in Pitt Football 69 Words

Roundball: Pitt vs Duke; 9:00 pm Game Thread

This game will be a match up between our 7-2 Panthers vs the 4-3 Blue Devils. I don’t follow BB much but that 4-3 looks strange to me.

Could you guys fill me in a bit on how our BB team looks this season. so far? I can see the record and player’s stats but have no idea what the team feels like to the fans.

Thanks and discuss…

318 thoughts on “Roundball: Pitt vs Duke; 9:00 pm Game Thread”

  2. Reed like how you wrote your intro to this thread. People love to be asked to teach. Frankly nobody really knows about this BB team. Recently with the play of some of the newer players I see a glimmer of hope. Love the newer kids from NYC especially Champagnie. Plus the kids are playing defense! They even look disciplined at times. Still am not sold on Capel.

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  3. There is a marked difference in how they are playing defense, rebounding and passing the ball this year over the last few years. In one word improvement. How much is to be determined. Also their ability to score in different ways and by more players is very encouraging.

    Capel has been improving the talent level from year to year. Of course he started at the very bottom so…

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  4. — The team looks like crap for the first 5 minutes or so, then looks pretty good …. especially in the 2nd half

    — However, there has been a lot of cancellations and this is the first time they are playing 2 games within a week in a month.

    — One thing for certain … they look to have a lot of young talent. Champaignie (soph), Horton (soph), Okudale (Fr), and Jeffries (Fr) look lie real keepers to go along with (juniors) Johnson and Toney.

    — The weak point appears to be at center, and they can be exploited there.

    — But they play hard, play good defense and seem to be competitive

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  7. First time since 2016….the Dookies aren’t in the Top 25. And that means we’re almost certain to beat them !

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  10. hey Tex, in case you don’t visit the last thread, I need to know:

    so either Balcones Baby Blue Whiskey or the Texas Pot Still Bourbon or TEXAS BLUE CORN BOURBON?
    Which one is your preference that you are referring to Tex?

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    1. Baby Blue is my preference for tailgating. True Blue for very special occasions. True is more complex and expensive.

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  12. POVers – VOICE OF REASON asked me the below in a comment in the last thread. Here it is:

    Hey Reed, as you prepare for the first post under your new leadership, maybe some easing of tight rules of the road are needed for clarification. MM ran a pretty tight ship. What are the new boundaries for 1) moderate, flagrant vulgarities; 2) personal attacks slanders and various insults on public figures and POVers; and 3) discussion of politics? Also, what is the tolerance for Nitters? 🙂

    MY REPLY:

    Well, let’s go back to pre-Mike in someways:

    Crude swearing i.e; sht, fck, assh*le, …you get it – the really crude words are out and I’ll leave Mike’s filters on for those. ‘Asshat’ is completely acceptable as is ‘damn’ like “Damn Clemson! We almost had them this year!” Remember we have women on here also and others who might be offended more easily then, say, UPitt.

    Politics is completely out. I mean that 100% and will hold all of us to that. There are other venues for that.

    Religion is OK if conversed about in a cultured way. However it is fine to call the ND players “whores of Babylon”.

    Nitters? Hmmmm, anything you want if it adheres to the above.

    Guys, in the 2.5 years I ran the POV I banned only two people if memory serves and those were temporary. But it wasn’t only a loss of interest in Pitt football that led to me giving it over. Just as strong a reason is that I got sick of some commenters’ pettiness and insulting manners on here.

    There is no need for that and if that happens again after fair warnings then we will have some hard choices to make. I’ll look in the mirror and police myself as well.

    I really don’t want to be involved in The POV on a daily basis just to mediate crap between intelligent adults. I got sick of it in ’18 and will do so again If things get bad. But, I’ve a feeling things will go smoothly…just do not mention my name in the same paragraph as Ike’s name. That would be three tokes over the line as they say.

