Here is another good BB piece by the POV reader Jason White…keep them coming please…
As the college basketball regular season comes to a close Pitt finds themselves in a familiar situation. A year ago, with one game left in the season, Pitt sat firmly on the bubble with the confidence that they were in a win and you’re in scenario against Miami. Despite losing that game Pitt had done enough after a win in the ACC tournament to persuade the selection committee to give them a bid.
Last season all Pitt needed was one win. This season they don’t appear to be as fortunate.
The Needs:
Win… There is no sugarcoating it. Pitt must win this Saturday against NC State to keep their tournament dreams alive. Pitt failed to capitalize on their two quad-one opportunities against Clemson and Wake Forest. In turn, Pitt has run out of wiggle room. Lacking the quad-one wins that other bubble teams boast Pitt must turn to quantity over quality to win over the committee. The first and most crucial step is winning this Saturday.
37… It had been well documented that 37 is the magic number. No team with a NET ranking of 37 or higher has been left out of the tournament. Pitt needs to find a way to reach that threshold. Whether it be through a convincing win this Saturday, or a deep ACC tournament run, improving their NET ranking from 44 to 37 is crucial in continuing to build their case. (Note: I believe this “Magic Number” will be broken this year as there are too many bubble teams with high NET rankings on the outside looking in.)
The Wants:
One more quad-one win… Pitt may get into the tournament without another big win on their resume, however, another quad-one win in the ACC tournament would all but secure an at-large bid for the Panthers.
The double-bye… Pitt is still very much in contention for the coveted double-bye in the ACC tournament. Getting the double-bye could go a long way toward convincing the selection committee, however more importantly it puts them in a position to get that last quad-one win.
A little bit of help… There are many factors in Pitt’s tournament chances that are out of their control. They are surrounded by a dozen or so teams all fighting for their tournament life. If Pitt can manage to get some favorable results from some of those bubble teams their path to the big dance may become a lot shorter.
A little bit more help… The biggest thing that can sink Pitt’s tournament chances that are outside of their control is the results from conference tournaments. Pitt needs to hope that there are very few upsets in conference tournaments. Every non-tournament team that wins a conference tournament can potentially take an at-large spot away from the Panthers. (i.e. Both Princeton and Indiana State are in a position to receive at-large bids if they were to lose their conference tournament however no other teams from their respective conferences would receive bids if they were both to win their conference tournaments.)
The Maybe:
The most unpredictable factor in all of this is the committee. We are basing all of our predictions on the “Bracketologists” predictions. For all we know the committee views Pitt as a tournament team regardless of their remaining results. Maybe, short of winning the ACC tournament, Pitt has no chance of getting in at all. Regardless of what the committee’s feelings are toward this team, you can bet your ass no one will be lining up to play the Panthers if they go dancing.
H2P!
pittpov.com 
as I think about tonight’s game, all I want to see is an evenly officiated game tonight(or one that arguably leans Pitt as there have been a couple this year) and of course related to that is a smart game by the Pitt talls(not bigs 😦 ) as NCSt had the BIG
if that happens, win or lose, I believe the team wins this critical and necessary game that opens the door for a double bye and imo allows the potential for a bid with only the need for 1 win in the ACC tourney to lock up an NCAA bid
until the WF blowout, I thought Pitt only needed to win each of the other games other than Clemson and therefore go 8-2 in the last 10 games but there are far too many teams in and around that record and in the 30-60 net ranking area to feel like the committee will give the ACC and therefore Pitt an edge
worst case scenario would be either a Big East Villanova or St John’s getting in(unless either won their tournament) instead of Pitt or Cinn(would be B12 10th) or 5(or 6) Mountain West teams(if the ACC doesn’t get the same)
LikeLike
oh, I so need the edit feature 😦
LikeLike
Hahaha – I always think that after I post. Edit would be nice.
Tossing
LikeLiked by 1 person
In WordPress if you get the Editor feature you can edit not only your own posts everyone’s posts…that’s why Reed only has it and anyone else he wants as a moderator.
LikeLike
Great article, explained Pitt’s predicament very well, Thanks!
LikeLike
When comparing Pitt to other “Bubble” teams, the non-conference SOS of 340 is their biggest problem.
