The New Orleans Privateers of the Southland Conference sail into the Pete for a pre-Christmas tilt tonight.  ESPN gives us a good chance of winning.  #LetsgoPitt

 

Michaelangelo holds a degree in Travel Writing from the University of Pittsburgh. He was a former staff writer for InPittsburgh Newsweekly, and currently resides near Atlanta, Georgia. He has been a Pitt fan since 1997 after he witnessed Pitt upset #22 Miami on Thursday night at Pitt Stadium.

52 thoughts on “Pitt Basketball: New Orleans Open Game Thread”

  1. should be relatively easy but I read somewhere that UNO was good in forcing turnovers … a Pitt weakness. But NTL, a win is certainly expected

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  3. Pitt is a 14.5 point favorite – let’s see if the players learned anything from the Niagara loss.

    H2P!

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  5. Unlike football, Pitt is losing these transfers to schools like Nevada, Arizona, Indiana, North Carolina and Minnesota. It seems these kids can play basketball given the right situation.

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  6. Probably more the latter, Jack. I’ll feel a whole lot better when Capal starts announcing some 2019 recruits

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  8. Speaking of football, I see where Pedo has announced an increase is season ticket prices for next year. Like they don’t have enough money already. Pedo sucks…

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    1. VOR – I believe psuX is still paying for the Sandusky episode(s), or is it us tax payers? We’re getting “jobbed” on both ends…

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  12. Pitt now has one more win this year than they had all of last year. Next opponent, Colgate, will be tougher. This team looks as if they can win two or three ACC games if they keep their focus. Hopefully Capel can get some front court recruits lined up soon.

    As for the players leaving, they were not going to play once ACC games started. Next year they would face competition from hopefully some four star recruits, so they are doing the sensible thing. Wish them all the best in their future endeavors. Too bad the Stallings era ever happened. I would have Lyked to have our present AD arrive here two years earlier so that whole mess would never have happened.

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  13. Timing is everything. Two years ago does Coach Capel leave Duke and take the Pitt job? My guess is no.

    My guess is he wasn’t going to leave Duke while his father was still alive.

    Funny how things work sometimes…

    Go Pitt.

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  14. 22 thoughts on the PITT basketball game last night and 3/4 of those were about the football team. Makes me chuckle a little. he he he 🙂 …………………. Shows me that winning doesn’t cure all ill’s.

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  15. Respect.

    That was what I saw at the game last night.

    Respect for the Game. This team has passed another milestone on their journey to restore The Program.

    You owe it to yourself to go see them in person if possible. They are fun to watch, they play with a passion I have not seen in the Pete for 10 years. They are rough. They are young. They are so athletic. They are going to get their butts handed to them more then a few times in ACC play. But they are not going to give up. They deserve to come out on the court to a packed Pete every conference game. What a thrill it is going to be for this young team and it’s super freshmen.

    65 points.

    The 3 True freshmen (X-Man, Trey and Toney) scored 65 of the 99 points Pitt put on the board. Never been done before at Pitt. Historic.

    99 points.

    Not 100. And that is where some of the respect showed. Both team’s playing the end of the bench players for the final 2 minutes. They are hustling, trying to score. Alas the century layup went askew. The Privateers ran the court but our D forced a change of possession.

    2.5 seconds. These subs, getting rare playing time have a chance to put 100 on the board. Doesn’t happen much around here. NO is disorganized, away from home and hearing the bus warming up. The long outlet is there…a Pitt player runs the court and sla….not. They pass the ball in a freeze it. Game over. 99 points on the board.

    Respect for the other team and for the game. THAT was the moment I will take away from this game.

    The last nail was put in the Niagra loss tonight. It was an aberration. Pitt will get trounced by the elite teams this year – but the average teams in the ACC better watch out. Capel’s Crew is growing up fast.

