12pm.

Raycom Syndication.

The good news is that this game is a sellout. The clearest evidence to date that the fanbase is optimistic about this team going forward under Head Coach Jeff Capel.

The bad news: the disparity of talent and experience on the court.

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I’m not saying this is Nostradamus level stuff, but let me have a little fun.

I guess I am hoping for a little symmetry. Ten years ago, Pitt went to the Sun Bowl. The QB had a bomb of a game and Pitt couldn’t generate enough offense against a Pac-12 (10 at the time) that was missing their top running back and had other injuries. The complete offensive ineptitude forced the defensive-minded coach to make a change at OC. Let’s find out if history repeats.

And in one of Pitt’s briefest press releases that doesn’t announce a player being dismissed from the team…

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The loss to Stanford in the Sun Bowl could be something of a microcosm for Pitt this year.

The struggles to move the ball to start the game. There was that solid surge in the second and third quarter where Pitt was moving the ball and looked like the more dominant team. Then that fade to black in the fourth quarter. Where the team couldn’t finish and/or couldn’t make the plays.

It’s one of those things. If you look back on Pitt’s 2018 season, just in terms of wins and losses, the Panthers were right around where they were expected to be. Excepting the UNC game, they lost the games you would have expected them to lose. And they won the games you would have expected them to win, other then Syracuse.

It’s the way they lost those games, though. Oh, is it the way they lost those games.

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Okay, how about a little Q&A just before the Sun Bowl?

A long-missed cultural exchange about the opponent. Thanks to GoMightyCard for reaching out to me for a little chat. You can find my responses to his questions here. Neither of us brought up Walt Harris, which was probably for the best.

Here’s what I asked him about the Stanford Cardinals.

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7pm.

ACC NE/WatchESPN.

My favorite quote in the game notes today:

The Panthers are one win shy of matching their win total from a year ago. With a win Monday, Pitt would become the first team in the NCAA to match its win total from 2017-18.

Whoever is compiling the game notes is having a lot of fun this year.

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8pm

ABC.

It felt real good to type that link headline.

We all know Pitt is a heavy underdog in this game. We all know that Pitt isn’t given much of a chance, aside from the whole storyline of Pitt as the ultimate college football disrupter. That’s fine.

I’m not going to say I know Pitt can win this game. Certainly not after what happened last weekend against Miami’s defense.

But…

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7pm

ACC NE/WatchESPN.

I realize Pitt is now a Volleyball School, and their opening tournament game — which Pitt is hosting at the Pete is airing at the same time.

…But there is still this game.

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9:00 pm

ESPNU

After being left out of the ACC-B1G Challenge last year (wisely, it seems safe to say), Pitt returns to the cross-conference melee. They face a surprisingly good Iowa team.

At the time of the dividing of opponents, the expectation was that Iowa was going to be in the lower-half of the Big Ten. Not in the basement, but somewhere in that 6th to 11th range. They still might end up there by the end of the year, but at the moment they are the third highest ranked Big Ten team (behind Michigan and Michigan State).

Iowa is ranked 14th in the AP and 15th in the Coaches. 32d per KenPom — but that comes with the caveat that stats driven rankings are not very good in the first month or so of the college basketball season. The Hawkeyes have a strong national ranking thanks to upsetting Oregon in the 2K Classic and then taking out UConn (who upset Syracuse) to win the non-con tournament.

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3:30 pm

ESPN

Happy post-Thanksgiving. Family has been a bit overwhelming this week. Starting to unwind from it all. I hope. Well, sort of. Have to be out all day right up until gametime.

If this were the NFL, then this would be a meaningless game. Pitt would be locked into their opening round opponent. Everything is set. This would be the game where fans and media debate the value of resting starters and making sure everyone is healthy for next week’s game.

Thankfully, this isn’t the NFL.

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(Or if you find yourself too nervous to watch directly at first Pitt basketball is scheduled at the same time. 12 pm. ACC NE/ESPN3.)

12pm.

Plenty of RSNs (including AT&T Sportsnet Pittsburgh, NBC Sports Washington, NESN, YES, SportsTime Ohio, and multiple regional Fox Sports channels).

Scary story about a problem with a small plane carrying Pitt Cheerleaders and others having to turn back and make an emergency landing yesterday. Everyone is fine, and now at Winston-Salem for the game today.

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7:00 pm

ACC NE/ESPN3.

I really thought that as the kids got older I would start getting some time back. Nope. Just the opposite. Always something else. Somewhere to be. Something to do. Something that costs more money, so keep grinding and working. Ugh. Oh, the self-pity.

Anyways, Pitt is coming off a good win over Troy. A decent Sun Belt team that gave Pitt some issues with rebounding and uncomfortably Villanova-esque free throw shooting. Yet despite that, Pitt never trailed in the game; and after opening up a 7-0 lead to start the game, never let Troy get closer then 5 points the rest of the game.

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7pm.

ACC NE/ESPN3

First off, thanks to Justin for covering for me on the last two open threads. Waiting for bail money is— This past weekend was my son’s Boy Scout Thanksgiving camping trip. It’s held in a cabin (thankfully, and not in tents). It involves all the families coming out on Saturday for a dinner prepared by the kids. Somehow convinced my wife to switch with me for the second day so I just got to town on Saturday for the football game before running back home just in case our teenage daughter got any ideas about things with no parents around on a Saturday night. That’s the story I’m using and you can’t shake me.

As for tonight’s game.

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3:30 Kickoff at Heinz. ACC Coastal Division is on the line. I’m not telling you what TV station it’s on. If you aren’t at the stadium and you don’t have a damn good excuse, which is mostly “I have to take a plane to get there” or “I unfortunately am reading this from beyond the grave,” shame on you. This is maybe the biggest home game for Pitt in a decade or so.

As Chas pointed out earlier this week, Pitt controls its own destiny. It’s a terrifying thought for any Pitt fan who has paid attention for any period of time. A win vs VT and all the fightin’ Narduzzi’s have to do is beat Wake Forest or Miami for a trip to Charlotte and give every Clemson fan a panic attack. There are other scenarios, but win today and the path is crystal clear.

I’m feeling confident, which is always terrifying as Pitt tends to do better when I expect the worst. Is my confidence well-placed or am I drunk?

Good afternoon everybody!

Chas is currently passed out drunk errr um on the run from the law busy! Yea, busy is the phrase. He asked me to put up this thread and tomorrow’s slightly important football game thread oh god please don’t Pitt this please please please. I’m super confident in both outcomes.

7pm tip-off at the Pete. ACC Network for those of you who are saving up drunken energy for the football game. We saw some good and bad things against YSU, but the key to me is we saw effort. This team isn’t going to the NCAA tournament, but that doesn’t mean they can’t be competitive. Games like tonight are a good chance to build up confidence against what appears to be an inferior opponent. Trey McGowens showed explosive athleticism that Pitt has not had in awhile, much less from a freshman. Rebounding looks like it will be a season long issue given the lack of height on the roster.

What do you yinz think?

7 pm

ACC Network Extra

The season is upon us and cautious optimism reigns. Not that Pitt is going to contend in the ACC. Or even that they will get to the NIT. No. The optimism is because there is hope for the future.

Pitt has some dynamic young players. They have a coach that isn’t riding out that final paycheck. There’s flat out energy from the fanbase that has been lacking for the last three years.

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