225 thoughts on “Pitt at Notre Dame Basketball Thread”

  4. Refs just dying to call anything on Pitt. Ridiculous T on Hinson!!
    Pitt needs to tighten up on D

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  7. Two moving screens on ND not called leaving wide open 3s. Gonna be a ref special night. You can just feel the tension by Pitt w every call

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  9. ND w 8 wide open looks from 3. Inexcusable !! Pitt needs to keep this close til the ND adrenaline runs out.

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  16. Agree w putting twins on their shooters but we have no offense while they’re out there. Pitt s missed last 7 shots.

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  20. Pitt is 2 for 13 from the 3 point line – ouch!

    We look way out of sync so far.

    Fortunately there is a lot of time left. ND’s bench is not very deep.

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  22. Pitt is 1 for 3 at the free throw line. Cummins is getting pushed around with no fouls being called.

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  29. Just horrible defense by Pitt and ND shooting lights out. Pitt down 14.
    ND using VTech defense to perfection has Pitt completely rattled

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  30. Turn out the lights.

    The Irish look better than #25 Pitt.

    Capel needs to go to a full court press in the 2nd half – play ten guys and wear out the Irish.

    Liked by 1 person

      1. You are right. It’s Elliott with 2. But as of now, it doesn’t look like foul trouble will be a factor in this game. Foul shooting might.

        Liked by 1 person

  34. Wife just yelled at me for screaming at the TV! This is just like every other ND game we’ve played since 2013. Total and complete domination of Pitt in every phase of the game!

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  35. No pressure on ND and Pitt is feeling the pressure of the moment. Hopefully they can come out and reset in the 2nd half.

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  39. Pitt is 3 of 15 from 3….20%….1 of 5 from FT….another 20%

    And not much better overall FG…35% . And for the most part these are wide open looks.

    Maybe we are a 9 seed at best. This team ain’t the Sam Young/DeJuan Blair/Levance team.

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  40. If we can’t handle High pressure games we don’t deserve to be ranked. I believe that we are MUCH better than the team we have on the court tonight.

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  46. ND has run the same play over and over and killing us with it. Pitt down 17 and it’s not getting any better!

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  53. Whoever Cummings guards he’s getting isolated and scored on.

    Take him out, go bigger with Nike.

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  57. no one on Pitt taking the lead with effort or talent

    they are suffocating under their own anxiety

    hard to watch

    wth was that attempt by Hinson?

    and Nellie not hitting 2 FT’s?

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  60. Let’s see.xxxooo I’ll bet next time down the floor ND drives and passed out for a wide open 3

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  62. Wide open 18 point lead. Pitt wins they are the ACC regular season champions.

    Choke?

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  67. Seems like other than 76 NC year whenever Pitt plays ND in football or basketball in a big game….we more than often …..sh^t the bed.

    Should have known……should have known……

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  68. Terrible showing by the Pitt players, coaches and ND referees.

    The body language of the Panthers show they weren’t ready to play tonight.

    No fight, no focus and now no composure.

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  69. Down 20. This one’s over. I’m switching to NCIS. Awful night to choke and play our worst game of the year. Everytime pollsters give us a break we prove them wrong. H2P

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  71. We aren’t making free throws and nothing else is working.

    Does Pitt ever change things up when they alow the other team to make runs?

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    1. Elliott and Cummins with 2 points each. Federico Federico with 4 points.

      The national media has not talked about Pitt all year. Tomorrow, our ears will be bleeding.

      Liked by 1 person

  76. Pit has to win Saturday now against a pissed off Miami on the road. Way to show up guys….

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  79. I’m thinking the team got some bad sushi for lunch and they’re all dehydrated from puking all afternoon. How else do you explain this?

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    1. The ranking went to their heads – they believed they were better than a 2 win ND team.