I agree that Pitt likely needs to get one more quality (Q1) win. They may not get that opportunity until the ACC semi-final.
So, win today. Then, look to make the ACC final.
xfmrman
LikeLike
Well done. Hard to argue any of that.
I do have a sneaking suspicion that the committee will have a more favorable view of the ACC than the computers.
Nothing based on fact but there does appear to be some momentum in the national media that the ACC is a better conference than it’s being recognized as.
Regardless, NC St is a must-win game. No if-ands-butts about it …
Noah Hiles as a really excellent puff piece about Blake Hinson in the PG. Use incognito or private for the browser if you’re blocked by the paywall.
https://t.co/Kf2R4eQ7jv
Tossing
LikeLike
To give you an idea of where Pitt is … Capel gets big names on campus …
The issue is whether the Pitt administration will step up to the table to play ball. The PG beat writers recently said they’ve heard it’s going to take $1.5M to land him so Pitt is a long shot.
With the NIL enforcement being tossed out the window, this is a litmus test on Pitt’s commitment to athletics in the new world order.
This is more than the 412 Alliance … The Pitt Administration has to put some skin in the game. If they want fans to invest, they have to show that they’re willing to pony up and invest in the program.
Winning is nice but you also need to see the commitment from Pitt. Winning, coupled with Pitt’s investment into the program (football and basketball), is how you get a grassroots campaign to start to scale.
If Pitt wants significant NIL contributions they have to, first, show that they are committed to building a brand with national appeal.
Pitt has boosters … they’ve just been alienated. Pitt opening up the coffers, would be a big step to rebuilding some of those burnt bridges.
Tossing
LikeLike
Pitt favored by 6.5. My take to post later this afternoon.
LikeLike
Great article anon.
Tossing follow up. Most major colleges have a highly paid position that reports directly to the AD responsible for tying Alums to the schools Athletic Teams. I know several. You know at least one.
Pitt is one of only two ACC Schools not to have this. No surprise as Pitt Board of Directors in combination with the Chancellor continues to be an Albatross around the Sports Teams neck!
LikeLike
Interesting. Isn’t that Bostick’s job? Or, am I mistaken?
I’m not so worried about the Chancellor. The Chancellor is just a VP in the Pitt system. Each branch campus has a “VP”, too. Pitt’s main campus is the biggest, obviously, but at the end of the day she’s just a VP reporting to the Board. She has some power and some say but will likely always defer to the Board’s direction.
Pitt does not have a President of the University which, even with a Board, would wield more power as she would likely have been responsible for electing at least some of the board members.
But, yes, that’s a big problem if Pitt does not have that Alumni relationship role. And, I agree it should be a well paid gig.
Who is the other school without one? And, who do I know? Or is it know of? Lol. Bickell? I’m just a humble kid from Erie … I don’t walk in those circles. Haha.
Tossing
LikeLike
If it takes 1.5 million to buy a player through NIL please count me out . The entire top level college sports system is rotten. Yes, I want to see Pitt win but mega money being spent on a possible one and done is just plain stupid. Pitt needs to upgrade its academic standing REALLY as our ranking is beginning to drop. So, unless a billionaire like Tepper ( not gonna happen) decides to fund Pitt athletics like T Boone Pickitt did with OK State we are never going to be able to “buy” top talent.
LikeLiked by 2 people
Hear, hear.
Pitt can do much more with $1.5M than spend it on one untested BB player.
Put it this way, if Dior Johnson was a senior in high school this year would you spend $1.5 million dollars on adding him to the roster with all the crap he had in his past and in his present?
LikeLiked by 2 people
I’d argue that you cannot do better with that $1.5M because you would never have that $1.5M … that’s all fan (booster) donations right there … or money earmarked towards player funding … if Pitt ever decided to fully invest in Athletics.
So splurging on one player is absolutely worth it. Unlike football, one player can be the difference on the hardwood … unless we’re talking QB … then spend that money, Pitt. PLEASE!!!!!