    H2P

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  16. It’s the week before Christmas Iek. I suspect that the elves from the POV are busy baking cookies or wrapping gifts. Nice win last night. I know that some of these non-conference games are designed to be easy wins, but count me as being impressed by Jeff Capel. Remember that our inside presence is minimal, and we are starting three freshmen. I still believe that the ACC grind will bring us back to earth, but after last season’s torture, these wins are fun to watch. I’d just love to see them win enough games to get to the NIT.

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    1. With a bit of luck and perhaps winning a few games in the tourney, I give them a fair chance of playing post season ball. Say 37%.

      H2P

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  17. Glad I never gave up my hoop tickets…You can see the Capel Culture taking a foothold.
    Richman even waved to me and Scooter from the luxury box. 😎
    Highlight of my day!

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  19. Pitt wrestling continues its non-conference schedule tonight with a Clarion. Clarion has a solid program and quite a few good wrestlers, but has some injuries at the moment. Some ranked teams including Oklahoma St (#3) and North Dakota State (#20) await Pitt on the non-conference slate before we head into ACC matches.

    This is fun group to watch. Not much depth, so an injury or two would hurt us, but the starters are a fun group to watch. Gavin emphasizes an aggressive style of wrestling for sure.

    H2P!

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    1. He is coming of age too…much more assist aware – starting to get the others on the floor involved more and more. He is the real deal.

      H2P

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  22. Looks like ESPN U is showing the South Carolina hs all star game at noon today… Beville is one of the QBs on the south team roster.

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    1. Actually the Shrine Bowl between South Carolina – North Carolina. Game played at Wofford College in Spartanburg, S.C.. PITT’s exDC is the head coach at Wofford.

      South Carolina also has a North – South All Star game that is played at Coastal Carolina in Conway (Myrtle Beach area) S.C. This year, the game was played on the same day.

      The Shrine bowl is the more prestigious.

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    2. Beville ended up as offensive MVP in the game. He had one touchdown pass early and I believe the game ended up a 7 to 7 tie. I don’t think you will see much offense in this game.

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  23. No one mentioned Ricky Town has left Pitt or was that discussed earlier?

    As I wrote months ago Town was never going play here and that George would be QB2 as soon as he learned the playbook.

    So – does PN bring in a transfer QB to compete as a starter? He just might.

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    1. actually Reed, Town’s exit was cited the previous blog thread, and you were given credit

      Right now Pitt has Pickett (So), George (So?), Patti (RS) and Beville coming in Jan so a transfer QB may not be coming … unless one of the aforementioned decides to leave

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  24. It was talked about a little Reed. Sounds like his parents house burned down out in Cali but it seems he just didn’t leave PITT but football all together. Appears he didn’t have the right mindset to play QB on an upper level.

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  25. Reed, Ricky is ol’ news and the one who posted it mentioned your Nostradamus-like ability !!! Score another one to the Commander Emeritus

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  26. Ricky should have hung out in the parking lot with the tailgaters..he would have had tons of oppurtunites to chug the pigskin…maybe a few shots of crown or a 6-pack of canned courage he might have found the missing MOJO …..some of you know those super-human feelings that libations can deliver to one’s brain…..

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    1. FWIW, I always look at people like Dokish, Vukocvan and Peak more for information than opinion. We all form our own opinion, and I disagree with the aforementioned almost as much as I agree. But what these guys do provide is up-to-date information, especially when it comes to recruiting … both FB and BB.

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  33. Here’s an interview from a great young man that some thought would transfer from Narduzzi and PITT. I watched him after games and his body language and always thought he was more about the team than himself.

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  34. Danh72…I agree with you in the Niagra loss being a part of the lesson learning process for this young Panther squad…I was disappointed by that loss but their play since and the fact that a few higher profile teams have had similar losses has me feeling better about our chances for 4 – 6 ACC wins this year.

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  35. Thank goodness for Johnson’s awkward jump shot otherwise he may be leaving PITT a year or two early. PITT really does need a big strong inside player and I’m betting Capel get’s one or two.

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