    Which brings me to this – Maryland has legalized marijuana and I’ve got a MCC patient card. So, if my articles don’t make much sense its probably me not you. Since I don’t drink any longer (unless I’m in PGH for some weird reason) drunken posting by me is not going to be a problem.

    Thanks, and back to BB…

    Liked by 1 person

  15. We might recall that we seemed to have unanimous agreement that one good/great player can make a huge difference in basketball. Maybe even carry a team. Well Duke has a projected one-and-done freshman (projected to be drafted 8th overall) who has been out for a month with a foot injury. Of course he will be back tonight. He is Jalen Johnson, a 6’9” forward. Brown and Coulibaly will have their hands full.

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  16. Can’t wait to get back to the Pete with a good ball team, hopefully next year.
    For those of you that have not had the experience I highly recommend it.
    The Zoo is outstanding and it will really get your Pitt juices flowing.

    Have no idea what will happen tonight, hoping we don’t get too far behind, these cold starts are tough.

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  33. X man needs to settle down a bit. These 5 stars can pick his pocket in traffic. Duke tries to speed you up. Pitt playing terrific ball so far.

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    2. Hugley was hoping somebody drew a circle close to the drivers side door, so he wouldn’t take the charge.

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  45. They need to shut Johnson down to win this game. X man needs to settle down. With Johnson and Hurt Duke can score quickly.

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  53. I’m pretty certain that in the Pitt-Syracuse game there was not a single charge call made. Which I thought was weird in today’s game.

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  55. Pitt giving as good as we get. Foul shooting or Brown could handicap us. Duke very slick…Pitt playing power ball with great authority.

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  59. Pitts needs to set up Horton and Sibaudi for threes. They should be open when X cuts in.

    Duke doesn’t have 3 shooters and Pitt defenses them well.

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    4. Lately we have been pretty good, Reed. But we also have our SOP moments. X is maddening. Very athletic, but inconsistent.

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  66. X-man should have slowed it down for the last shot there. Dumb…it could turn out to be 5 point difference.

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  67. 5 point swing at the end of the half with the bad pass by X-man and then his no D at the other end for a wide open Duke 3.

    Nit picking, I know…

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  68. after the St F game the defense has steadily improved and is probably at their best now

    the O is still spurty but like everyone says, X under control and they can be very good with a variety of contributors in addition to Champ’s consistently great play on both ends

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  70. Best first half of basketball I’ve seen Pitt play in 10 years. ? Can we keep it up. Duke is going to make a run. Xman was out of control last possession. Bad TO. Cost Pitt 3 at the end. What else can I say…..great game so far. Stunned to see Duke in a zone AND..picking up fouls. Zone supposed to keep you out of foul trouble.

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  73. Imagine what this team would be like if they could get offensive production from Brown and Caulibaly.

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    1. hey, happy Brown converted inside when he brought the ball down and dribbled, then hit on the other where fouled and made both FT’s – we’ll take that kind of contribution

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      1. True. But I believe he also tossed up a brick from the top of the key that missed the rim to the right. Luckily Toney got the rebound. Hugley was probably better than both today. And I think he also had more potential.

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  74. Pitt is only shooting 13 of 30 FG or 43%…..Duke is worse at 13 of 35 FG or 37%. Steal and Turnovers are even at 4 and 7 for each team. Both teams have five 3’s.

    The difference is at the Free Throw line where Pitt has 9 more points from.

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  76. Great first half, Champ is a man, Toney playing very well. Looks like this is the year that Pitt turns the dial from down to up. Pitt Basketball may be fun again. Really too bad about Hugely, his power game would be a plus. Plus more fouls to give inside.

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  79. X is having trouble with their guards who are extremely quick. Needs to play within himself, Femi with the same issue. These are big time players with great skills just a little young.

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  80. Expect them to concentrate their D on Champ in the second half need some scoring from some other guys.

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  84. X man is like the “little girl with the curl” when he’s good, he’s very good, but when he’s bad….
    Pitt owns the boards! Hard to rebound out of that zone.

