Analysis: Pitt faces long odds in its quest to continue changing the season’s trajectory
During his team’s journey from Pittsburgh to Durham, N.C., to Atlanta, Pitt coach Jeff Capel used only seven players to craft two important victories. William Jeffress came off the bench for a total of six minutes. Jorge Diaz Graham didn’t play at all. This is not meant as a criticism...
Pitt earns 2nd straight ACC road win, defeating Georgia Tech
The box score from Pitt’s 72-64 victory against Georgia Tech on Tuesday night shows Bub Carrington scored 19 points, his largest point total in five games. But assistant coach Tim O’Toole was more interested in talking about Carrington’s defensive efforts after Pitt’s second consecutive road victory and third overall in...
Jeff Capel wants Pitt to put Duke victory in rear-view mirror, look ahead to Georgia Tech
If Jeff Capel had anything to say about it (and he did), Blake Hinson has moved on from his record-setting seven 3-pointers and Pitt’s victory against Duke. Social media might never end its fun with Hinson’s table-hopping interaction with the Cameron Crazies. But at least the last of those angry...
Blue Devil downer: 3 takeaways from Duke basketball’s puzzling home loss to Pitt
DURHAM, N.C. — No. 7 Duke played without two of its starters due to injuries, and Pittsburgh’s Blake Hinson made the Blue Devils hurt even more. Hinson scored 24 points, making all seven of his 3-point attempts, as the Panthers upset Duke, 80-76, Saturday night at Cameron Indoor Stadium. The...
No time to rest, Pitt heads directly to Atlanta to take on Georgia Tech
Pitt coach Jeff Capel gave his team a few hours before lights-out in Durham, N.C., to enjoy the upset victory of Duke. Actually, there wasn’t even time to go home. After the game Saturday, Pitt’s traveling party went directly to Atlanta on Sunday to get settled and prepared for the...
Pitt adds high school wide receiver Tyreek Robinson to its class of 2024
Pitt continued to add potential playmakers to new coordinator Kade Bell’s offense Sunday when coach Pat Narduzzi secured a verbal commitment from wide receiver Tyreek Robinson of Evangel Christian in Shreveport, La. Robinson announced his decision on his X (formerly Twitter) account. Robinson (5-foot-9, 170 pounds) is unranked among prospects...
Sam Clancy reflects with pride after Pitt, Blake Hinson repeat history by defeating Duke
Blake Hinson crosses paths with Sam Clancy on occasion while both men go about their daily business on Pitt’s campus. Two stout men, with a gift for basketball and big-time plays, separated by 41 years in age, now linked forever in Pitt, Duke and college basketball lore. It’s a good...
Blake Hinson’s 24 points lead Pitt to road stunner against No. 7 Duke
If anyone in the crowd of 9,314 at Cameron Indoor Stadium did not see Blake Hinson’s passion overflowing Saturday night, he offered an encore performance moments after Pitt’s stunning 80-76 upset of the No. 7 Blue Devils. Hinson jumped up on a table — inches from the Duke student section...
Pitt Take 5: After confronting Duke at Cameron, will Panthers’ road get easier?
No one should be surprised North Carolina and Duke are the only two ACC teams that appear to have Final Four potential. At least, to this point of the season, with seven weeks left before the conference tournament. Yeah, it’s early, but ESPN’s Joe Lunardi posts his bracketology in June....
Former Pitt sports information director Beano Cook elected to College Sports Communicators Hall of Fame
Born in Boston, but a Pitt man until the day he died, Carroll H. “Beano” Cook has been posthumously elected to the College Sports Communicators Hall of Fame Class of 2024, the organization announced Wednesday. Known as the Pope of College Football because of his love for and knowledge of...
Analysis: While The Pete sits empty for 2 weeks, Pitt hopes to become fighters on road
Say goodbye to the Pitt men’s basketball team for the next two weeks. Players will be around campus, of course, practicing on their appointed days, going to class and meeting with coach Jeff Capel and his staff. But the next home game is Jan. 31 against Wake Forest after three...
Reeling Pitt off the mark again in home loss to Syracuse
With nearly 14 minutes left in Pitt’s 69-58 loss to Syracuse on Tuesday night, there was plenty of time for the Panthers to recover from what had been a listless performance. Suddenly, several opposing players went to the floor, falling onto the Pitt logo at midcourt, pushing each other and...