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    1. Three losses in one game –

      On the scoreboard

      Capel for ACC coach of the year

      And Burton for ACC player of the year

      Liked by 1 person

  81. FT shooting should be a constant. When nothing is going right the FTs should always drop.

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  82. BAD shooting all day

    FT

    3pt

    even a bunch of missed bunnies

    the FT’s are inexcusable

    needed to dribble-drive and never got that going early when the 3’s weren’t dropping

    Hinson or Elliott needed to keep shooting, probably Elliott mostly

    .

    really looked forward to this game and didn’t believe how close the line was but….

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  83. This game will be a one-off IF we play well and win in Miami. Saturday’s game will test resiliency and will be the most important game of the year by far to this point.

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  84. A big consolation for me is that I’m glad this game didn’t happen last Saturday against Syracuse. That game and atmosphere were magic. I wouldn’t trade that for a win at ND.

    Liked by 3 people

  86. Look, no consolation but every team has one of these. Most of the time they couldn’t come at a worse time! As did this!! Mental Pressure just destroyed Pitt. I’m as sad and upset as all of you because I did not think this could happen to THIS Pitt team! They yielded to the pressure of ND and all the stars that showed up.

    This team presses because their legs are shot. They need some time off not running 100 suicides! My humble opinion. H2P

    Liked by 2 people

  91. When you lose to a 2-16 team and n conference, there is nothing good you can say about it.

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  92. Poor sportsmanship by the Pitt players after the game ended – followed the lead of their coach.

    Sad look.

    At least they’ll still be ranked 25th after the loss.

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  93. Only bright spot of the evening…at least the kid from Pittsburgh (Mars) didn’t get the last basket of the game against the U of Pittsburgh !

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  94. What are the odds…….LOL

    All 3 teams that just got ranked…Maryland #21, Kentucky #23 & Guess Who #25
    all lost tonight.

    The Twerps got beat by lowly Ohio State…….UK by Vandy. But neither of them shot 55%
    from the Charity Stripe.

    Liked by 1 person

  95. Didn’t Notre Dame close out the history of Pitt Stadium….losing to a pretty bad Pitt team.

    And that ND team was coached by Pittsburgher Bob Davie.

    Cause it’s hard to miss that many Free Throws…..even for High Schoolers ! lol

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  96. Cannot say I did not see this coming. Just beat Miami and everything will be forgiven!

    Being ranked is overrated!

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  97. ND took away the 3s early and they panicked. That is not the mark of an experienced team. It showed up in the missed FTs and by the time they recovered it was too late.

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  98. The worst part of the loss to ND last night was that Pitt did not play defense.

    With Fede getting burned over and over on D, I thought we would at least see the Pitt coaches switch up and play zone to try to slow down the ND barrage of 3’s.

    The twins and Santos barely played – I only saw one twin play and never saw Santos enter the game.

    I hope that was a one off as some of you are saying. I’m wondering if the water boy & equipment manager had bad games too, because everyone else soiled the sheets one way or another last night.

    Never the less, we will stay outside the top 25 (after this week) and probably get a 9 or lower seed if we can win one more game.

    If we don’t we’ll probably host an NIT game.

    Liked by 1 person

    1. Good points, Rick. I’m pretty sure that at one point both twins were in the game together. I think it was in the first half. How rare is that? Obviously didn’t make a difference.

      I guess I’m an old softy because I hate when one of our players drops a TD pass or misses free throws at the end of a game and becomes the target of fans for having lost the game. I can’t think of a better example of a total team loss than last night. An off night for everyone. Maybe some credit to Sibande and Burton for trying to carry us. But no one player or two players cost us the game. Gotta move on and not let it tarnish what we enjoyed this season.

      Liked by 3 people

  99. Pretty much speechless last night.
    FLST, GT, ND, are we seeing a pattern?

    Us:
    Poor defense, poor shooting, poor ball movement, missed free throws.

    Them:
    Solid defense, excellent shooting,great ball movement, made free throws

    Refs:
    Too many questionable calls, two technicals

    Pitt loses another one they really needed, I see no chance of victory in Miami and if they get skunked in the tournament they are out of the NCAA’s, and the pundits are proven right all year.

