Pitt Basketball looking back and ahead to 2015

Pitt Basketball has one non-conference game remaining before they embark on their 2015 ACC conference schedule. The Panthers sit at 9-3 through their first 12 games. The losses have come to Hawaii, San Diego State, and Indiana. The loss to Hawaii looked bad at the time but Hawaii just took #11 Witchia State to OT which makes me feel somewhat better about the loss. The loss to Indiana was on the road and San Diego State plays exceptional defense. The losses are not terrible.

The wins, for the most part, have been against inferior opponents. The Panthers best win was a blowout of Kansas State in which Pitt looked great. They had close calls against St. Bonaventure, Oakland, and Samford. There are really no quality wins to see here. The last tune up game is Florida Gulf Coast on Tuesday. The do play another non conference opponent in Bryant in the middle of their ACC schedule.

Pitt is averaging 68.8 points per game and giving up an average 61.1 points per game. They perimeter defense has been poor but not from a shooting standpoint as they are holding opponents to 29.5% shooting from behind the arc. The problem is guards allowing penetration into the lane, which seems to be an on going issue for the past few seasons. The return of Cameron Wright 5 games ago has helped but they did allow a ton of penetration and 77 points to Oakland.

Pitt has done a decent job rebounding this season and they maintained a +6.6 edge in rebounding. Jamie Dixon appears to be going with a smaller lineup that includes playing Michael Young at center. Centers Joseph Uchebo and Derrick Randall are playing but not getting many minutes. Dixon has missed out on a number of big men in recent years  and they really lack any post presence at the moment. I hate to think how Duke and their freshman phenom Okafor will treat the Panthers. That game is in about three weeks by the way.

The Panthers are not getting consistent scoring from any of their players. James Robinson is shooting 38.5 % from the field and 25% from behind the arc. Jamel Artis has had four games in which he scored 4 or fewer points. Michael Young has been the most consistent scorer on the team but did manage to have a game in which he scored 1 point in 25 minutes of action. These three need to be more of a scoring threat if this Pitt team is going to make the tournament. Chris Jones is starting to develop into a pretty decent scorer and leads the team with 17 made three pointers. Josh Newkirk has played very well so far this season and may see an increased role in the future. The Panthers may need to try to go a bit more uptempo because they are using a smaller lineup. Oh and a favorite topic of Pitt fans, how have the Panthers been at shooting free throws? Not bad at 71%.

So what is in store for the Panthers? As I type this their current RPI is 68. The don’t have any quality wins at the moment and have a ton of work to do on the court. The ACC appears to be very top heavy with Louisville, Virginia, and Duke all in the top 5. Pitt is probably somewhere in the middle of the ACC this year. The will play 18 conference games this season. The will likely need to go 10-8 to make the tournament. Can they get to ten ACC wins? The answer is yes, will they? That is to be determined.