Pitt category, Page 33

Pitt is in the grip of a slump, if that’s the correct term for losing two of three games at a point in the season that matters most. The Panthers’ NCAA Tournament hopes, already slim before the 69-62 loss at Clemson on Tuesday night, have all but disappeared. Blame Pitt’s...

There’s no doubting the reality that confronts the Pitt basketball team, game after game. Without Blake Hinson’s points, Pitt is a different team and victory is nearly impossible against the best opponents. That was proven in Littlejohn Coliseum on Tuesday night when Clemson’s Jack Clark followed Hinson anywhere he went...

There was a time more than two decades ago when Jeff Capel and Brad Brownell matched their teams and their wits against each other with a different prize at stake than what will go to the winner Tuesday night at Littlejohn Coliseum in Clemson, S.C. Capel was the coach at...

Just as terrifying for Duke coach Jon Scheyer as seeing his All-ACC center Kyle Filipowski hobble off the floor because of an injury inflicted by a fan from the opposing team was another scene Saturday that hasn’t received the same amount of attention. Truth be told, it could have had...

With the decisive 79-64 victory against Virginia Tech, Pitt knocked down the first of five or six (perhaps seven) obstacles standing between the team and a second consecutive NCAA Tournament bid. There is a lot of work to do, and the odds are against the Panthers. But the heaviest lifting...

The scene Saturday at Wake Forest’s LJV Memorial Coliseum — when students rushed the court without regard to their own or others’ safety after the Demon Deacons defeated No. 8 Duke — brought up a question among Pitt fans: Why doesn’t such an uncontrollable, dangerous event happen at Petersen Events...

For 48 hours this week, Jeff Capel kept a secret. He knew something about his team that maybe some others didn’t think was possible after Pitt’s sorry performance Tuesday in a loss at Wake Forest. When his players reported to practice Thursday, the past was nothing more than a bad...

Two recent ACC final scores remind us why college basketball is such a fun and unpredictable game. Check that. Perhaps not so much fun for the teams on the losing ends of those scores. Let’s start with Virginia Tech’s 75-41 victory against Virginia on Monday. The 34-point margin of defeat...

During one of his first days on the job as an assistant coach on Pat Narduzzi’s staff, Jeremy Darveau found himself in a 15-minute conversation with a member of Pitt’s Board of Trustees. “It was the coolest thing I’ve ever been a part of,” Pitt’s new offensive line coach said...

Let’s suspend reality for a moment and pretend that Pitt’s 33-point loss at Wake Forest on Tuesday night was, actually, the ACC opener. It’s early December. Pitt fans can use the excuse that the Panthers and their stable of new faces — two freshmen, two transfers — just aren’t used...

The opportunity was within Pitt’s grasp Tuesday night to make an authoritative statement in the ACC and seize a more secure spot on the NCAA Tournament bubble. Instead, Pitt turned in its worst performance of the season, allowing Wake Forest to dictate terms, score almost at will and deliver a...

When the basketball settled in the cords — after a long flight from the hands that propelled it — Denny Hinson was so amazed by what his son, Blake, had done, he didn’t know what to do. So Denny hugged his wife, Shandris, who covered her mouth to keep from...

Pitt coach Jeff Capel and Wake Forest’s Steve Forbes understand the degree of difficulty involved in winning Tuesday night in Winston-Salem, N.C. Forbes has spent the better part of the past two days trying to figure out how to slow down Pitt’s Blake Hinson, who is third in the ACC...

Aware of the reality or not, Pitt and Wake Forest are creeping into national relevance. Which means the prize will be potentially rich for the winner and consequences dire for the loser when those teams meet Tuesday night in Winston-Salem, N.C. You don’t score 41 points — even against a...

Pitt coach Pat Narduzzi filled the most recent vacancy on his coaching staff Monday when he named JJ Laster as the Panthers’ new wide receivers coach. Laster replaces Tiquan Underwood, who left last week after two seasons at Pitt for a position with the New England Patriots. Underwood is the...

Dominant performances from Blake Hinson have not been rare since he joined Pitt as a transfer from Iowa State ahead of last season. In less than two full seasons, the 6-foot-8 senior firmly has established a reputation for big-time offensive contributions, solid rebounding and being a player who doesn’t often...

Don’t let the wintry forecast fool you, Pitt basketball buffs. Sunny days are here again. Winners of six games in their past seven outings, including victories over No. 9 Duke and No. 21 Virginia, the Panthers (16-8, 7-6 ACC) are back Saturday in search of more good times in a...

They have begun writing their own special story, an intriguing script any coach would peruse with utter delight. Pitt’s ascending freshman backcourt tandem is growing up fast. With the Panthers’ improving season getting even better with Tuesday night’s 74-63 victory at No. 21 Virginia that ended the Cavaliers’ Division I-leading...

What do Pitt freshmen Julian Dugger, Cameron Monteiro, Juelz Goff and Moritz Schmoranzer have in common? Certainly not position or place of origin. But for starters, all of them are early enrollees currently in their first semester at Pitt. So to varying degrees — for example, Dugger is a Penn...

Pitt added a new member to its football coaching staff Wednesday, with coach Pat Narduzzi tapping Tim Daoust to oversee the defensive line. Daoust joins the Panthers from East Carolina, where he coached the defensive line and outside linebackers in addition to coordinating special teams from 2021-23. He replaces longtime...

Inefficient special teams would rank well down the list of reasons Pitt suffered its worst season since 1998 last year. However, special teams weren’t exactly a strength, which partially led to coach Pat Narduzzi shuffling the deck in January and hiring Jacob Bronowski from Miami (Ohio) to coordinate those units....

Jeff Capel expressed complete confidence in his team’s ability to shoot the basketball after Tuesday’s 74-63 upset win at No. 21 Virginia. In the process, Pitt has shot back into the NCAA Tournament discussion. Winners of four straight conference games, the Panthers (16-8, 7-6 ACC) have climbed into a tie...

Wednesday’s “First Call” has a potential destination for ex-Steeler Mitch Trubisky. There is more talk of Mason Rudolph jumping ship. A former Steelers player is staying in Kansas City. A former Steelers coach is heading to the ACC. And add a current Penguin to the trade speculation engulfing Jake Guentzel....

Remember that victory last month at Cameron? Add John Paul to the list. The Pitt basketball team is on a roll. In a hot streak that began Jan. 20 with a four-point victory against Duke at Cameron Indoor Stadium, the Panthers continued their sizzling surge Tuesday night by knocking off...