If you don’t want to contribute, that’s your prerogative. I, personally, have no interest in paying salaries. I have a family to take care of and that’s my personal priority. I spend my entertainment dollars in other ways …
But … why would I care how other people spend their entertainment dollars? If fans want to contribute to this because it gives them pleasure than I’m all for it. Or spend it another way … I won’t ask you to pay for this, ether. If you contributed to the 412 Alliance and Pitt does well, I can absolutely see how you would feel vested in the team’s success … and I can absolutely see how that could give someone some fulfillment.
Elite teams have one and done’s in college basketball. If you want a top team you generally have to have at least one … and you’re going to have to spend to get them … which is not a novel concept … it’s just in the open, now.
This naivety that college sports has not been like this blows my mind. College sports are by far the shadiest of all sports and have been that way for decades. College athletics have not been this representation of innocence that a lot of you imply it was.
It’s why I always laugh at the crowd who consistently want coaching changes. The coaches don’t matter if you’re not investing in the program. They’ve all had the same ceiling the last 40 years for a reason … money. You like the coach or you don’t … but they all win about the same and lose about the same.
Everyone else was cheating … and Pitt played it straight … straight into mediocrity.
I’ve said it before … Go watch the 30 for 30 on Marcus Dupree … the OU RB from the 80’s.
Your ideals of what college athletics are do match reality … and this goes back, again, decades. This isn’t a novel concept.
What professional sport requires the amount of supervision and compliance and oversight that the NCAA has been required to perform with college athletics?
It’s because the NCAA has always been the Wild Wild West. Coaches, players, schools have been getting caught cheating for what seems forever, now. And significant cheating … and with insignificant punishment.
So, I get you do not like the currently climate for college sports. I really do. But, I also think that you’re clinging to an old institutional model that was as corrupt as any business in the United States … we’re talking political and wall street corrupt, too.
To say that you’re fed up with it now, of all time, is fascinating to me because all of this chaos has potential to lead to a much less corrupt system with rules and policies that can actually be governed like the professional leagues can.
Tossing
LikeLiked by 1 person
Man, I had a long writeup that apparently got lost.
I’d argue that $1.5M cannot be better spent because Pitt would never have it. Can’t spend money that you don’t have.
You want a great basketball team? Well, you need a great player. So spending your money on one guy makes sense. Unlike football, one player can make a huge impact … well, unless that player is a QB … then spend that money, Pitt! Please!!!!
College sports have been shady for 50+ years. What professional sport requires the amount of compliance and oversight and enforcement that the NCAA has to do with Universities? Universities, coaches, players have been cheating and getting caught and not getting caught for a very long time … and all with punishments that are much less than the crimes.
You imply that this is leading to a lost innocence … but it’s the least innocent of all athletic institutions. The NCAA is, and has been, a very dirty venture.
Pitt has played it straight for 40 years … straight into mediocrity … The fan base is the way they are because the old model was terrible for Pitt.
The current model could be beneficial.
Tossing
LikeLike
Not 72 to 82
That is why they won
Kman
LikeLike
Oh man … some anon did not like me comparing that era to the U in the 80’s … event though it’s two biggest named coaches were Johnny protege’s … and anyone remember when Wanny came back and we were on the cover of SI for most criminal charges?
Wanny was just getting started when they brought SP back to can him for not falling in line.
Tossing
LikeLike
I graduated from Pitt already. My connection to the school is athletics, now.
I would much rather them spend it on athletics, personally … and selfishly.
You want better athletics … have a ultra successful and profitable athletic department that can feed academics. You can have both. See all the top schools in the B1G.
… and that’s kind of point regarding the super-boosters you mentioned … Pitt has them … but, they likely have to see that Pitt is committed to this before they’ll invest their money into the program.
You have to spend money to make money … If you sit back and wait, you already lost.
Tossing
LikeLike
should have said “you want better academics?”
Tossing
LikeLike
Jason – excellent post!
Great analysis and nice to have a fresh voice.
Saw this list of games to follow
https://x.com/hoopsnut351/status/1766494154941464926?s=46&t=MDFxk0JT6fnEV6kuQ822DQ
LikeLike
Accidentally posted this in the last thread:
@Jason – when Ron Cook retired a few weeks ago, he noted the thing he got criticized for the most (and he is reminded of it weekly) was his vote for Jason White over Larry Fitzgerald. Glad Pitt fans are still haunting him. He deserves it.
