Not surprising, and it hasn’t changed from last week. No one is exactly taking Pitt seriously yet.
ESPN.com decides to have their experts talk about each of the remaining unbeatens in college basketball and their “legitimacy” (all Insider subs.).
JayBilas is surprisingly friendly:
Go ahead, bag on the schedule, but Pitt is learning how to win and is gaining confidence with new parts. Freshman Levance Fields can run the point and can move Carl Krauser off the ball so Krauser can use his strength and ability to exploit defenses without having to run the team. Is Pitt top-10 material right now? Not yet, but the Panthers are good enough to be in the top 20 during conference play.
Doug Gottlieb continues playing the a-hole position of “telling it like it is.”
A pathetic schedule that only now challenges them, Pitt does have Karl Krauser’s experience and leadership to navigate the untested waters of upcoming road games. I expect Wisconsin to give them fits at home, and I also expect Pitt to become a bubble team late in the year because of its schedule.
I really don’t disagree, but I do wish ESPN.com could spring for a copy editor. It’s “Carl,” not “Karl.”
Fran Fraschilla defends a coach:
The worst thing about Pitt’s nonconference schedule is that coach Jamie Dixon has accrued zero U.S. Air miles this season. Including a road date at Duquesne, he hasn’t even crossed the Monongahela. As long as the formula works and Pitt continues to be relatively successful in Big East regular-season play, who can really argue? Carl Krauser has been playing more at the two this season, and Aaron Gray helps provide a solid inside-outside combo. If Levon Kendall could play every game against USA Basketball, Dixon would be really excited. If they get past games at South Carolina and against Wisconsin, then we’ll talk.
Over at CollegeHoopsNet, there is a blast at Pitt’s non-con.
Pittsburgh is now 9-0 and has played… ahem: St. Peter’s, Robert Morris, Maine, St. Francis (but that’s St. Francis of New York, not Pennsylvania…as if there’s any blasted difference to a Big East team), Auburn, Duquesne, Penn State, Vermont, and now, Coppin State. John Thompson would be proud, though a tad disappointed that St. Leo and Hawaii-Loa didn’t make the itinerary. The Panthers have played some wimpy non-con schedules in recent years, and this one certainly continues the tradition. Even the best spinster couldn’t count one of those wins as impressive. (Which is the best one? Auburn? Robert Morris?) No way the Panthers deserve their #25 ranking yet, not over teams like Northern Iowa, Bucknell or even West Virginia. Hate to keep piling on here, but if Pitt doesn’t win a minimum of 21 games, they shouldn’t get a single sniff of NCAA consideration. It’s one thing for a program to schedule like this when it’s trying to learn how to win; it’s something totally different when you have a recent history of NCAA appearances. Late December games against South Carolina and Wisconsin don’t make up for this putrid ledger. Pitt is better than this.
What can you say? I think he’s over stating the number of wins by about 1. Assuming Pitt at least splits the next 2 non-cons and goes either 9-7 and picks up a win in the Big East Tournament or goes 10-6 in conference play, and Pitt is in. Let’s face it, though, other than Auburn, I don’t see any team Pitt has beaten so far that will be looked at later as a quality or even decent win.
It’s the way it is, and the RPI will factor into the NCAA Tournament decision.