    What a sad ending to another wise fairy book year.

    Really hoping to be proven wrong.

    Liked by 1 person

    1. I don’t see those commonalities much at all

      Fl St had one guy get very hot and we couldn’t stop him/them, so bad defense I guess and Nellie and Nike combined 1 for 12 from 3
      Don’t remember the refereeing

      VaTech(not GT) played well at home and we shot poorly on 3’s and average on FT, maybe again Pitt D not getting it done
      questionable refereeing

      ND had Hammond and a couple others hitting everything from 3 and FT and Pitt missing everything, everything
      Pitt D was weak
      questionable refereeing that I think when it happened early might have gotten into Pitt heads that is could be a tough night

      last night was odd in that Pitt played out of sorts in almost every aspect of the game except driving to the hoop which they don’t typically rely upon

      .
      2 things I think needed to change is Fede’s help hedging which didn’t seem to help anything

      Pitt players aren’t quick on their feet to stay in front of a good shooting team when they can therefore(because of their good shooting) spread the court and then dribble-drive past the guy in front of them
      Fede needs to stay back and defend any penetration and let the outside defenders play as tight outside as possible to defend the 3

      the second I don’t understand at all and it’s that Elliott both played less and shot very little

      maybe Capel thought Pitt needed to dribble-drive more to create foul trouble for ND and of course Elliott doesn’t do that well but with nobody else hitting anything, I think you need him to at least create space with his positioning looking for that pass out from JB or Nike or Nellie

      .

      that said, I think we make the tournament even IF we lose the next 2 but I certainly don’t have any high hopes with how this team looked under the bright lights of the moment with the opportunity to clinch the ACC regular season

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  100. Lots of bad but the bottom line, if PITT shoots their normal 80% from the charity line they win. I count a missed first shot on a one an one as two missed shots, which is what it is. I know many may disagree with this?

    How many points did Capel cost PITT from his technical?

    Sure PITT played awful, yet they could have pulled out a very sloppy win.

    Liked by 2 people

    1. I agree but nothing seemed to work last night and it was a crushing loss

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  101. I think the Capel technical was strategic, just trying to fire the team up. So no issues with that, but Capel misused Fede to try something new on defense instead of going to a zone. Big mistake. And they gave up on shooting 3s way too easily. Given the ND energy at the start, they needed to put the hammer down early to shut them down, but instead they let ND stay in it.

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  102. Voice of reason hit it on the nose!
    Pitt panicked and as panic can do, it spread like wildfire!

    I don’t see it often in basketball, but when it happens it’s as contagious as Covid. It usually occurs in high pressure must win situations and it usually happens to very good teams.

    I just didn’t think it could happen to THIS Pitt team!! Maturity, seasoned players, been in this situation many times, etc. should have prevented it.

    It started when an 85% FT shooter missed both FTs badly, when good 3 Pt shooters barely hit the rim. The self imposed pressure becomes overwhelming. That’s what happened last night. It wasn’t the bad defense or missed FTs that beat Pitt, it was the self imposed panic!

    It was the first time this year that the “moment” was too big for Pitt!

    Liked by 3 people

    1. Exactly right, Dan. I thought Sibande and Cummings were particularly bad at the line during the period late in the 2nd half when they were attempting a come back. Two twenty-somethings who should have ice in their veins when the pressure is on.

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    2. Exactly what I thought watching the game.

      Thought it was a bit of a gamble to keep going to the hoop to draw fouls vs trying to close the gap with 3’s.

      There was one moment – I think the announcer even said it – when Hinson just missed a 3 that might have really swung the mo.

      I don’t blame Capel for taking the T – whether strateegery or simply frustration. The refs made some awful calls last night. Not blaming it on them, but the timing of some calls really hurt us.

