While Pitt narrowly missed out on the AP Top 25 rankings, the Panthers did gain some recognition in the Coaches Poll this Monday.
Pitt came in at No. 25 overall in the coaches poll this week after its strong 6-1 start to the year.
Per USA Today, here is the description of the coaches poll.
“The USA TODAY Sports Men’s Basketball Coaches Poll is conducted weekly throughout the regular season using a panel of head coaches at Division I schools. The panel is chosen in consultation with the National Association of Basketball Coaches. The voters represent each of the 32 Division I conferences that receive an automatic bid to the NCAA tournament. Each coach submits a Top 25 with a first-place vote worth 25 points, second place 24, and so on down to one point for 25th.”
Pitt received the second-most votes in the AP Poll among unranked teams.
Wisconsin, who beat Pitt on Sunday, advanced to No. 15 in the AP Poll.
The Panthers lost guard Damian Dunn to a dislocated thumb as well as a sprained ankle just two minutes into their game against Wisconsin on Sunday. Jaland Lowe, Ishmael Leggett, and Cam Corhen all turned in strong games against the Badgers, but in the end, John Tonje and his team prevailed with the six-point win.
Tonje scored 25 points in the second half alone, going 9 for 11 from the field and finishing the game with a game-high 33 points.
Pitt’s Ishmael Leggett was named to the All-Tournament team after his strong performances of 17 points/eight rebounds (against Wisconsin) and 21 points/six rebounds (against LSU).
Pitt is currently ranked 17th in Ken Pomeroy’s rankings. The NCAA’s official NET rankings come out one week from Monday.
Pissed they lost that game yesterday but was a great test and learning experience and should prepare them
for league play and hopefully tourny time.What they need to do now is go to OSU and take care of business on the road
Yeah, same. I was ticked that they lost, but in the bigger picture, I was pleased they looked good against what’s clearly one of the better Big Ten teams out there.
Has anyone heard how much time Damian Dunn is expected to miss? I like that guy. Good player. H2P