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  96. Bad feeling at the moment. X man is not playing well. Seems like he is trying to show Duke how good he is. They need a better final 10 minutes from to win this.

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  103. Champagne has shut Hurt down completely. Pitt defense
    now needs to reassert intensity.
    Coulibany started on the Mali U19 team that won the world silver medal to the USA.

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  124. Pitt and Xman will have to grow up to win this one. Ziff is correct. Duke running sucker play after sucker play and young Pitt taking the bait.

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  125. under 4 t.o. Can’t get a good feel for the flow. Choppy. Not impressed with Duke and see why they are not top 25, yet. Surprised Pitt didn’t take a possession or two with 6 minutes left and run right at their star who has 4 fouls.

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  143. If we keep playing this well – please don’t rank us. Keep the chip on the shoulders of these young men.

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  150. Great win!!! Xman was great down the stretch and what a game by Champagne!!!!

    I can’t believe they beat Duke! I am so pumped!!!!!

    H2P!!!!!

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    1. Have we ever had any good ones. I was screaming at the TV during the last Syracuse game. These guys never shut up and let the game be the show.

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      1. LOL….i think i know everything about every Duke player on the roster now. 80% or more of the broadcast was Duke centric. Pitt was just…..there.

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  156. That Box Score is going to look mighty sweet in the morning.

    Just a fantastic game. Hope Champ didn’t reinjure his knee.

    X came through big time down the stretch.

    Getting Johnson out sealed the deal, probably goes the other way if he finishes, but tonight
    Champ was the star of the show. Toney with an outstanding game as well.

    First win against Duke since we joined the ACC.

    Sure feels good.

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    1. In my last season at Pitt and Pitt’s 3rd in the ACC…we beat #15 Duke at the Pete in 2016, 76-62.
      Beat them pretty good !

      That felt good too !

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  157. Gotta savor this one. This is beating John Thompson, beating Rollie Massomino, Jim Calhoun, Lou Carnesecca, Rick Pitino, ….. Beating the icons of the game is sweet!!

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  158. what is good is a nice win where there is still a lot of areas these kids can improve

    can be a small step up that could be made bigger if the team sees it like that and really works on some of those areas and inconsistencies

    never anything less than great to beat Duke even with Jones’ recent return

    and please hope no one posts how this was a weak win over a 5-4 terrible Duke team in a weak ACC year
    true but don’t say it Tex 😉

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  159. I may just start donating to basketball if I see these results every week. Great win by Pitt. And most of the nation will think this is huge and an upset since its the vaunted blue blood Duke. The win looks very good. Perception is everything. Where’s that bourbon. I consider this a special occasion.

    Tex who wore his pitt gear around town today. My script hat that is.

    Liked by 1 person

  160. I keep wanting to think that Pitt basketball is back. But, I just don’t believe it yet. However, that was the Dukies wasn’t it? We had’em all the way.

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  161. It was nice of the announcers to let us know, X-man was leading the ACC in assists. With 2 minutes to go in the game.

    Might have missed it, but did they ever say Champ was leading the ACC in rebounding(by a wide margin btw) and 2nd in scoring, with all the blabbering over their Johnson and Hurt ?

    Pitt btw has 3 of the Top 15 scorers in the ACC. This announcing crew would have never told you.

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  162. The Dookies had only lost to ranked teams this year. #15 VT, at the time #6 Mich state and #8 Illinois.

    So Pitt should at least start getting some votes next week, provided we take care of business and beat
    BC on Saturday. BC is horrible this year at 3-10

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      1. Certainly…..like he has the last 2 years with very avg BC teams.

        Hopefully Capel isn’t hanging around with the Dooz too much. It might rub off, like it has
        with the Steelers, becoming first quarter bumblers.

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  163. It will be interesting to see if Pitt gets some votes and where they are in Lunardi’s bracketology after this win.

    Before the game Pitt was in the second set of 4 out and Duke was an 11 seed in bracketology.

