Pitt receives 1st NCAA Tournament bid since 2016, will meet Mississippi State in First Four
Jamarius Burton talked about how Pitt’s players are “grateful and blessed” to be a part of the NCAA Tournament. He also noted that his and his teammates’ reaction ranged from “joy to hunger” when they heard the news that Pitt (22-11) will play the SEC’s Mississippi State (21-12) on Tuesday...
Tribune-Review’s NCAA Tournament Bracketology: Pitt among 1st on the dance floor
For the past six seasons, the NCAA Tournament was an event Pitt fans followed because it’s what you do in March. They rooted only for their brackets, hoping to have a reason to brag to their buddies. Now, Pitt fans actually can have a specific rooting interest in the tournament,...
Analysis: On the brink of Selection Sunday, is Pitt starting to wear down?
A fair and accurate appraisal of Pitt’s first 33 games — and where it might land next week when the postseason takes shape — needs to include the team’s roster issues. After losing three scholarship players, did Pitt get worn down? The Panthers were 8-1 from mid-January to mid-February, but...
First Call: Pitt star lands with Steelers in mock draft; ex-Steeler DB still high on Jordan Addison
A former Pittsburgh Steeler is sticking up for a former Pitt Panther after a rough NFL Combine. Another former Panther is slated to the Steelers in CBS’ latest mock draft. Aaron Donald will remain with the Los Angeles Rams. And there was a big time interconference showdown in the NHL...
Duke crushes Pitt in ACC Tournament quarterfinal
Jeff Capel’s hand has been on the heartbeat of his team all season. He knew how his players would react to success and failure, and they seldom disappointed or surprised him. For a two-hour period Thursday in Greensboro (N.C.) Coliseum, Pitt was not that team Capel had been guiding and...
Pitt wrestler Nino Bonaccorsi seeded No. 1 at 197 pounds for NCAA Wrestling Championships
Pitt wrestler Nino Bonaccorsi is seeded No. 1 in the NCAA Wrestling Championships’ 197-pound division, leading a team of six Panthers who will compete, starting March 16, in Tulsa, Okla. Bonaccorsi, a Bethel Park graduate who compiled a 16-0 record this season, is Pitt’s first top seed since coach Keith...
U mad, bro?: It’s the ‘March Madness of Mad’ for Steelers, Penguins, Pitt fans
In keeping with the March Madness theme of the week, let me give you my four No. 1 seeds when it comes to agitated Pittsburgh sports fans. •Southside Region: Steelers fans when the team goes 9-8 and fails to win a playoff game •North Hills Region: Penguins fans after the...
Next up for Pitt: No. 21 Duke in ACC Tournament quarterfinal
There may be some factions of the Pitt fan base excited for the Panthers’ next game in the ACC Tournament just because it’s Duke, one of the blue bloods of college basketball. It matters to Pitt forward Blake Hinson, too, but for another, simpler reason: It just happens to be...
Pitt holds off Georgia Tech in ACC Tournament, makes strong case for NCAA bid
For the first time in three seasons, Pitt advanced in the ACC Tournament, adding a 22nd victory to its NCAA Tournament resume and earning a berth in a quarterfinal game Thursday against Duke. The root of Pitt’s 89-81 victory Wednesday against Georgia Tech at Greensboro (N.C.) Coliseum was clear: Pitt’s...
Pitt shoots for 3rd win vs. Georgia Tech in 2nd round of ACC tourneyVideo
For much of Tuesday afternoon, Pitt might have been expecting to play Florida State in its first ACC Tournament game. But the situation changed dramatically at the Greensboro (N.C.) Coliseum, and Georgia Tech rallied to defeat the Seminoles, 61-60, in the tournament’s first game. After its first-round bye, Pitt will...
Despite strong turnaround seasons, Pitt and Duquesne given little chance to win conference tournaments
Even though Pitt (21-10, 14-6) and Duquesne (20-11, 10-8) have had strong bounce-back seasons, they are both relatively long shots to win their conference tournaments. Kenpom.com, a widely used college basketball analytics website, has published its projections for the upcoming conference tournament week. As the No. 5 seed, Pitt has...
No. 14 Miami carries top seed into wide-open ACC TournamentVideo
Miami coach Jim Larranaga congratulated his 14th-ranked Hurricanes for battling through a “marathon” and claiming a share of the ACC regular-season title. The Hurricanes face a different challenge now as the top seed for this week’s ACC Tournament. “He told us what we have next is just a bunch of...