      How else to explain the missed FTs?…
      (Saving Ike the effort)

      Pitt will be the dog in Miami and hopefully will reset, play for fun and do what they do best… hitting threes and FTs.

      Liked by 3 people

  103. I very rarely bail out from watching a game, however, last night was an abomination. I will not rehash all the things that went wrong, but if there was one thing that stood out like a blinding laser beam it was our horrendous foul shooting. I think the team came in overconfident after they blasted Cuse out of the building and started to press and panic when the game started to go sour. Capel probably should have called a time-out earlier in the 1st half…but hey what do I know?

    The Miami game clearly presents an opportunity to get the ship sailing again, however, we all know that the Canes are a far superior team than the Irish. No prediction coming from me because I am not a psychologist or psychiatrist…the Panthers were a mental mess in South Bend. Magic mushrooms in the pre-game meal? We have the talent to win! So, will the fighting Panthers play in Miami or the pussycat Panthers?? I defer to the POV for some answers.

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  105. In the VT game, we shot 17% in 3s, but free throws 68%. Lost by 7.
    Last night, better in 3s, far worse in free throws. Lost by 7.
    We live on these stats like most teams.
    Lack of focus the problem.

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  106. This is what happens when you show up with the attitude that you can beat this opponent with your shooting arm tied behind your back and a patch on your shooting eye! I’d have to say Capel clearly did not have them focused to play this game. Shame on Jeff!

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  107. very interesting, almost funny how many see this loss differently

    and I don’t doubt sincerity or suspect agendas but reflective of how each sees players and coaches responsibilities and then individual v team roles and then of course how all that works or doesn’t in the circumstances of a particular game

    .

    one question of Dan72 because I totally disagree with VOR yet you don’t

    is it ever a good strategy to go to a zone when the opposing team is shooting lights out from the 3?

    I ALWAYS thought the opposite

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    1. You are correct. A zone is an awful defense against a hot shooting team. See Syracuse vs Pitt.

      ND shot way over their “pay grade “ because they did not want to lose in Breys last game and in front of many ND dignitaries. Pitt did not respond with the same intensity and it evolved into extensive contagious self pressure.

      I’ve only had one team ever do this and I never saw it coming. I tried everything from joke telling to compliments to screaming at halftime. Nothing worked. Much like last night.

      Liked by 3 people

      1. I think what VOR “might” be trying to point out with the switch to zone is they needed to do something different and they did not.

        Fede was getting schooled for most of the game – the zone would have settled Fede back into the paint and let the more agile players defend the shooter.

        ND had many wide open shots all night. For the first 3 quarters of the game the ND lead grew.

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  110. tvax1, my only thought was to use a zone to change things up a bit and maybe disrupt their hot shooting. They were making a lot of mid-range shots at the top of the key, and maybe this could slow them down a bit. Giving that team 88 points was ridiculous and I was in try anything mode..

    Liked by 1 person

    1. Maybe a matchup zone! Pitt was getting killed switching lazily on screens and leaving Irish shooters wide open. Much like VTech and FSU….. and Cuse.

      I think their legs are shot. Just my humble opinion.

      I could not agree more with frustration of Capel’s lack of calling time outs! He did start extending a 2/3 press and Pitt went down 19 before half.

      Pitt never once led in this game… a game that Pitt needed to come out hot and impose their will on ND.

      What worries me most is the new self doubt created by this debacle. It takes a huge mind set to recover from a set back like this. Especially playing the most talented team in the ACC for all the marbles on Saturday.

      Liked by 1 person

  111. Liked by 6 people

  112. Sage advice from Chris Peak:

    Liked by 2 people

  113. Really hard to win when you miss 16 free throws, some of them one and ones. Obviously the most consequential and inexplicable aspect of the game.

    Really unfortunate to catch ND at home on senior night with Mike Brey retiring. Any other time their house would have been quiet and they would play without the emotion. All sports are still games of emotion and desire and Brey’s kids wanted to win for him and played lights out.