    There must be a wrench in the RPI algorithm gears this year as they make no sense. RPIs before the Pitt win over Duke:

    #9 Gonzaga and they are ranked #1
    #14 Baylor and they are ranked #2
    #73 Pitt (thank you St. Francis)
    #156 Duke

    Welcome back Reed. You filled in very well for the vacant Oakland Zoo

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  164. Champagnie’s stat line for this game is otherworldly.
    12 of 15 shooting overall
    4 of 7 from three
    14 rebounds
    5 blocks

    Yikes! Where’d Coach Capel find this guy?

    Go Pitt.

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  166. Pitt MBB tied for 3rd in the current ACC standings with FL St at 4-1 in conference and 8-2 overall. Virginia in 1st at 5-0 and VA Tech in 2nd at 5-1.

    Three interesting facts:

    -1). Pitt did not even receive one vote in either poll ranking earlier this week.
    -2). VA Tech with not much of a program drop with their recent coaching change. Pitt’s very poor decision to bring in Stallings set the program back many years.
    -3). Champ played some impressive D and shot the three well against Duke – 2 elements of his game that needed to be more consistent – he alone is worth the price of admission…

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  167. Second game in a row I needed to listen to Billy on the radio and tape the game. Another pro move on my part…haha.
    Great to hear Billy and Curtis so happy!
    Although hard to follow the play by play at times.
    Looking forward to watching it today!
    H2P

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    1. The good part with Billy is that, while you may not immediately know the details of what’s going on, you do know instantaneously, by the excitement or lack thereof in his voice, whether it’s good or bad for Pitt… 👍

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  168. Nike was back in the rotation last night, but Erie Jeffress was missing. Only 8 players used and the starters except AKC (who fouled out) played 30+ minutes each.

    Champ and Toney were hard to keep off the floor as hot as they were and they both played unbelievable D while churning out rebound after rebound.

    Hats off to the coaching staff for turning this season around after the ugly St. Francis season opener.

    If they stay disciplined they should be 9-2 after this weekend’s game vs BC.

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  169. Panther basketball is becoming fun to watch again. Looking forward to the post-covid era when attendance will be allowed.

    The Pete would have been awesome last night.

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    1. I swear that every time I start to watch, we start to play poorly and our opponent goes on a run. I go do something and come back, and things are better, until they aren’t…

      I have a definite feeling that I jinx them. Is anyone else in that boat? 😊

      Go Pitt.

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      1. MM – I was watching the game and left to pick up my son from his part-time job. When I left to pick him up the scoring was about even, when I returned Pitt was up by 15 points. I almost turned off the game because it was obvious to me that Pitt does better when I’m not watching. However, I kept watching and Pitt won. Down went the Dukies. So glad I didn’t jinx them, this time.

        Liked by 1 person

  170. I wouldn’t say Pitt is back just yet. Their lack of big man depth will hurt them eventually. Having said that, you can win in college with a bunch of 6’6 to 6’9 athletic kids. Pitt doesn’t have enough of those players yet.

    X is still maddening to watch. He can dribble past anyone. If he had any kind of consistent scoring he would be a force. Definitely better than last year dishing the ball.

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  171. yea I was wondering why Jeffress was MIA. Nonetheless very content with the team although all the pieces aren’t in place. Now if Capel can find a legit 5 who can block shots and rebound … doesn’t even need to score.

    Of course, if Champ keeps playing like this, we won’t be here next year. But I think many more high schoolers will want to play here than anytime in the recent past …. and Champagnie’s success certainly can’t hurt Pitt’s rep in the NYC area.

    I’m still cautiously optimistic but admit I will be disappointed at this point if the team doesn’t make the NCAA.

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  172. I hadn’t realized that we shot 37 foul shots to Duke’s 19. If those numbers were reversed playing at Duke, imagine the comments we would be posting.