Jamarius Burton called players-only meeting to prime Pitt players for ACC Tournament
Befitting a team that was one victory from winning a conference championship, Pitt enjoyed the appropriate representation when ACC awards were passed out Monday. • There’s Coach of the Year Jeff Capel, only the third Pitt coach so honored — joining Ben Howland (2002) and Jamie Dixon (2004) — and...
ACC Coach of the Year Jeff Capel, 10-year-old son Elijah kept dad’s secret for an entire day
For nearly 24 hours from Sunday to Monday night, only two people outside the ACC office knew Pitt’s Jeff Capel was voted conference coach of the year. Capel and his 10-year-old son, Elijah, kept the secret all day before the announcement shortly after 5 p.m. on the ACC Network. “I’m...
Houston, UCLA, Kansas top latest AP Top 25; Duke back in, Pitt falls out
UCLA is surging, both toward the postseason and in The Associated Press men’s college basketball poll. While Houston was No. 1 for a third straight week in Monday’s poll, the Bruins rose two spots to No. 2 for their highest ranking of the season. UCLA (27-4) has won its last...
First Call: Ex-Pitt star cuts his NFL Combine workout short; Le’Veon Bell to box again; Kasperi Kapanen scoring with BluesVideo
It wasn’t a great NFL scouting combine for former Pitt wide receiver Jordan Addison. Ex-Steelers running back Le’Veon Bell is boxing again. Derek Carr may be figuring out his situation. Kasperi Kapanen is making a quick impression with the St. Louis Blues. And Pitt men’s hockey is rolling into its...
Pitt wrestlers Nino Bonaccorsi, Cole Matthews win ACC championships
Pitt wrestlers Nino Bonaccorsi and Cole Matthews won ACC championships at 197 and 141 pounds, respectively, Sunday night at the ACC Wrestling Championships inside N.C. State’s Reynolds Coliseum in Raleigh, N.C. Bonaccorsi, a Bethel Park graduate, joined Jake Wentzel as Pitt’s only three-time ACC champion; Matthews repeated his title-winning performance...
Analysis: ACC Tournament gives Pitt the chance to rediscover its formula for success
ACC Tournament preparations started early for Jeff Capel, who said he planned to watch Pitt’s 78-76 loss to the Hurricanes on the flight home from Miami. No planned nap for Capel, even though he was still in the midst of a long, disappointing Saturday. He probably could have used some...
Pitt rallies late, but settles for loss to Miami in ACC championship showdown
Jeff Capel read the room and decided it was best to let his players be by themselves after the 78-76 loss to Miami on Saturday night in Coral Gables, Fla. “They’re in there hurting,” he told reporters inside Watsco Center. “I made the decision just for me to come out...
Pittsburgh needs to come through as underdog in regular-season finale
BY SHANE JACKSON | Home Field Sports Contributor It all comes down to Saturday for the Pittsburgh men’s basketball program. The Panthers (21-9) will travel to Miami (23-6) on Saturday with an ACC title on the line. Pitt is tied with Miami and Virginia atop the ACC standings, with all...
Pitt fires women’s basketball coach Lance White
The fallout from Pitt women’s basketball’s five losing seasons in the past five years landed on coach Lance White on Friday when he was fired. White is the first Pitt coach hired by athletic director Heather Lyke to be fired. Lyke has led the department since 2017. Pitt concluded White’s...
Pitt star Calijah Kancey sets record at NFL CombineVideo
The Pittsburgh Steelers entered the 2022 draft in need of a quarterback. They looked next door at the UPMC Rooney facility on the South Side and drafted Kenny Pickett out of the University of Pittsburgh. This year, along the defensive line, the Steelers will enter the draft with 33-year-old Pro...
Pitt Take 5: Jeff Capel tells his team not to panic, ‘Let’s go have fun’ in South Beach
Maybe the quirk Jeff Capel noticed among his players during the Notre Dame game will disappear merely by everyone understanding what’s at stake Saturday night in Coral Gables, Fla. At least, that’s the hope. But in advance of Pitt visiting Miami with the ACC regular-season championship on the line, Capel...
Analysis: With ACC championship hopes still alive, Pitt carries heavy expectations into final game
The chief takeaway from Pitt’s 88-81 loss to Notre Dame is the need to avoid the following cliche that now has lost its relevance. Maybe you’ve heard it already: Before the start of the season, Pitt fans eagerly would have accepted the outcome of the first 30 games if they...
Pitt’s Micky Phillippi flourishes in the midst of wrestling ‘addiction’
Micky Phillippi first became addicted at the age of 5. More than 20 years later, the addiction still consumes him. What’s more, he has no plans to fight it or make it disappear. Why should he give up wrestling? “This sport is addicting,” he said. Phillippi, a Derry graduate who...
