There are several ways to look at Pitt’s loss to Bradley in Round Two of the NCAA. Here are two.

The big picture, is that this is the NCAA Tournament, and what makes it so compelling is the big upsets and Pitt was simply a part of that.

The first weekend was a big one for the little guys. There were 10 surprises that qualified as major upsets under the definition in the NCAA record book, which counts winners who were seeded at least five slots lower than their opponents. Eight of those 10 winners came from mid-major conferences. The 10 major upsets tied the first-weekend record, set in 1986 and matched in 1990 and 2002.

First round
No. 14 Northwestern State 64, No. 3 Iowa 63
No. 13 Bradley 77, No. 4 Kansas 73
No. 12 Montana 87, No. 5 Nevada 79
No. 12 Texas A&M 66, No. 5 Syracuse 58
No. 11 George Mason 75, No. 6 Michigan State 65
No. 11 Wisconsin-Milwaukee 82, No. 6 Oklahoma 74

Second round
No. 13 Bradley 72, No. 5 Pittsburgh 66
No. 11 George Mason 65, No. 3 North Carolina 60
No. 7 Wichita State 80, No. 2 Tennessee 73
No. 7 Georgetown 70, No. 2 Ohio State 52

It’s small comfort to realize Pitt was one of the 3 5 seeds eliminated, along with a 4, 2 3s and 2 2s. I know I only take very, very small comfort in the fact that there are fans of other schools probably as disappointed. Even less of a comfort to realize that Pitt wasn’t exactly the biggest or most shocking of the teams upset.

Then there’s the moan and simpering perspective (or lack thereof) that Pitt may never be a great basketball program because it always loses in the NCAA.

So, at Pitt, once again, it’s the same old refrain:

Wait ’til next year!

The good news is Pitt should have a terrific team next season, one that should be considered a favorite to win the Big East. Krauser is the only significant player who won’t be back unless Gray pulls a surprise and takes a chance at going after NBA money a year early. On paper, at least, it should be Pitt’s most talented team since its 1988 team, which included future NBA No. 1 draft picks Charles Smith and Jerome Lane.

I think I know what you’re thinking.

You’re afraid to get excited about the possibilities, right?

I don’t blame you.

You have been burned too many times.

Geez, you’d think we were rooting for the Cubs or something. What does that say about rooting for the Pirates and Penguins. At least Pitt can get to a post-season.

It’s bad enough that Bradley was an inferior opponent that happened to live a little of the tournament magic in its first-round upset of Kansas, which, it should be noted, isn’t feeling so hot about its program this week, either.

Um, is he channeling Billy Packer? I think I’ll let his co-worker respond to that.

Ray Fittipaldo: It’s hard to explain. And I’m sure it’s frustrating to the coaches and players. Let me say this first: Bradley is a very good basketball team. As I stated earlier, I thought the Braves had superior athletes than Pitt.

The flip side, is that Pitt should be very, very good next year.

“We’re going to have a great team next year,” said forward Levon Kendall, one of those three returning starters. “We just have to remember this feeling for the next six months and use that to drive us the next six months. We have the chance to get back here and do some damage next year.”

Kendall will be joined by center Aaron Gray, if he chooses not to enter the NBA draft, and guard Ronald Ramon. Freshmen Levance Fields and Sam Young are poised to take on bigger roles, possibly as starters, and Dixon has Antonio Graves, Keith Benjamin, Tyrell Biggs and Mike Cook, a transfer from East Carolina, ready to challenge for starting positions and playing time.
…
“There is a lot to look forward to,” Krauser said. “They’re going to continue to be good with Levance Fields at the point and Ronald Ramon and Aaron Gray and those guys coming back. The future is bright.”

Pitt has two freshmen coming in next season and Dixon has one more scholarship to give. One of the freshmen, guard Gilbert Brown, is expected to make an immediate contribution.

Brown, a 6-foot-6 shooting guard who also can play small forward, is rated the No. 100 senior in the country by Rivals.com. He played last season at South Kent Prep in Connecticut.

The other freshman is 6-9 Austin Wallace, a less heralded player out of New York but someone the coaches believe has a big upside.

Pitt is recruiting several other top 100 players to fill out its class. One of them is Tyler Smith, a small forward who could help fill a gaping hole. Smith, who played last season at Hargrave Military Academy, is also being recruited by Memphis, Kentucky and Iowa. Smith is rated No. 57, according to Rivals.

[Emphasis added.]

I’m actually very excited about Mike Cook for next year. I think he will be big as an experienced inside out guard/forward. He will push Young and Benjamin to get even better. He’s also hungry and spent the year practicing with the team. A big potential impact with him.

And how can any post on Pitt basketball end without some more coaching speculation.

If Dixon opts to go to another school, Pitt could set its sights on a number of coaches, including Xavier’s Sean Miller, the former Pitt star; Carnegie native Skip Prosser of Wake Forest; Oklahoma’s Kelvin Sampson; and Hofstra’s Tom Pecora.

Or, Long could follow the same path Pitt took when former coach Ben Howland resigned to take over at UCLA. Just as Dixon was elevated to his present position from associate head coach, Long could move current associate head coach Barry Rohrssen into the top spot.

Just get a deal with Dixon done.