LikeLiked by 2 people
If they have to come up with millions to pay Bub and Jaland and that is the going price, they need to do it if they can. That’s why they call it competition. Face it this has been going on for years under the table, maybe not with these new numbers, but the other two options are to stink or give up the program.
You may not like it but if you want to eat at Alla Famiglia you have to pay the price, you might be satisfied at Olive Garden, or Pizza Hut but you won’t win a championship or even be competitive.
LikeLike
Right on. It’s just in the open, now. Following the rules has left Pitt in mediocrity for 40 years … now, they can play the same game everyone else is playing … or not … but if they don’t Pitt will get left behind.
Keep up with the Jones’s Pitt … it’s legal, now …
Tossing
LikeLiked by 1 person
It’s my opinion that Pitt just used the rules in the past as an excuse to be cheap.
LikeLike
Yeah, not sure what was going on there. Wanny started testing the boundaries of that and got canned quickly by SP.
Jeff Long was going to ride that wave and did to Arkansas … prepared him well for the SEC.
I didn’t love Wanny. I thought he was too conservative on the field for the college game but he was a risk taker with recruitment.
Once Jeff Long left, Dixon started to lose his budget as well.
SP is the devil incarnate.
Tossing
LikeLike
It is the academics wielding power.
Losing in sports is a good thing to them. They think it proves academic integrity.
I saw it at BU.
Got rid of football/ baseball
Dropped to the worst conference in D1 basketball and added a bunch of woman’s teams.
All equally bad.
The profs were happy.
10 years later they get to join the Patriot league and they are happy.
That is the issue. You have to have equal access to power in athletics or you will lose because the profs like it.
KMAN
LikeLike
Solution, don’t let anyone on the BoT who drinks soy milk and/or doesn’t own at least one Steelers or Pens hat.
LikeLike
Wow, and here I am believing in amaturism so much that I have never charged anyone a penny to partake in this blog, nor have I ever made a penny on advertisements because it would interfere with YOUR enjoyment of the POV.
All the above comments supporting these changes are a crock of crap and college sports is circling the crapper now. If you want the marketplace to invade every single aspect of life then have at it.
Because it has taken something fun, with some fissures, but really a fun thing, and made it just another business that milks everything and everyone for all it can get.
When these kids become school employees, and they will, what do you think are going to happen to ticket prices? Or, maybe there won’t be anymore live games but only matches put on to TV streaming.
But please don’t kid yourself that this is going to make college FB or BB any better in any way than it was. What in Hell do you think is going to happen when the all pervasive gambling sites start paying these athletes to be part of that business?
Does anyone really believe there won’t be gross corruption in that? It sure as hell will and who is going to stop it? The NCAA will be long gone and the profiteers will not allow another governing body to be form (at least one that isn’t corrupt).
Sooner or later it will be just like the wrestling you see on TV and when back in the day the Feds required the TV stations to run the disclaimer “For entertainment purposes only” because that is exactly what college ball will turn into.
As I’ve said before, you can have it because it just is not ethical athletics or actual competitive sports any longer. It’s becoming a monstrosity.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Reed,
It never was ethical. I don’t get where you think NCAA athletics were ever clean.
It was so bad in the 80’s that SMU was made an example of where the limits were …
College sports have been the least ethical sporting enterprise since before the Olympics started letting pro’s play … which they did … because everyone was cheating …
Tossing
LikeLike
Reed, I appreciate your point of view and I also favor the student-athlete model but those days are long gone and may have been a mirage. If you look at who wins National Championships in the two major sports at has been those with the biggest budgets for a long time. How many of those championships have been vacated by breaking the rules, always about money. How long has it been since a kid couldn’t play because his grades were bad.
We learn that even the great John Wooden had a bag man making payoffs and fixing problems. College sports has always been a cesspool with money and outright cheating going unpunished. Penn State, Michigan St, Ohio State protect pedophiles, and molesters to protect their brands. Florida St. won a championship with an accused rapist. UNC had players who never attended a class. The Cam Newton story and how many other that we have never heard of.
Now Universities are bring in millions paying coaches millions and the players are finally going to be compensated.