    Blaming this on Capel is silly, he warned all week how tough it would be. All last night the word that would not leave my head was Choke, it happens and that is what we witnessed last night in mass. It was not one player it is on everyone.

    Hopefully it is a one off with no lasting effects, just think Miami is the better team and don’t expect much, making the tournament have much more pressure.

    Liked by 2 people

  114. Dan,
    I would say that’s the point of the absolute need to be totally prepared, highly focused, and completely ready to go into a huge emotional night for the home team. You are certainly not FOCUSED when you miss 16 free throws!

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    1. maybe over focused

      need to play loose and relaxed, especially with a skill like shooting

      vivid in my mind is KD’s pre-FT shake/jiggle

      Like

  116. I had to bail about 5 minutes into the second half. I was ready to break something, probably the TV. Took a long shower, shaved, cleaned up my closet, anything to distract me until I got the alert on my phone with the final score.

    Things I still don’t understand about Capel: reluctance to call TOs in the first half when the opponent is on a big run and reluctance to switch up D to disrupt a hot opponent’s rhythm (with the exception of Syracuse). Yes, the shooters were cold and the missed FTs were as pure a demonstration of tightness as you could ever ask for. But if you go 2/3-court press here and there, maybe an extended zone with some trapping, etc., you can create some TOs, get ND out of their rhythm and get in their heads a bit since they’ve blown some late leads.

    Would have liked the twins and Santos to get some minutes, see if they could provide a spark. Nobody else was. No idea what happened in the last part of the game. Haven’t been able to bring myself to check. Was surprised by the 7-point margin.

    On to Saturday. Not sure my heart can handle it, though!

    Liked by 1 person

    1. You might want to schedule your Saturday shower when the Miami game tips off. Then you could take a nice nap for about an hour before you even look for the score. If you are a betting man take Miami and give the points. After blowing both their FSU game last week with a 25 point lead in the 2nd half and the Pitt game with an 11 point lead late in the game they will be out for blood against Pitt IMO.

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  118. You see now, this is why Pitt can’t have nice things…

    Rank them and they get beat the very next game without fail. I remember when one of Dixon’s teams got a #1 ranking and the very next game got their butts waxed. It’s like handing a nice piece of lead crystal to the 3 Stooges to pass around and look at. You know it will never get to Larry in one piece.

    A funny irony to this if if they lose to Miami and lose the double bye, then lose early in the ACC Tournament they will get to play again at the Pete….in the NIT. Maybe that’s what they need to get re-energized….another Senior Night. 😫

    Liked by 2 people

  119. This was like Pitt football and GT. Sometimes you can’t get the motor started. Capel should have found (or made up) some bulletin board material questioning their manhood to post at game time.

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  120. Last year Wake Forest finished 13-7 in the ACC(25-10 overall), yet was on the Outside looking in…at Dance time.

    If Pitt loses to Miami and one in done in ACC tourny, Pitt would be 14-7 (21-11) and could be this year’s Wake Forest.

    I thought it was strange that Boeheim mentioned Pitt & WF together in his strange comments about ‘buying players’. Cause he has to know, Pitt & WF are 2 of the most likely programs, what with UNC, FSU, NCSU, Miami & Clemson in the mix, to be buying players.

    What led me to the above process, was after seeing this.

    https://bracketologists.com/visualizations/projected-teams-by-conference

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  121. Whoops….meant……Pitt & WF are 2 of the most UNLIKELY programs…to be buying players.

    Hope I misread this, but something really stank about last night. As has the yearlong
    almost total exclusion of any national reporting on Pitt’s resurgence.

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  122. Also Lunardi constantly putting an AQ next to Pitt in his projections, over the last month

    What in effect he’s saying is…….Pitt has to win the ACC Tourney to get in.

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  123. Something to think about. If we lose to Miami, that is 6 loses and ties us with Duke and Clem.
    They own the tie breakers as they both beat us. If they both win Saturday, we would lose the ACC tourney bye and play Wednesday. All bad.

