Rankings and power polls are as much about how teams are viewed as they are on how they are playing. Kansas struggled at home against (a good) Cornell, then lossed to an undermanned Tennessee team. They fell to #3. Not because they played like the #3 team, but because up this past week they had played like a #1 team, all teams no matter how good hit a rough/complacent patch and the pure NBA level talent along with excellent college players on the squad.
Pitt had to overcome the perception that it has lost too much talent to be very good this year, and the “confirmation” of that perception with the loss to Indiana at MSG.
In the latest polls, Pitt is #16 in the AP and #20 in the Coaches.
ESPN.com placed them at #20 in the power rankings. Fran Fraschilla and Doug Gottlieb both had Pitt at #11 at the high end while Pat Forde inexplicably left Pitt off his ballot. Vitale had Pitt down at #24.\
Luke Winn’s power rankings at SI.com puts Pitt at #13.
Back in November (and even early December) this seemed like a season in which Panthers fans would have to tolerate a mediocre present and reminisce about the past — to last year’s Elite Eight run, or even all the way back to Jerome Lane‘s days, when the team had better jerseys and Bill Raftery was in his prime. Then Jamie Dixon‘s boys went and beat Syracuse and Cincinnati in back-to-back away games, giving them more quality true road wins than most of the teams in the Power Rankings, and making it clear that they need to be taken seriously. With a healthy backcourt of Jermaine Dixon, breakout star Ashton Gibbs and Gilbert Brown, the Panthers’ offense is no longer atrocious, and they look like a team headed for an above-.500 finish in the Big East.
FoxSports.com has Pitt debuting at #14. Garry Parrish continues his mea culpa by putting Pitt #12.
And now a word about the mid-way point favorite for Mosti Improved Big East Player, from Jay Bilas.
My vote for the most improved player in the Big East, and maybe the nation, is Pittsburgh’s Ashton Gibbs. The sophomore guard is averaging 17 points per game and scored 19 points at Cincinnati on just six shot attempts. That came against a defense which was geared to stop him. Pitt is still methodically running its half-court sets, but the emphasis of the sets has changed dramatically. Instead of looking for post duck-ins and pounding you in the lane, Pitt is looking for Gibbs coming off screens and setting up drives for Brad Wanamaker. Having Jermaine Dixon and Gilbert Brown back to help space the floor and provide options clearly has helped, but Gibbs makes the whole thing work. He makes great reads, and when chased off the 3-point line, he curls hard and really creates a lot of problems for defenses. Gibbs is very good, but he is also very smart and sees the game very well. No guard in the Big East has improved more.
Still, keeping perspective, Seth Davis at SI.com updates his teams as stock to include Pitt, and puts them at a “Hold.”
The Panthers have shot their way onto the national radar with road wins at Syracuse and Cincinnati. So now what? Well, it’s hard to say, considering they have only been at full strength for four games. Senior guard Jermaine Dixon (21 points vs. Syracuse) missed the first eight games because of a broken bone in his right foot, and junior forward Gilbert Brown (17 points off the bench against Cincy) missed the first 11 while serving a suspension for academics. I’d love to tell you the Panthers are on their way to great things, but check out what they have coming up: at UConn, home versus Louisville, at Georgetown, at Seton Hall, home versus St. John’s, then road dates at South Florida and West Virginia. Will Pitt’s lack of inside scoring be exposed in the next few weeks? Or will they continue to shoot lights out and take a ton of foul shots? Time will tell, but while I grant that this team is better than I thought, given all they lost from last season I have a hard time envisioning them moving into the top 15 and staying there.
Staying there? That will be tough. Getting there? Win the next 2, and it might be top-ten.
It doesn’t mean much at this point, but numbers games can be fun.
Having history and tradition must be awesome!
I half expected Duke to jump up to #1 this week, since they only lost by 4 on the road…at least they have played a few teams, as reflected by their RPI (#1).
As you said, having history and tradition must be awesome!
The Big 10 ought to be ecstatic if we accepted their offer.
Rankings and power polls are as much about how teams are viewed as they are on how they are playing. Kansas struggled at home against (a good) Cornell, then lossed to an undermanned Tennessee team. They fell to #3. Not because they played like the #3 team, but because up this past week they had played like a #1 team, all teams no matter how good hit a rough/complacent patch and the pure NBA level talent along with excellent college players on the squad.
All three of this university’s major coaches are, and have been, fantastic additions to the university’s family and incredible influences on the community at Pitt. The results of their work are felt both on and off the field. In this, my senior year, spirit and support for our athletic programs is the highest it has been since I arrived. Pitt is back, in a big way, and I think our fine coaching staffs deserve a ton of credit in getting us here.
I am amazed at her game adjustments and strategys/
Someday she will recruit that one player who will take us to the very top. A wonderful person, teacher and coach!
Dixon and Wanny not bad either!
You touched on something I noticed this year. The student support for the basketball team has been great for many years, but the student support for the football team was, up until this year, horrible. I don’t know what happened to get the students to their seats for football games this year, but I was very impressed with the student section all year long. They showed up, they were vocal, and they led the rest of the crowd. Well done Pitt students! Hail to Pitt!
