Pittsburgh Sports In Review for 2013

Nov 30, 2013; Pittsburgh, PA, USA; Duquesne Dukes guard Derrick Colter (1) handles the ball against Pittsburgh Panthers forward

(left) and forward Lamar

(21) during the first half at the CONSOL Energy Center. Pittsburgh won 84-67. Mandatory Credit: Charles LeClaire-USA TODAY Sports

The Pitt Panthers men’s basketball team had a disappointing end to their 2012-13 season after a loss in the second round of the NCAA Tournament to eventual Final Four team Wichita State. The Panthers had a 12-6 Big East record before losing in its first Big East Tournament game against Syracuse.

This season, the Panthers needed a leader and they have found that in Lamar Patterson. Patterson has become a scorer, but also is the most unselfish player on the team, always willing to sacrifice points, if it meant that his teammates had a better look at the basket. Perhaps Patterson’s biggest moment of the season came in the Panthers lone loss of the season – a 44-43 loss against Cincinnati. In the loss, Patterson missed two free throws that likely would have won the game and placed all of the blame for the loss to himself. That is leadership, and the first time Pitt has had a leader since its 2009 Elite Eight squad.

The Panthers now stand with a record of 12-1 after a win Tuesday against Albany. Now marks the start of ACC play. Many experts predict the Panthers to finish third behind Duke and Syracuse. It is tough to say what the future holds for this team, however this team is the most put together and they work well together.

On the women’s side, Pitt failed to win a Big East game last season although the emergence of Asia Logan allowed for someone to complement Brianna Kiesel. This season marked the start of the Suzie McConnell-Serio era. Pitt currently stands at 8-6 as its opens ACC play against No. 22 Florida State. Kiesel, a junior, is a 1,000 point scorer and the team is coming off an emotional high beating Duquesne 67-57 after losing in the previous four meetings. It will take time, however positive things are done the team will win games in the ACC.  The Panthers started sloppy early this season but the way they defeated the Dukes showed that this team has a lot of hope and promise. Fans may need to be patient, however McConnell-Serio is a winner and I do believe that this team will find success.

The Duquesne men’s basketball team had its struggled in year one of the Jim Ferry era. The team lost a lot of key pieces and finished with an 8-22 record and 1-15 conference record. This season the team is off to a 6-5 start. Again, the team is going through an overhaul, however five players are in double figures. Ovie Soko leads the Dukes with 17.7 points a game and 8.9 rebounds a game. Micah Mason is shooting an impressive 60.7 percent on his three point shots. There definitely are pieces there and they are bound to improve over last season’s Atlantic 10 record.

The Duquesne women’s basketball team is in a time of transition after McConnell-Serio left them for Pitt. The Dukes in many people’s eyes were robbed of an NCAA Tournament berth last season. Current coach Dan Burt did his team’s schedule before knowing he would be the head man. Thus far losses against DePaul, Green Bay and Notre Dame have not helped the team’s goal of making the NCAA Tournament. A sloppy loss Sunday against Pitt does not help either. With that being said, the team has four players in double figures, with each bringing something different to the table. Raegan Moore as Coach Burt said was going to surprise people and she has leading the team with 17.3 points per game including a 35 point performance and a record nine three point shots against Kent State. Wumi Agunbiade is currently tied for fifth on the Dukes all-time scoring list with 1,437 points. April Robinson also has improved her scoring assists and leadership while Orsi Szecsi is one of a handful of players that have recorded a triple double. Olivia Bresnahan is two games in to her season as she transferred from Florida State. She is averaging 15 points per game.

The Robert Morris men’s basketball team had an exciting end to last season defeating Kentucky in the first round of the NIT. While it lost in the next round, the fans that watched the Kentucky win at Charles L. Sewall Center were in for a treat. This season has gotten off to a tough 5-9 start, including a 87-49 loss in the grudge match [on the road] against the Wildcats. The team has one more non-conference game against Alabama before NEC play begins. Karvel Anderson and Lucky Jones are in double figures, but the Colonials are being outscored by 5.9 points a game and out-rebounded by 4.5 per game. This is not going to get the job done. Hopefully, the transition to conference play will be a good one.

On the women’s side, the team is 4-7 and has lost six of its last seven games. Three starters are in double figures led by Artemis Spanou who averages 16.1 points a game and 12.8 rebounds. Spanou is the leading scorer in the program’s history.  The team was 7-22 last season going 1-10 in non-conference, so this already is a step up from last season, however the team also went 6-12 in NEC play and the next step should be to try and improve even more.

I would be remiss not to mention the Point Park women’s basketball team. Last season the Pioneers made the NAIA D-II National Tournament for the second consecutive season. This season, Point Park is off to a 12-0 start despite having to play without two of its starters. The team is currently ranked 21st which ties a program best, while the 12 consecutive wins is one off the team record. All five of the current starters have at least 9.5 points. The Pioneers start cannot be ignored and this weekend they have a chance to get two more victories if it wins both conference games. This is the second season that the team has bit affected by the injury bug, however the team’s depth this season is better than in season’s past and coach Tony Grenek has adjusted well to the rule changes this season. If this level of play continues, another national tournament berth is not out of the question.