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  124. shoulda posted a while ago when I heard good insider info that Kancey was going to draft higher than expected and Addison lower than

    obviously Kancey’s 40 time already backs that up

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  126. PITT plucked Calijah right out from under “The U” Miami noses. Remember, I expected good things from CK from the start, best wishes CK! Toot tooting my own horn.

    Whoop Whoop, anyone remember these guys from way back, played with “Gravel”

    Liked by 5 people

    1. Gravel was my fave local band. They played at the “Love in Lounge” over the Big O every Friday night 1972-74. . Lots of original songs. Both Corbin and Hammer went to Nashville and became famous song writers for country artists.

      Liked by 1 person

        2. Loved Harold Betters on those hot Summer nights when the Encore doors were open and the jazz flowed smoothly out the door for all to hear!

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          1. Harold Betters was from Connellsville PA, where my PT practice is, and I saw my dad play a gig with him (on drums) when I was a kid.

            Liked by 1 person

  128. Saw where Coach White and Pitt are going to part ways. Announcement expected this week.

    PSN has an article with some quotes from anonymous ACC coaches about what a tough job the Pitt women’s BB job is…

    Tough decision ahead for Heather in finding a new Coach. I wish her better luck this time. Coach White, though he had never been a head coach, did arrive with quite impressive credentials…

    Go Pitt.

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      1. Yeah, hiring an up-and-coming women as head coach makes sense. I doubt a veteran Coach would want to take this job on, given the overall history and the struggles of the last ten years.

        But this area has produced some outstanding players – they just haven’t gone to Pitt…

        Go Pitt.

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        1. White being let go is official. Heather has now fired two women’s basketball coaches during her tenure. If nothing else, she is not afraid to make changes if a coach is not cutting it! That applies even to coaches she has hired.

          I agree we should hire an up-and-coming woman who is presently a head coach at a lower-level program. We went the assistant coach route already with no success.

          I do not believe that it would be difficult to recruit at Pitt for the women’s program. We just need the correct coach.

          Liked by 2 people

  129. Sadly, very predictible….Coach White just did not have the ability to paint a positive picture
    of why playing ACC basketball at Pitt would be attractive for a recruit. I believe that Heather has been (behind the scenes) very active in the search for a new coach…..hopefully not an assistant…we need a highly qualified pro who can teach, and recruit and it will take money to find the right person who is willing to take his/her lumps during the turnaround.

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  130. I remember when we hired Suzie McConnell-Serio, I thought it was a coup, can’t miss, homerun hire ….. nope.

    Liked by 2 people

    1. Agree, Wolfe. (I even remember hoping Pitt would hire Suzie before psu grabbed her. Yikes. )

      Suzie is the supreme example that a new coach’s outstanding “credentials” are no guarantee of success.
      And furthermore she had been a head coach both in college and the pros…

      Go Pitt.

      Liked by 1 person

    2. She should have not hired her sister as an assistant! Nepotism did not work out too well for either of them!

      Like

  132. OT again… Here you go Big Dan, along with Bob Corbin, Scooter and I think Michael also played with Gravel. A song about them growing up locally. Like you said Dan, now they are prolific songwriters for some big big stars in Nashville

    Liked by 1 person

    2. I hadn’t played guitar since age 17 when I was the keyboard and rhythm guitar player for a garage band.

      Picked up the guitar upon retirement 10 years ago. Have 3 now and play every day. Gravel was responsible for my learning
      Caught in a Dream -Alice Cooper
      and Six Days on the Road

      One of my past voice students Kelley Jeanne is becoming a Nashville Star and has met them.
      Kelley went to Pitt and graduated as a Nuclear Engineer. She has played a lot of Pitt Alum events and plays many bars in Pittsburgh once a month.

