Pitt Basketball: Panthers Fall Out Of National Polls After Winless Week
By Matt Gajtka
Feb 15, 2014; Chapel Hill, NC, USA; North Carolina Tar Heels forward Brice Johnson (11) reacts after being fouled against the Pittsburgh Panthers at Dean E. Smith Student Activities Center. The Tar Heels won 75-71. Mandatory Credit: Liz Condo-USA TODAY Sports
The Pitt Panthers men’s basketball team was oh-so-close to a major breakthrough moment last Wednesday against No. 1 Syracuse, but just five days later they find themselves out of the top 25 in both national polls.
Losers of two in a row and four of their past six, the Panthers (20-6, 8-5 ACC) dropped into the “others receiving votes” category in the Associated Press and USA Today coaches’ polls for the first time since the week of Jan. 6. Pitt had been ranked in both for five straight weeks.
Pitt, which started the season 10-0 and built to 16-1 before a close loss at Syracuse in mid-January, has made a cottage industry of dropping tight games. That trend continued last week when Tyler Ennis’ improbable last-second shot at Petersen Events Center kept the Orange unbeaten; North Carolina held off a late Pitt push to down the Panthers 75-71 on Saturday.
Related: Pitt falls at North Carolina in another close battle
Five of Pitt’s six losses have come by five points or fewer, with the lone exception being an 80-65 home setback to Duke on Jan. 27. That defeat started the Panthers’ current 2-4 run, during which their two wins came in overtime against inferior competition.
One could argue Pitt’s best game this month was their heartbreaking loss to Syracuse last week, but moral victories can only go so far in the minds of voters. The Panthers have some time off to address their issues before hosting Florida State at 6 p.m. Sunday.