Which Team will Outperform Expectations? | The Pittsburgh Basketball Show

The college basketball season is finally here.

On Monday night, Pitt, Duquesne, and RMU’s men’s basketball teams will kick off the 2024-25 season, as will the Duquesne women’s team.

Duquesne men's and women's basketball on PSN is sponsored by Moon Golf Club.

To prepare for the season, I welcomed Tristan Freeman of Busting Brackets, The Field of 68, and HoopsHQ onto the show. Freeman is aiming to attend 60-70 games this season, and knows just about all you can know about the three local hoops programs. Watch the interview below, and get ready for a jam-packed season of hoops in the Steel City.

Pitt is heading into year seven of the Jeff Capel-era, coming off a second-straight 20-win season. The Panthers finished last year 22-11, but said goodbye to stars Bub Carrington (Washington Wizards) and Blake Hinson (Golden State Warriors) as they went off to the professional level. In addition, the Panthers said goodbye to Federiko Federiko (Texas Tech) and William Jeffress (Louisiana Tech), as both players transferred out this past spring. Pitt returns key players Jaland Lowe, Ishmael Leggett, and Zack Austin, among others. The staff also brought in a talented group of newcomers, headlined by transfers Cam Corhen (Florida State) and Damian Dunn (Houston) as well as freshmen Brandin “Beebah” Cummings, Amdy Ndiaye, and Amsal Delalic.

Duquesne is entering year one of the Dru Joyce III era. Last year’s team won the Atlantic 10 Tournament and took down BYU in an NCAA Tournament upset, and now, Keith Dambrot has retired and Joyce has taken over. The Dukes return Jakub Necas, Jake DiMichele, Kareem Rozier, and David Dixon, while bringing in a loaded transfer class that includes Tre Dinkins, Eli Wilborn, Cam Crawford, Jahsean Corbett, Alex Williams, and Max Edwards.

Robert Morris is in year 15 of Andy Toole’s tenure, and the Colonials added a few intriguing pieces to a solid returning corps in hopes of a turnaround. Last season’s team finished 10-22 overall (6-14 Horizon). Toole and his new-look staff brought in transfers Kam Woods and DJ Smith, among others, to team up with returners Justice Williams and Chris Ford.