      Liked by 4 people

  133. Like many of you, I was heartbroken
    with Pitt’s loss at Notre Dame. Their best chance to go to NCAAs.

    I see very little chance of them beating or even hanging with Miami. Wong is the best player in the ACC and Miami the most talented. Unless Miami falls asleep again the last five minutes, this game is liable to be a rout. Remember Miami was clowning Pitt and up 15 at half. If I was setting odds I’d make it Miami -10.5. H2P

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    1. Two possibilities – the team has quietly surrendered and they sleep walk through a loss at Miami or they are so fired up/enraged/determined that Miami gets a beatdown of epic proportions. My view of this team this year is that the latter is more likely than the former.

      H2P!!!

      Like

  135. While I understand the dour predictions for tomorrow evening in Coral Gables, I don’t buy them. Pitt may be an underdog… but the pressure is on the Canes to close this out.

    Two good coaches with two potential POYs on each end of the court… should be a good game.
    A bounce here, a bounce there… and who knows? I just hope the refs call a good game for the entire game.

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  138. Not something most of us want to consider. But here goes.

    Miami won’t have played for a week. So they’re going to have fresh legs.

    Add in the factor that Capel had Pitt pressing and somewhat trying to trap.
    Did it produce even one turnover ? Well anyway lots of running around
    trying to get back into the game.

    Another reason to play Zone some…..you don’t run around as much compared to
    playing Man to Man. Gives your guys a breather somewhat. Keeps their legs fresher
    and with basically a 6 player rotation now, that is important.
    Also the Zone keeps your Bigs at the basket for rebounds. Probably wouldn’t have
    mattered with the way ND was shooting, but who knows. Clearly the Man to Man was getting torched as Pitt gave up 88 points, the 2nd most of the season. To an ACC doormat.

    Capel also took too long imo before he started pressing, it was too large a lead.
    Think it was at 20 points…..when a bell went off…..maybe I should start pressing.

    Still hard to believe, you lose to a doormat team that had ONLY beaten two of the other ACC doormats. L-ville & GT. ND was 2-16 in ACC games.

    Win tomorrow & all that will be forgotten. Lose & it won’t !!

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    1. I will say one thing about a zone defense, you expend way less energy playing it. As bad as Pitt has been covering 3 point shooters, there might not be a lot of difference playing zone. Pitt’s legs look shot. Especially Fedes.
      I would put all our efforts into our offense, play a matchup zone ( which means playing man to man in an isolated area). As it gives you the best of both worlds.
      I’d extend that defense 3/4 court after our baskets and give Miami less time in our half of the floor.

      But, I wouldn’t do any of it til second half when they have no time to adjust. That’s a lot of over coaching.

      Like

  139. Speaking of Gravel wasn’t it Benny that died in a car accident? They were one of my favorite local bands.

    Also remember Mickey Hutchko he was a ME and fb player (66-70). His daughter Sydney is a singer song writer in Nashville. She played a number of times in Pittsburgh around 10 years ago. Saw her as an opening act at the Pepsi Roadhouse. They used to have a number of good country acts there.

    Just old memories.

    Liked by 1 person

    1. I used to work with a guy who loved Gravel. He went to any concert of theirs he could. He and his wife loved them.

      Liked by 1 person

      1. My Italian friends dads owned the Love In Lounge which I think became The Decade. I’d moved to Baltimore in 74. I never paid for a drink there and stood in awe every time I heard Gravel play.
        Thanks to everyone for the awesome memories!

        Like

  141. I’ve said this on a Steeler blog. If you think the Steelers are taking anyone but Addison in the first round, you are mistaken!

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  142. BTW, if there are Boz Scaggs’ fans on here, he’s appearing for one night in May at the Carnegie Music Hall in Oakland.

    Liked by 1 person

  144. I think we may need to face the possibility that Pitt has already peaked and we will witness an early exit from the ACC Tournament and likely NIT bid. The formula is simply too clear: shut down the 3s and Pitt has no inside game to counter. The big Miami guards will take Cummings out of the game, and their only chance is to attack the rim and get to the line.