Change is never all good, money is the root of all evil but you can’t stop progress.
The train is rolling down the track you can jump on board or get runned over.
Hopefully there will be a better system established that will save some of the good stuff and create a more level playing field. Unfortunately there are no guarantees
and Reed may be absolutely right. The stakes have never been higher and NIL and the portal have had major unintended consequences.
But the good ole days are just that, the only constant is change, and hopefully Pitt will adjust to it and have a product that we all can enjoy.
LikeLike
Well Gordon, I’m jumping off board because I hate these changes, think they are horrible for all involved and truly don’t give a damn any longer.
LikeLike
Reed, I am really sorry to hear it but certainly understand where you are coming from.
It is no wonder college coaches are leaving the game. Imagine putting all that time and energy into recruiting and coaching only to have your best players go on to “greener” pastures. Everyone wants to blame Slovis for Pitt’s decline a year ago but it was really USC’s poaching of Addison that was the biggest blow to the offense. This year the most promising D lineman hits the portal trail. Capel has to be concerned about losing players to the highest bidder.
It is truly screwed up and if changes aren’t made soon I’ll probably hit the trail with you.
I have always loved athletics and kids performing at their highest levels in all sports. I sure hope they can get this figured out, as unlikely as that may seem.
LikeLike
Wouldn’t it be great if Pitt men’s BB caught lightning in a bottle and went on a historic run. They have five legit 3 point shooters and a fairly decent D.
Problem is no BIG nor bench.
LikeLike
Gotta get into the dance first.
I’d also add Austin to those 5, he can get hot too.
They can certainly overcome their inside games when the threes are dropping.
They have 7 guys that can play, as long as they don’t get into serious foul trouble that is usually enough
LikeLike
Exactly. I’m not necessarily in favor of the current model either … but I think it could be better for Pitt than the old model.
I also do believe that this will lead to something better.
Reed – I don’t know what you’re talking about regarding gambling … gambling is one of the most legislated businesses and very clean. They do not mess around. They will not have current athletes as salesmen. Have you ever seen a professional athlete sponsor a betting site?
Legalized gambling has no interest in upsetting the status quo. It’s too lucrative of a business.
If you’re talking about kids throwing games and that type of stuff, it was much more likely before legalized gambling than it is now. Vegas will not stand for anything that upsets their business model.
All the NFL players recently suspended by the NFL the last couple seasons have all been self-reported by Vegas. Vegas told the NFL that they had players betting on games.
Colleges are already monitoring this very closely, too. Angering Vegas will be a quick way to out yourself if you’re cheating.
Everything that’s been happening behind closed doors is now happening with the doors wide open.
If you didn’t know it was going on, then I can see how it’s a big jarring … but it’s been going on for a very long time. Reggie Bush lost his Heisman because USC was paying his mom’s rent … and drove Pete Carroll to the NFL.
Athletics will evolve to be a private arm of the University system just like hospitals are.
Tossing
LikeLike
I agree with you 100%.
LikeLike
who are you agreeing with isnore? hard to know under the comment by Reed but your comment on my CPU shows up under Tossing
I agree with Tossing but would have liked it to progress in a far more orderly way
I started not enjoying/watching the Olympics many decades ago and for me it will never be the same since the partial amateurism completely vanished and the NBA players was a big part of my realization of that which happened in 1992
I think Reed feels something similar and in that I agree with his view but am hoping something is salvaged that can benefit all even if compromise is needed from each side
LikeLike
tough finishing ACC schedule for NCSt – last 9 games:
vs Pitt L 67-64
@Wake Forest L 83-79
@Clemson W 78-77
vs Syracuse L 87-83
vs Boston College W 81-70
@Florida St L 90-83
@North Carolina L 79-70
vs Duke L 79-64
@Pitt 3/9 7:45 PM
LikeLike
Toss – you probably weren’t alive in the 50s, 60s, 70s but college sports was nothing like it is in this century – the 1980s SMU Slush Fund issue was not the norm by any means.
Things change but don’t paint the past with the very wide corruption brush that you are doing now – it wasn’t like that at all.
Growing up my family had two Friday night dinners a month for athletes whose families lived very far away… This type of thing wasn’t unusual for alumni families to do. Many families were involved in Pitt sports.
