Legs one and two of five in this Christmastime stretch for Pitt basketball net the most positive outcomes the Panthers could have hoped for.
With three similar and stronger tests on the horizon, though, can Pitt seize the opportunity to establish themselves among the top of the conference?
I was still hesitant to jump on the "Pitt is back" train after its holding off of Syracuse in Central New York just before the holiday.
After the Panthers' thunderous come-from-behind 76-74 win over No. 25 North Carolina on Friday, I'm starting to Google ticket prices and train stations.
Pitt's upcoming three games, and positive results extracted from those, though, could compel me to buy a ticket and eventually hop on that train.
And after that stretch would be the prime time to do it.
Pitt is gearing up to host No. 11 Virginia at 9 p.m. at the Petersen Events Center on Tuesday, and a win over the Cavaliers could not only provide an early two-game lead over them in the ACC standings; it could build some added invaluable momentum going into a home matchup with Clemson (11-3, 3-0 ACC) on Saturday, followed by a visit to Cameron Indoor Stadium and No. 16 Duke (11-3, 2-1) on Jan. 11.
Solid showings -- record aside -- would prime Pitt in a position that many national prognosticators (and one local, Asylym-friendly prognosticator who foolishly voted Pitt 14th in the ACC) viewed as a near-impossible echelon.
"That’s the key," Jeff Capel said following Friday's win over UNC. "It’s just everyone being consumed with winning… It's everyone. It could be a different guy each night. Guys cheer for each other, they root for each other, they play for each other. If we can continue to do that, then hopefully we can continue to have some success.”
Pitt is 10-4 overall and 3-0 within the ACC, a mark which is third to only Miami and Clemson (4-0). The Panthers are on a four-game winning streak and have turned in a 9-1 record and a 3-0 mark in ACC play since returning from an 0-2 trip to Brooklyn, N.Y. in the Legends Classic in November.
The Panthers are catching on nationally, and this stretch can put them on the map in terms of being a potential NCAA Tournament team in the midseason. They currently sit at No. 70 in the NCAA NET rankings, thanks in large part to their 3-1 mark in Quadrant 1 games. In the latest KenPom rankings released midday Monday, Pitt is 66th -- eighth in the ACC.
Per the NET rankings, Virginia is 16th overall and first among ACC teams. North Carolina is 29th (third among ACC teams), Clemson is 78th (eighth), and Duke is 17th (second).
Virginia is 11th in KenPom, ranking first among ACC teams. North Carolina is 22nd (third among ACC teams), Clemson is 60th (sixth), and Duke is 15th (second).
The analytics do not lie, and the analytics suggest that Pitt could utilize this stretch to shoot up in those rankings, which bare more weight than ever (especially the NET ranking) in terms of judging an NCAA Tournament resume.
Pitt already has wins at Northwestern, at NC State, and at Syracuse on that resume, but imagine what wins over Virginia and Duke could do to it.
“We just tried to stay even-keeled, stay locked in," Jamarius Burton said after his blazing-hot, 31-point outing against the Tar Heels. "Understand there’s other ways to win the basketball game besides knocking down 3s, and for us, that was locking in on the scouting report and continuing to fight for one another.”
The Panthers will likely need to find a different way to win on Tuesday, than they did on Friday.
"The thing I was most proud of is even though we did not shoot the ball well, which we have the past few games, we still stayed together, we still defended," Capel said. "That's a sign of maturity for our group, because in the past maybe we would have wilted. Even earlier this year, perhaps, we would've wilted. But we kept fighting, we stayed together, and we were able to go on some runs of our own."
Virginia is less of an offensive threat than North Carolina was, as the Cavaliers average 10.7 points fewer per game than the Tar Heels. But, the Cavaliers possess the No. 1-ranked defense in the ACC, at 58.3 points per game allowed. Tuesday's game could have a different, defensive feel compared to the one the Panthers just played on Friday, though Pitt did shred the No. 4-nationally ranked Northwestern defense for 87 points on Nov. 28.
Virginia does not have a scorer which ranks within the top 25 in the ACC in scoring. The Cavaliers, however, do pose a balanced offensive attack, as all five of their starters are averaging at least 9.0 points per game. Leading that charge is Jayden Gardner at 12.0 points per game. Gardner scored 15 and 14 points in his two games against Pitt last season.