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    1. Duke went 8 – 28 from 3-point line, I guess that’s their offense this year, or at least it was last night … and you’re not going draw many fouls doing that

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  174. As great as this win is, I don’t think we should get carried away. I did not like the way Champ was limping to the sidelines. Having two marginal centers will limit this team at some point when the foul calls go the other way. Remember, Duke is not in the top twenty five, they probably will be as they round into shape, but not yet.

    As good as Champ has been playing, it is a huge step up to the NBA, I’m not terribly concerned about him leaving yet.

    The future is definitely brighter than it has been in a while. If Capel scores some more recruits at needed positions, next year could be awesome.

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  175. From the Trib:

    “Champagnie was “amazing” — Capel’s word – scoring 31 points, with 14 rebounds and five blocks. He is the only Pitt player in at least 36 years to reach those three thresholds. Perfect on all eight of his two-point attempts, he hit four of seven 3-pointers, added two steals and, oddly, missed half of his foul shots (three of six).”

    36 years… He was such fun to watch…

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  176. The box score is amazing as expected. Champ only missed 3 3 point shots and made all the rest of his field goals, incredible!. Toney with 22 points. X turnover- assist ratio was very good, he is playing more and more like a point guard. It really was the big three last night with Champ leading the way.

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  177. Great win over Duke last night! It is going to look very good at the end of the year as Duke is just finding itself. Coach K has them getting ready to go on a tear with all that talent.

    To think Capel has gotten Pitt to this point in just over two years from Pitt being the worst ACC team ever fielded is nothing short of amazing.

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    1. Brown being the only holdover. Good thing he stayed, especially now.
      Too bad Marcus Carr didn’t stay, he is the only star from Stallings team.

      Liked by 1 person

      1. I saw that Marcus Carr was shown last night as one of five candidates for Player of the Year in the NCAA.

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        1. X-Man is 17th in the Nation in Assists per Game.

          Carr is 39th in apg.

          I’ll take Champ as Player of the Year.

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    2. To think he’s doing this without a true point guard is amazing.

      Pitt has three players playing well right now

      And Capel seems to be finding what works best for this team. Moreover, it appears his players are developing. That’s good coaching.

      Liked by 3 people

      1. That’s harsh Tex, even for you. Innocent until proven guilty. All we know are rumors and the documented charges. A good lawyer is probably working on a plea deal for community service. They probably couldn’t write a big enough check to get pardoned yesterday.

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        1. Case won’t ever get to court. There will be some plea deal. He’s a first offender who hangs with trouble. Felony charges dropped. He’ll be slapped with some misdemeanor and then given service and probation. But, he will be kicked off the team unless pitt are hypocrites. Probably end up playing for IUP.

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          1. Public figures are guilty until proven innocent now because of the press and social media. Something seriously wrong with that. If there is a plea deal and misdemeanor he should be immediately put back on the team. Give the kid some counseling and guidance.

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            1. Then why did Pitt hire Heather. She self reported level 3 to the NCAA. Now pitt would be letting a car thief back on the team. Wanny got in trouble for having a player throw someone into a glass door. That was part of the case to remove him. Don’t you see this being the least bit hypocritical.

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        1. He’s fortunate that 2012 Chevy Malibu is only valued at $5k. If it was $10k or more, he’d be facing more serious charges.

          Most professional car thieves are not this stupid. To steal a worthless vehicle. And to get caught.

          So chalk it up to hanging with the wrong crowd, a stupid kid mistake, whatever.

          But I don’t think pitt should be in the business of giving kids a second chance and rehabilitating players. Sets a bad example.

          He can get his free education and playing time at some other school.

          This was a pretty serious crime and no joy ride. Changing the plates is pretty damning and keeping it for as long as they did.

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  181. Per Major Majors comment above regarding Hillgrove’s excitement:
    My favorite is when he just says”wow” followed by 5 seconds of silence…was it a great dunk, see a hot babe, burn his mouth on pizza, drop his cocktail?