I’d have dared you to point to anyone of those kids- across all sports BTW, or any Pitt adult at those events and tell them they were dirty and were only in it for the money.
You wouldn’t have been able to walk out the door.
Did they all graduate? No, but there was a vast majority of them student athletes who did and went on to be productive citizens (and phrase you don’t hear any longer in college FB or BB).
Yes, times change but do not say it has always been like this because it wasn’t.
LikeLike
Agree Reed but there was exponentially less money involved in those days. There were no big TV contracts and a college scholarship was worth a heck of lot more than it is today by comparison. Many of those kids played for the love of the game like we did. Even professionals had to have off season jobs to make ends meet.
Big money has changed everything. The coaches in those days didn’t make many times what University or College presidents made.
TV money changed everything and it keeps getting bigger and more powerful.
Those executives are the ones calling the shots now and I don’t see that changing.
LikeLiked by 2 people
to say today and the NIL doesn’t compare to decades ago is obviously accurate but a totally specious argument
you almost can’t compare NOW to 1 year ago or certainly 2-3 years ago as this has all exploded to become the free-for all it is right now, not sure about tomorrow or for sure next week 😦
your points about the business of sports and the money involved from decades ago and it’s relationship with universities only providing the compensation of a 4 yr degree for the players efforts has been full of abuses and bag guys
and in many cases abuses so extreme that some got caught while of course many did not and if your bar for supporting sports lasted into the 2000’s would certainly have to have been lowered if you could know all the instances of schools crossing the legal and ethical line that you want to hold Reed
I agree with you and others that this current NIL environment with no guardrails is extreme and such a drastic change that it’s hard to accept but imo considering the amount of money generated by these sports at D1 schools at the highest level it is finally going to allow for some reasonable distribution of the profit
the players were getting some piece of the pie but to me there was a far bigger pie never being touched and it all should be put out on the table for distribution
I’m sure I need to edit a ton above, but why start trying to not write like a fool now 😦
LikeLike
Reed – It was absolutely the norm in the 70’s/80’s. Including Pitt. Like someone mentioned above, Bear Bryant, himself had a slush fund. Joe Pa had the entire program insulated from the university.
College athletics under the legacy model was as corrupt as anything. Disgusting. And the amateur label protected the institution.
Professionalizing college athletics will clean them up.
Read this about a serial rapist on Penn State’s campus in 79’.
https://www.espn.com/espn/feature/story/_/id/32496588/before-jerry-sandusky-penn-state-football-had-another-serial-sexual-predator-untold-story-crimes-fight-bring-justice
Watch the 30 for 30 on Marcus Dupree, too. OU runner by back
Anyone recent Dexter Manley not being able to read after attending college?
Tossing
LikeLike
30 for 30 was on ESPN right. Like they don’t have their agendas.
Take one Caitlin Bruce Jenner as one example.
PLEEEZE
LikeLike
so far as per what Pitt needs
Creighton took care of Villanova, which was a lot closer at the end than the 20 or so spread it was early in the 1st half
SC over Miss St, barely in OT
KSU lost to ISU, can’t believe B12 gets KSU in which would be #10 and an 18-13 overall and 8-10 conference record
Tulsa did not beat SF, not sure that really matters
Indiana St up huge 1st half
there seems to be another couple that matter(Drake, Colorado, etc.) but hard to know anyway
LikeLike
I gave up on major league baseball simply because there was no salary cap to at least keep the smaller cities like Pittsburgh somewhat competitive on the $$$’s front. No way they can compete against the like of the Yanks and Dodgers of this world unless some mucho muti-billionare buys the team and just forks over money for the fun of it.—-College sports is entering the very same arena now and it will be almost impossible for Pitt to compete against big names of College now where the alumni just shell out whatever it takes to make their Alma Mater front and center going forward. So I guess I’m voting with Reed and Isnore99 now in saying the NIL market will end up being the beginning of the end for any chance for many a school to compete.
jrnpitt
LikeLike
They couldn’t compete under the old model. I have 40 years of proof.
Tossing
LikeLike
is everyone as tight….
as I am?
LikeLike