Jaland was pretty special also. Can you believe that floater to tie the game at 62?
** They were an amazing pair, but we must realize that UNC has a pretty decent pair in two guys named Davis and Bacot. Even if Bub was the game’s best player, these two combined to make a difference our Panthers could not overcome in those fateful last four minutes.
** So now, all we can do is sit and wait and hope for a wonderful surprise on Sunday.
** But even if that doesn’t come to pass, I’m still glad we will get to watch this Panther Basketball team at least one more time.
** I’ll even try to remember that after the game when the Panthers dropped to 1-5 in the ACC, then I even thought the NIT was out of reach.
** And if I’m sitting at the Pete watching an NIT game, I’ll even try remind myself that before this season started, I thought it was more than a stretch to expect a team who lost all four senior guards to make the NCAA’s.
** Fortunately, Coach Capel restocked the floor with three pretty great guards to take their place. And over the last two days, all three have had some really special moments.
** So however the journey of this season continues, I’m glad it continues.
** Even if we didn’t get all we wanted tonight.
