Who’s Hot and Who’s Not?

Pittsburgh’s basketball scene has been a roller coaster ride this year.

WHO’S HOT

Robert Morris’ men’s team has won seven of eight games, and bounced back from a loss to Wright State with a win over Detroit Mercy on Wednesday. The Colonials are off to a 9-5 start to the Horizon League season, and sit at 16-8 overall.

Duquesne’s women’s team is the best in the city on the WBB side. The Dukes took their first loss in weeks on Wednesday night, falling to Rhode Island by two points. However, Dan Burt’s team has won four of its last five and will look to rebound against Richmond on Sunday, Feb. 9 at home.

The Robert Morris women have also won four of their last five games under first-year head coach Chandler McCabe. The Colonials dropped their most recent matchup to Purdue Fort Wayne, 63-54, at home. However, they were neck-and-neck with the best team in the league up until late in the fourth quarter. Up next: Milwaukee on the road on Thursday night.

WHO’S NOT

The Pitt men’s team looked like an NCAA Tournament lock just months, maybe even weeks ago. However, the Panthers have dropped bad losses to Virginia and Florida State, and haven’t been able to beat Duke, Louisville, or Clemson, who run the league this year. The Virginia loss, this past Monday, sank the Panthers outside of the top-45 in the NET rankings, and dropped them out of most NCAA Tournament predictions.

The Pitt women’s team has lost five in a row and sits at 1-9 in ACC play right now. Tory Verdi’s squad is 9-14 on the year, and has lost several players that began the year playing. Injuries have forced Amiya Jenkins and Lauren Rust to sit out. Verdi dismissed guard Bella Perkins from the team in early December, and guard Aislin Malcolm recently left the team to enter the transfer portal weeks ago.

Duquesne’s men’s team has lost five in a row as well, extending the streak on Wednesday night with a loss to Richmond. The Dukes caught fire early on in Atlantic 10 play, but have since hit a rough patch. Jake DiMichele has missed extended time with an injury to his foot, and transfer Alex Williams has not played at all this year due to injury. However, the Dukes, despite their recent streak, still stand at 4-6 in A10 play and have time to turn things around.