    Liked by 7 people

  183. Can’t wait for Dan72’s post game article. So many good things to talk about.

    I call BS on any claims that the win was tainted based on Duke’s record. They annually have one of the top ranked recruiting classes and it’s proven that the transition from HS to college in bball is not as tough as football, with the truly elite 4 and 5-stars.

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    1. Perception wise the win was good. But from a computer rankings perspective, pitt wasn’t really helped all that much. I’m still waiting for the latest rpi rankings.

      Now from a modeling and simulation perspective, this win helps. I see Pitts projected wins at 15 depending on the algorithem. That’s good enough for a 12 seed at this point. The field odds change each day.

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      1. So to illustrate and dumb down this concept. Because pitt beat duke. A good team but with all losses to ranked teams before last night. Going forward, pitt is a slight favorite against similar teams on their remaining schedule.

        If Pitt goes .500 the rest of the way in regular season and pick up a win in the ACC tourney, they should be a lock.

        I see Pitt being anywhere between an 8 and 14 seed when the invites go out. That translates to roughly a 35-50 ranking in rpi. Last I checked, pitt was ranked around 70. So computers have projected based on simulations that pitt moves up the rankings as more games are played.

        Liked by 1 person

    2. The Duke win should not be tainted because Duke had J. Johnson in the lineup. If he had played all year Duke would have a much better record.

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  184. Great win for Pitt! I’m really impressed with the development of these young players. One negative point, however: X-man is still going through spurts where he is playing out of control. Several times he drove the hoop when there was clearly no chance to avoid a block, which produced a turnover. He can’t seem to resist the temptation to push the degree of difficulty, taking a straight forward shot or layout and turning on the razzel dazzel. I was surprised to see that he had 11 assists, because I didn’t feel he made a major contribution to the win.

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  186. Dan, maybe you could touch on how the Duke zone compared to the Cuse zones Pitt is used to seeing, and if they attacked it in the same way.

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  187. Pitt is 8-2 today

    I’m projecting them to go 6-6 the remainder of the schedule with another win and another loss in the ACC tournament…assuming there is one.

    Final record being 15-9

    That should be good enough for a 12 seed

    Quality wins against clemson and Tech would help

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    1. 6-6….wtf….surely you jest.

      We’re not going tp lose another game this regular season.
      (and no Jeff didn’t twist my arm to post this)

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  188. There some teams that are ranked that escape my logic. Many based on past performances or media worship. It takes major accomplishments to overcome this status bias.

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    1. But that’s why the selection committee looks at computer rankings to form their base. Then they layer some subjectivity and bias particularly in the brackets/matchups. For instance, how great would a TCU vs Pitt matchup be.

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  189. 1986-87: 6’6 Jerome Lane 13.5 rpg (led nation)
    2008-09: 6’6 DeJuan Blair 12.3 rpg
    2020-21: 6’6 Justin Champagnie 13.0 rpg

    all had large wingspans

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    1. Champ is currently 2nd in the Nation in RPG.

      Something the blubbering blabbering announcers also omitted from the game last night.

      In their 2 hour Drooling over Duke !

      Liked by 1 person

    3. Rebounding put simply, is your desire to get the ball, more than your opponent. That’s why small guys can get lots of rebounds. Chuck Barkley comes to mind, along with the dudes you mention. It’s a mindset.

      Also, Duke was not their typical team. They did not have a big presence and I felt they played exterior ball more than I had seen in a long time. Coach Kryxzwefhaisnrhstudbski will fix that when recruiting.

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  190. Pitt has moved up to #57 in RPi following our big win over the Droolers.

    So we moved about 13 spots up ! Too bad the Droolers weren’t ranked.

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      1. Well before we play Clemscum…we host a higher ranked team than Scum on Feb 3rd @ The Pete.

        Gobble the Gobblers !

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  191. If you had a gun to your head and had to fire either Narduzzi or Capel tomorrow – which NC would you keep?

    Just kidding of course. We already know they are both going to be at Pitt for eons.

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  192. We’re making some news……a Google Search on Duke loses to Pitt…..has 54,900,000 results.

