Pitt Basketball 2023-24 Full Season Preview and Predictions

Year six of the Jeff Capel era has arrived.

As the season kicks off on Monday night with a game against North Carolina A&T, let’s dive into the Pittsburgh Sports Now Pitt Basketball season preview.

CHIP ON THEIR SHOULDER

After finishing 24-12 with a Second Round NCAA Tournament appearance, Capel and his staff are back for the 2023-24 season ready to once again prove people wrong.

This year’s team, similar to last year’s, has rallied around the media’s preseason predictions in the offseason. Most national media members have projected the Panthers to finish in the bottom half of the conference this season, even after the Panthers finished tied for third last year and were competing for the conference title on the last day of the season. Pitt was picked ninth in the ACC Media preseason poll recently.

National Media Low on Pitt Hoops Once Again Heading into 2023-24 Season

FRONT COURT COMES BACK

Pitt’s front court will look pretty similar to last year’s. While John Hugley (transferred to Oklahoma) and Nate Santos (transferred to Dayton) are not in the mix anymore, pretty much all of last year’s contributing forwards are back.

Federiko Federiko is back for his junior season after spending the summer in Finland working out with the Finnish National Team. The Diaz-Graham twins are back with an additional 20+ pounds on each of their frames after bulking up this summer in Pittsburgh. Will Jeffress is back after missing all of last season with a foot injury (and appears 100% healthy now). Blake Hinson, the team’s leading scorer, is also back after testing the NBA Draft waters.

BRAND NEW BACK COURT

After Nelly Cummings, Greg Elliott, Jamarius Burton, and Nike Sibande all graduated and are now playing pro ball overseas, the Panthers had to bring in a whole new group of guards to lead Capel’s offense. The staff worked hard to do just that, adding two highly touted freshmen last year and bringing in three transfers to handle the ball and play on the wing.

Pitt brought in freshmen Carlton “Bub” Carrington, a four-star guard out of Baltimore, as well as Jaland Lowe, a four-star guard out of Houston. Ishmael Leggett (Rhode Island transfer) also joined the Pitt back court, as well as Mike Hueitt Jr. (D2 Catawba transfer). On the wing, the Panthers brought in highflyer Zack Austin out of the transfer portal from High Point.

BUB CARRINGTON GAINING HYPE…

The “Bub” Carrington hype train seems to be picking up steam heading into the season. Pitt’s starting point guard in its recent exhibition, Carrington looked great in his first Panthers’ game, scoring 13 points and owning a team-best +34 rating.

Carrington is starting to receive national recognition. Recently, On3.com named him the No. 2 Impact Freshman in the ACC behind only UNC’s Elliot Cadeau and in front of multiple five stars prospects that will be playing for Duke.

STARTING LINEUP PROJECTION

Capel has said this preseason that the starting lineup is not set in stone, however, after watching Pitt’s exhibition contest against UPJ, I’m pretty confident that these are the five that the Panthers will throw out there to kick off the 2023-24 season.

1 – Carlton “Bub” Carrington

2 – Ishmael Leggett

3 – Zack Austin

4 – Blake Hinson

5 – Federiko Federiko

ROTATION PROJECTION

Here’s how I see Capel using his lineup. I have made some small changes to my projected rotation since Pitt’s exhibition game.

After the first few games of the year, we’ll have a better idea of how this team will play together. which lineups Capel likes the most, and more. But for now, here’s how I see it shaking out.

Blake Hinson – 30 MPG

Ishmael Leggett – 27 MPG

Federiko Federiko – 26 MPG

Carlton Carrington- 26 MPG

Zack Austin – 26 MPG

Jaland Lowe – 22 MPG

Will Jeffress – 14 MPG

Guillermo Diaz-Graham – 14 MPG

Jorge Diaz-Graham – 10 MPG

Mike Hueitt Jr. – 5 MPG

SEASON PREDICTION

It’s prediction time.

Last year, in my preseason prediction, I had the Panthers finishing 18-13 (9-11 ACC) and earning ninth place in the conference. This year, I’m a bit higher on the team after watching Capel get the job done last year. I believe that I’m higher on Pitt’s transfers than national media members, and I think that the freshmen aren’t your typical rookies.

Pitt has 11 non-conference games this year, with difficult matchups against Missouri, Florida and potentially Baylor on the slate. West Virginia would have been a very tough game on paper, but the Mountaineers have lost some key pieces to injury, eligibility waivers, and suspension. I think Pitt starts off 4-0, falls once in Brooklyn, and continues its hot start to the year through Christmas. My non-conference prediction? 9-2 with a loss to either Florida or Baylor in Brooklyn and then a tight loss to a tricky Mizzou squad.

Pitt’s first conference matchup of the year comes against Clemson on Dec. 3, and it will be a tough one. The Tigers return PJ Hall and others and brought in Joe Girard from Syracuse. I think Pitt comes out with a win in its first home conference matchup of the season.

AT CHRISTMAS, I see the Panthers sitting at 10-2.

In the conference slate, I think Pitt will take care of Syracuse and Louisville twice, split against Clemson, fall to Duke twice, and sneak out of either Charlottesville or Miami with a win over one of the ACC’s top teams in Virginia and Miami. I like Wake Forest and NC State’s rosters and think they may pose a challenge to the Panthers as well (play each of those team’s twice).

Overall, at the end of the regular season, I predict that Pitt will finish 22-9 with a 13-7 ACC record. I think that will place Pitt around No. 6 in the ACC.

I think this record would have Pitt in the NCAA Tournament field.

OPENING NIGHT

Check out the Panthers’ first game of the year on Monday, Nov. 6 at 7 p.m. against North Carolina A&T at the Petersen Events Center (TV – on ACCN Extra).