Pitt basketball is off to a strong 7-1 start to the season with three high-major wins already over Ohio State, West Virginia, and LSU.
The Panthers received votes in the last AP Poll after narrowly losing to Wisconsin, ranked No. 19 at the time of the game. Now, Pitt, with a win over Ohio State on the road, is looking to crack the AP Poll rankings this week. Before the AP Poll comes out, let’s check out two popular national analysts and see where they have ranked Pitt.
Field of 68’s Jeff Goodman ranked the Pitt Panthers at No. 16, while Fox Sports’ John Fanta has Pitt at No. 20 in his rankings.
Pitt is in 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 returned key players Lowe, 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.
Dunn is currently out with a sprained ankle and a dislocated thumb, which he had surgery for recently. He is expected to miss about five more weeks of action.
Stay tuned for the latest on Pitt basketball on Pittsburgh Sports Now all season long.
The Panthers will next play against Mississippi State on Wednesday night.
