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Pittsburgh Panthers

5wide

By 5wide
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5wide

5wide

Posted
Posted

I've seen this song and dance from Pittsburgh for virtually the entire decade.

 

Check this out...

 

'01-02 - They started 14-1 and was 17-3 in their first 20 games. Their highest ranking was #7. They entered the tourny as a #3 and lost in the Sweet 16 to Kent State. Finished at 27-5.

 

'02-03 - Started 15-1...17-3 through 20 games...highest ranking was #2...entered tourny as a #2 and lost in Sweet 16 to Marquette. Finished at 28-5.

 

'03-04 - Started 22-1...19-1 through 20 games...highest ranking was #3...entered tourny as a #3 and lost in Sweet 16 to Oklahoma State. Finished 31-5.

 

'04-05 - Started 10-1...16-4 through 20 games...highest ranking was #7....entered tourny as a #9 and lost in first round to Pacific. Finished 20-9.

 

'05-06 - Started 17-1...17-3 through 20 games...highest ranking was #8....entered tourny as a #5 and lost to Bradley in the second round. Finished 25-8.

 

'06-07 - Started 10-1...17-3 through 20 games...highest ranking was #2...entered tourny as a #3 and lost to UCLA in Sweet 16. Finished 29-8.

 

'07-08 - Started 12-1....16-4 through 20 games...highest ranking was #6...entered tourny as a #4 and lost to Michigan State in the second round. Finished 27-10.

 

'08-09 - Started 17-1....highest ranking #1....??????????????

 

 

So, after a decade of fast starts, high rankings and nothing better than a Sweet 16 appearance to show for it, is there any reason I should expect this Pittsburgh team to be a legit threat to win the whole tournament? I'm sure they're good. And deserving of their ranking. But, they had some really good teams in the past that deserved to be rated high...teams that I thought would make some serious noise come tournament time. But, every year, without fail, they fade a little down the stretch and lose early in the tournament.

 

Why will this year be different?

5wide

5wide

Posted
  • Author
Posted
I made this argument about a week ago. I still am not sold on Pitt. They will win a lot of games and falter come March. Nothing new.

 

Good Post, 5.

 

:thumb:

 

Forgive me...I haven't ventured into this forum a whole lot up to this point.

 

But, like you, I can't take them serious until they actually finish the way they start. Same ol' same ol' from Pitt, IMO.

Latch

Latch

Posted
Posted

I've never thought they were athletic enough to win the title and nothing about this years edition changes my mind. I do however see them as a threat to win 4 games in the tourney.

gametime

gametime

Posted
Posted

They have a phenomenal top 3 players, but the rest of the roster leaves some room for concern. I honestly think they place too much time and effort on winning the BE Tournament, and are often spent by the time the Big Dance gets rolling...

5wide

5wide

Posted
  • Author
Posted

^I haven't seen them play this year. But, they've had a few teams this decade that I thought were capable of making a serious run in the tournament. Yet, they can't seem to do it. They always play their best ball November thru January...

formerkywrestler

formerkywrestler

Posted
Posted
I've seen this song and dance from Pittsburgh for virtually the entire decade.

 

Check this out...

 

'01-02 - They started 14-1 and was 17-3 in their first 20 games. Their highest ranking was #7. They entered the tourny as a #3 and lost in the Sweet 16 to Kent State. Finished at 27-5.

 

'02-03 - Started 15-1...17-3 through 20 games...highest ranking was #2...entered tourny as a #2 and lost in Sweet 16 to Marquette. Finished at 28-5.

 

'03-04 - Started 22-1...19-1 through 20 games...highest ranking was #3...entered tourny as a #3 and lost in Sweet 16 to Oklahoma State. Finished 31-5.

 

'04-05 - Started 10-1...16-4 through 20 games...highest ranking was #7....entered tourny as a #9 and lost in first round to Pacific. Finished 20-9.

 

'05-06 - Started 17-1...17-3 through 20 games...highest ranking was #8....entered tourny as a #5 and lost to Bradley in the second round. Finished 25-8.

 

'06-07 - Started 10-1...17-3 through 20 games...highest ranking was #2...entered tourny as a #3 and lost to UCLA in Sweet 16. Finished 29-8.

 

'07-08 - Started 12-1....16-4 through 20 games...highest ranking was #6...entered tourny as a #4 and lost to Michigan State in the second round. Finished 27-10.

 

'08-09 - Started 17-1....highest ranking #1....??????????????

 

 

So, after a decade of fast starts, high rankings and nothing better than a Sweet 16 appearance to show for it, is there any reason I should expect this Pittsburgh team to be a legit threat to win the whole tournament? I'm sure they're good. And deserving of their ranking. But, they had some really good teams in the past that deserved to be rated high...teams that I thought would make some serious noise come tournament time. But, every year, without fail, they fade a little down the stretch and lose early in the tournament.

 

Why will this year be different?

Nice post.

 

Just curious, where did you find all of these stats?

LCPATS

LCPATS

Posted
Posted
There is obviously a valid argument being made. Nice try though.

 

Yes I would hate to start off with a record like that, and make a deep run in the Big East tourny EVERY year.

 

The NCAA tourny is the hardest tournament, in all sports-IMO, to win. Pitt is a very solid program and has nothing to be ashamed of. 4 Sweet 16's in the last 7 years... It would be nice to see them get to the next level, but let's face it, Pitt is a newcomer to the "big boys" of college basketball. Most people in Pittsburg thought basketball was conditioning for football until Ben Howland got there.

 

There is about 300 programs out there that would enjoy that kind of success.

Original Rookie

Original Rookie

Posted
Posted
Yes I would hate to start off with a record like that, and make a deep run in the Big East tourny EVERY year.

 

The NCAA tourny is the hardest tournament, in all sports-IMO, to win. Pitt is a very solid program and has nothing to be ashamed of. 4 Sweet 16's in the last 7 years... It would be nice to see them get to the next level, but let's face it, Pitt is a newcomer to the "big boys" of college basketball. Most people in Pittsburg thought basketball was conditioning for football until Ben Howland got there.

 

There is about 300 programs out there that would enjoy that kind of success.

 

It is a very interesting trend that many people do not know about. Nobody is saying that they aren't a good program, but why can they never turn it into NCAA success? Shouldn't a team that has so much success in the Big East be better in the Big Dance?

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