    How you get relevant quickly…….. Beat (up) a Blue Blood !

    Mike Krzyzewski suffers first loss to one of his former Duke players as Blue Devils slip to 5-4.

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  193. Great game. The type of win we’ll look back on as the inflection point when Pitt has reestablished itself as a program to be reckoned with. The team is probably a true inside presence away from the Sweet 16, but if Champ comes back, that’s a realistic possibility for 2021-22.

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  197. More More More !

    On the year, Champagnie is averaging a team-high 20.3 points, 13.0 rebounds, and 1.6 blocks per game.

    He is the only player in the country averaging at least 18 points and 12 rebounds per game this season,

    and he is the first ACC player to earn Player of the Week honors twice so far this year.

    Liked by 1 person

  199. BTW, it was Champ’s rebound late that led to J. Johnson fouling out and may have been the play of the game….speaking of which,

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  200. I think the Pitt-BB-team-has-arrived Talk is premature. We have 3 solid to excellent players in Champ, Toney and X. We still need Horton to be a consistent scorer and we still need the post players to step it up.

    That said, I think Coach Capel is doing an excellent job, as evidenced mainly by the improvements in defense, rebounding, and ball movement. So it looks like Coach is not just a recruiter (which seemed like it might be the case based on last season)…

    Go Pitt.

    Liked by 1 person

  202. FYI, at large bids RARELY get a #14 seed

    from wiki: “It is extremely unusual that an at-large bid can be lower than a #12 seed, but it has occurred, most recently with BYU and Iona being #14 seeds in the 2012 Tournament.”

    Pitt looks like a team that won’t crash or even slide from here, yet with basketball ONE big injury can change everything so nothing taken for granted.

    For me the biggest question, and I don’t know what the chance is, but are we certain there will be the typical 64 team field? Probably the biggest risk not mentioned to this point for Pitt is the field due to COVID is cut to 48 or 32 with who knows what cuts to conference champion automatic bids. Would be a real heart breaker if we finish say 3rd in ACC and then miss getting in due to perceived weakness or actual lower rank with Sagarin or Pom ratings and s-curve statistics or whatever they actually use for that factor “in the committee room.”

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    1. Pitt makes a 68 team field…those play ins

      I don’t see them higher than 8 or lower than 14

      But an injury here or there changes everything. Missed games due to covid

      I don’t think the NCAA will reduce the field. I struggle to see how that helps with player safety

      I thought they were going with a bubble approach anyway.

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  203. Wake is an even tradeout for BC on Saturday. ESPN already has Pitt/Wake on the schedule for Sat.

    Wake is 0-5 in conf, while BC is 1-6.

    Dunk the Deacs !

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  208. Call me an optimist, but I think Hugely will be back this year. People with clean records don’t start off by stealing cars. I think he was suckered into paying someone money to use a car this year while in school, and had no idea the car was stolen. Other than stupidity, he may be guilty of simply picking the wrong friends.

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      1. Quit making excuses for Hugley… let the legal system run its course…. I never got out of line and got on the wrong side of the law…. my Dad taught me right from wrong and I wouldn’t ever want to disappoint BigSherm!!!!

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    2. Then Pitt needs bagmen if kids are so desperate for wheels that they help steal old Chevy Malibu’s.

      There’s this thing called walking, public transport and Lyft. An 18 year old doesn’t need wheels in a city school.

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  209. I know I wasn’t making excuses for him. I should have worded my post better, but I was pointing out that he knowingly drove a vehicle without a license. So, at the very least, he knew he was breaking the law on that count.

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  211. It was 20 years ago today Sargent Pepper taught the band to play. It was also 20 years ago today when 6’ 3” Panther Julius Page threw down that mighty tomahawk slam over 7-foot Hoya Ruben Boumtje Boumtje!

    Was a great moment for Pitt fans.

    And what a great sports moment for JP1 to have on video to show his family…

    Go Pitt.

    Liked by 2 people

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