Pitt Take 5: Panthers can finish as high as 3rd, as low as 7th in the ACC

For the moment, let’s set aside talk and speculation about Pitt’s NCAA Tournament hopes and dreams and concentrate on four hours coming up Saturday night.

Three ACC games will be contested between 6 and 10 p.m. The results will impact where Pitt lands in the ACC’s final standings and whether or not the Panthers will need to win two or three games in the conference tournament to reach the championship March 16 at Capital One Arena in Washington D.C.

Entering the final day of the regular season, Pitt (20-10, 11-8) is tied with Clemson (21-9, 11-8) for fourth place. If Pitt defeats N.C. State (7:45 p.m. tip at Petersen Events Center) and Clemson loses at Wake Forest (6 p.m. tip), Pitt can claim fourth, the double bye in the tournament and the privilege of resting until Thursday when it likely would play the No. 5 seed.

(Unless Virginia (21-9, 12-7) loses to visiting Georgia Tech (8 p.m. tip). In that case, Pitt would finish third because of its victory last month against the Cavaliers.)

That’s only the half of it. Here are some other thoughts to ponder as postseason basketball draws near:

1. What if Pitt loses?

OK, I get it. You don’t want negativity after Pitt has recovered from a 1-5 start to its ACC season by winning 10 of the past 13 games.

But here are some facts:

• N.C. State (17-13, 9-10) has a formidable big man/smaller man combo in D.J. Burns (6-foot-9, 275 pounds) and D.J. Horne (6-1, 175).

• Horne scored 25 points and Burns 19 when the teams met Feb. 7 in Raleigh, N.C. Horne is sixth in the ACC with a 17.2 points-per-game average.

• Pitt was the better team that night, securing an impressive road victory, 67-64, but the game was tied with less than four minutes to play. N.C. State is on a three-game losing streak, but anything can happen in the rematch.

If Pitt loses and finds itself in a four-way tie with Clemson, Syracuse and Wake Forest at 11-9, the Panthers would drop all the way to seventh place and must play a second-round game Wednesday against Louisville or the No. 10 seed. Worse, if Pitt wins that game, its quarterfinal round opponent will be either North Carolina or Duke.

Yes, there is a lot at stake in Pitt’s final home game Saturday night.

2. What does 24/20 mean?

Pitt has put 20-victory seasons back-to-back (total 44) for the first time in a decade.

After the victory Tuesday against Florida State, Capel was asked what it means, and he responded by thanking Pitt’s administration for showing patience with his program and the players for buying into his program.

On his radio show on KDKA-FM on Thursday night, Capel went a step further and said, “It shows that last year wasn’t a fluke. I heard that after the season last year. I think we showed we could do it again with a completely different team.”

Capel lost four senior guards, replaced them with freshmen Bub Carrington and Jaland Lowe and Rhode Island transfer Ishmael Leggett, and has only one fewer victory after 30 games.

3. The right people

Winning 20 games twice immediately after losing 21 in 2021-2022 is also a credit to the players Capel has recruited.

”We have really good guys,” he said on his radio show. “It shows an incredible resilience, toughness, character about the young men we have in our program.”

William Jeffress, a fourth-year junior who will be honored with Blake Hinson and KJ Marshall in a pregame Senior Night ceremony, said he’s noticed the culture change in the past two seasons.

“Culture is built from the ground up,” Jeffress said. “I think that’s been one of the biggest staples from the first couple years I was here until now. The culture is the biggest thing and the biggest change within practice, games, locker room, outside of the locker room, just us even hanging out in general and our interactions with the coaches and everybody.

“Solidfying that and building that foundation up was really what changed us.”

4. Hinson’s impact

Hinson could have left after last season, but he improved his NBA stock by returning and is now an ACC Player of the Year candidate with the third-best scoring average in the conference (18.8).

“When I came back, I wanted to come back with a purpose,” he said after the Florida State game. “Do things, give back to the city what it gave me. It makes me proud of myself, proud I can give myself to the fans.”

When he was interviewed on KDKA-FM on Thursday, he added, “I don’t want to be just a player that was good. I want to be a player that won. Winning looks cool. Winning is cool. I like to be cool.”

While setting the school record for made 3-point shots in a single season (104), he also provided leadership and a positivity that Capel and his players believe were a big part of the team’s success.

“There are not many people like Blake Hinson in this world,” Lowe said. “He’s one of a kind. I’m grateful to have him.”

5. A dad first

Before Capel boarded a plane last Friday for the Boston College game the next day, he sat in the Pete as a fan and proud father to watch his oldest daughter, Cameron, join her Shady Side Academy teammates in winning the WPIAL 3A championship game against Avonworth.

”One of the coolest things I ever experiencd,” he said on his radio show, “just watching her celebrate with her team and seeing how happy she was. She played well. She rebounded and defended and just made winning plays.”

Shady Side Academy (24-2) was scheduled to play its first PIAA playoff game Friday night.