Ex-Pitt guard Curtis Aiken earns appointment to Pitt board of trustees
Former Pitt standout guard Curtis Aiken has been appointed by Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro to the Board of Trustees of the University of Pittsburgh of the Commonwealth System of Higher Education. He is set to serve a four-year term ending Oct. 5, 2027. Aiken, who is a radio analyst for...
Pitt’s Pat Narduzzi hires 3 coaches for restructured offensive staff
Pitt coach Pat Narduzzi filled the final vacancies on his offensive staff and altered its structure Tuesday when he hired three assistants: Jacob Bronowski, Jeremy Darveau and Lindsey Lamar. Bronowski will coach tight ends and special teams, a shift from the first nine years of Narduzzi’s Pitt tenure when Andre...
After week without a game, Pitt’s Jeff Capel hopes he’s fixed Panthers’ issues
When Pitt confronts Syracuse on Tuesday night at Petersen Events Center, the game will be a test of how well Jeff Capel has schooled his team in the wake of an 81-73 loss to the Orange last month. There is time for Pitt to reverse its fortunes, but a 1-4...
Pitt and Duquesne are ‘hunting’ for quick conference turnarounds
The campuses of Pitt and Duquesne are separated by about two miles. For the schools’ basketball teams, the starts of their respective conference schedules haven’t been separated by very much either. The Panthers (10-6) are 1-4 in ACC play. The Dukes (9-6) are 0-3 to begin their Atlantic 10 slate....
ACC’s best rebounders next up for slumping Pitt
There is some good news for Pitt and coach Jeff Capel, but it’s difficult to find much of it after the 78-53 loss to Duke on Tuesday night. The Panthers can cross off North Carolina’s Armando Bacot, the ACC’s leading rebounder, from their list of big men they must confront...
Pitt steps up in class, gets trampled by No. 11 Duke
Pitt was deficient in many areas Tuesday night in its 75-53 loss to No. 11 Duke in what started out as an energized Petersen Events Center. The most dominant factor in the Panthers’ third loss in four games was the fact they had no answer for Duke 7-foot center Kyle...
Pitt learning to withstand physicality while preparing for No. 11 Duke
Pitt and Duke players won’t wear helmets Tuesday night when their teams meet at Petersen Events Center. But there’s a word and style of play that has been creeping into college basketball in recent seasons — physicality — and it’s something that needs to be addressed by players and coaches...
Pitt’s Jeff Capel, Blake Hinson make opposing predictions on national title game outcome
Pitt coach Jeff Capel might not give all his attention to the TV screen Monday night during the college football national championship game between Michigan and Washington. After all, Capel has a game of his own to think about, with No. 11 Duke visiting Petersen Events Center on Tuesday. But...
Larry Fitzgerald becomes 25th Pitt player named to College Football Hall of Fame
Pitt legend Larry Fitzgerald, who needed only 26 games to become one of the most productive and awe-inspiring wide receivers in history, was selected Monday to the College Football Hall of Fame. He was selected in his first year of eligibility and is the 25th man with Pitt ties to...
Pitt’s Jeff Capel, Duke’s Jon Scheyer tag-team tale involves Jayson Tatum, an expletive and a beer for Coach K
Jeff Capel holds many memories of serving with Jon Scheyer on Duke’s coaching staff. A story that stands out for both men was the day Capel uttered an expletive in a five-star recruit’s living room while witnessing the “one and only time” he saw Mike Krzyzewski drink a beer. The...
Good vibes surface for Pitt after Louisville victory, but tough ACC schedule awaits
Two encouraging events emerged from Pitt’s victory at Louisville, the Panthers’ first in four games against ACC competition. • Jaland Lowe’s time on the court continued to increase. After averaging 13.6 minutes through the first nine games of his freshman season, Lowe has been used an average of 20.6 minutes...
Pitt gets verbal commitment from ex-Alabama quarterback Eli Holstein
Pat Narduzzi hopes he altered the landscape and trajectory of Pitt’s football program with four coaching changes on offense, but he went a step further Sunday. Narduzzi took another swing at a transfer quarterback and secured a verbal commitment from Eli Holstein, formerly of Alabama. He is the 12th player...
Behind Blake Hinson’s 21 points, Pitt wins its 1st ACC game of season at Louisville
Anyone who didn’t watch closely while Pitt defeated Louisville, 83-70, on Saturday might only look at the obvious reasons for victory. Blake Hinson (21) and Zack Austin (20) scored nearly half of their team’s points, helping the Panthers (10-5, 1-3) stop a two-game losing skid in front of a crowd...