    Fede has made significant progress this year, and his outlook is really good for next year. But they are playing him too far out from the basket, and he can’t score from there. If Hinson gets into foul trouble we are toast. I hope JoeL is right, but I have a bad feeling about this game.

    Liked by 1 person

  145. If we were to lose to Miami, we need either Clemson to lose to Notre Dame today or Duke to lose to UNC in order for us to secure the double bye in the ACC Tourney. Clemson is a 9.5 point fav against ND, so that would be a long shot. UNC is favored at home against Duke by 3.5. Hate to root for UNC but ….

    Our game will be over before either of those two are completed.

    Liked by 1 person

  146. So I scheduled a date night with Mrs. Erie for tonight (over 2 months ago) – I’m in critical thinking mode right now, so let me type this out so I don’t screw up a good night:

    Option (1.) reschedule date night and watch Miami game with a Pitt win -> Mrs. Erie disappointed

    Option (2.) reschedule date night and watch Miami game with a Pitt loses -> both of us disappointed

    Option (3.) keep date night, miss Miami game and Pitt wins -> both of us happy

    Option (4.) keep date night and Pitt loses -> Mrs. Erie happy and my disappointment is delayed

    Option (5.) keep date night but move dinner plans to a sports bar… -> Mrs. Erie realizes she is not on a date with her husband and EE loses BIG time

    Option (3.) looks like the best route provided Pitt wins.

    H2P!

    Liked by 6 people

  147. Voice, unfortunately I agree with your analysis to a tee. Frankly if Pitt loses the next two games, they do not deserve to go to the NcAAs!

    Gimmick defenses only work for short bursts of time. Only way I see this Pitt team staying in the game w Miami is if they activate Dior!!

    Liked by 1 person

  148. Rick, keep date night.
    Mrs Erie is far more important than a hoop game.
    Record the game and when Pitt wins celebrate watching it with some nice champagne 🍾.

    Liked by 3 people

  150. Happy World Engineering Day, everybody! I’m not sure who has the authority to declare a world day, but apparently someone did.

    More importantly, I know that on Saint Patrick’s Day we are supposed to dress in green, talk with a fake Irish accent, and drink until we can’t stand up anymore. What are the traditions for World Engineering Day?

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    3. One tradition should be to dig out your old slide rule and check out the puzzled looks on the faces of your kids and grandkids…

      Go Pitt.

      Liked by 1 person

  155. I’ll try this a second time. At the half #2 Alabama is losing to #24 A&M, 22 to 32. Alabama made 2 of 19 three point shots, 10.5%. A&M is shooting 3’s at a 12.5% pace. It happens. They are human and even the best teams in the country can have an off shooting night, across the entire team.

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  156. I’m watching Seton Hall who is 16-14 and the announcers are saying they could get an at-large bid if the win a game or two in the Big East tournament.

    They just said the same thing about Villanova who is also 16-14.

    Pitt’s record is 21-9 with much discussion of them not getting an invite to the tournament.

    Scratching my head…😮🤔

    Liked by 2 people

  158. Playing off Dan72’s comment earlier today about tired legs for Pitt vs Miami’s fresh legs with a full week off from games –

    Capel should sub Fede with the twins rapidly & often in the first half – three man rotation. Let Fede see the game and be ready for a monster 2nd half where he gets the bulk of the minutes.

    I would switch up the D like Dan72 said “in the 2nd half only”. That negates the halftime adjustments by Laurinaga (sp).

    Pitt needs an early lead and then maintain that lead for the win.

    I’m also hoping Capel has some new twists that no one has seen yet (phoned his friend coach K) – tonight is the night to leave it all out on the court in Coral Gables.

    FIRST place and an ACC regular season championship is on the line.

    Go Pitt!

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  159. Miami one is now at 8

    The BPI shows Miami with an 86% chance to win.

    Did not Pitt win the last meeting between these teams?

    Chip placed squarely on shoulder…

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