Pitt shoots for 3rd win vs. Georgia Tech in 2nd round of ACC tourneyVideo
For much of Tuesday afternoon, Pitt might have been expecting to play Florida State in its first ACC Tournament game. But the situation changed dramatically at the Greensboro (N.C.) Coliseum, and Georgia Tech rallied to defeat the Seminoles, 61-60, in the tournament’s first game. After its first-round bye, Pitt will...
Despite strong turnaround seasons, Pitt and Duquesne given little chance to win conference tournaments
Even though Pitt (21-10, 14-6) and Duquesne (20-11, 10-8) have had strong bounce-back seasons, they are both relatively long shots to win their conference tournaments. Kenpom.com, a widely used college basketball analytics website, has published its projections for the upcoming conference tournament week. As the No. 5 seed, Pitt has...
No. 14 Miami carries top seed into wide-open ACC TournamentVideo
Miami coach Jim Larranaga congratulated his 14th-ranked Hurricanes for battling through a “marathon” and claiming a share of the ACC regular-season title. The Hurricanes face a different challenge now as the top seed for this week’s ACC Tournament. “He told us what we have next is just a bunch of...
Jamarius Burton called players-only meeting to prime Pitt players for ACC Tournament
Befitting a team that was one victory from winning a conference championship, Pitt enjoyed the appropriate representation when ACC awards were passed out Monday. • There’s Coach of the Year Jeff Capel, only the third Pitt coach so honored — joining Ben Howland (2002) and Jamie Dixon (2004) — and...
ACC Coach of the Year Jeff Capel, 10-year-old son Elijah kept dad’s secret for an entire day
For nearly 24 hours from Sunday to Monday night, only two people outside the ACC office knew Pitt’s Jeff Capel was voted conference coach of the year. Capel and his 10-year-old son, Elijah, kept the secret all day before the announcement shortly after 5 p.m. on the ACC Network. “I’m...
Houston, UCLA, Kansas top latest AP Top 25; Duke back in, Pitt falls out
UCLA is surging, both toward the postseason and in The Associated Press men’s college basketball poll. While Houston was No. 1 for a third straight week in Monday’s poll, the Bruins rose two spots to No. 2 for their highest ranking of the season. UCLA (27-4) has won its last...
First Call: Ex-Pitt star cuts his NFL Combine workout short; Le’Veon Bell to box again; Kasperi Kapanen scoring with BluesVideo
It wasn’t a great NFL scouting combine for former Pitt wide receiver Jordan Addison. Ex-Steelers running back Le’Veon Bell is boxing again. Derek Carr may be figuring out his situation. Kasperi Kapanen is making a quick impression with the St. Louis Blues. And Pitt men’s hockey is rolling into its...
Pitt wrestlers Nino Bonaccorsi, Cole Matthews win ACC championships
Pitt wrestlers Nino Bonaccorsi and Cole Matthews won ACC championships at 197 and 141 pounds, respectively, Sunday night at the ACC Wrestling Championships inside N.C. State’s Reynolds Coliseum in Raleigh, N.C. Bonaccorsi, a Bethel Park graduate, joined Jake Wentzel as Pitt’s only three-time ACC champion; Matthews repeated his title-winning performance...
Analysis: ACC Tournament gives Pitt the chance to rediscover its formula for success
ACC Tournament preparations started early for Jeff Capel, who said he planned to watch Pitt’s 78-76 loss to the Hurricanes on the flight home from Miami. No planned nap for Capel, even though he was still in the midst of a long, disappointing Saturday. He probably could have used some...
Pitt rallies late, but settles for loss to Miami in ACC championship showdown
Jeff Capel read the room and decided it was best to let his players be by themselves after the 78-76 loss to Miami on Saturday night in Coral Gables, Fla. “They’re in there hurting,” he told reporters inside Watsco Center. “I made the decision just for me to come out...
Pittsburgh needs to come through as underdog in regular-season finale
BY SHANE JACKSON | Home Field Sports Contributor It all comes down to Saturday for the Pittsburgh men’s basketball program. The Panthers (21-9) will travel to Miami (23-6) on Saturday with an ACC title on the line. Pitt is tied with Miami and Virginia atop the ACC standings, with all...
Pitt fires women’s basketball coach Lance White
The fallout from Pitt women’s basketball’s five losing seasons in the past five years landed on coach Lance White on Friday when he was fired. White is the first Pitt coach hired by athletic director Heather Lyke to be fired. Lyke has led the department since 2017. Pitt concluded White’s...
Pitt star Calijah Kancey sets record at NFL CombineVideo
The Pittsburgh Steelers entered the 2022 draft in need of a quarterback. They looked next door at the UPMC Rooney facility on the South Side and drafted Kenny Pickett out of the University of Pittsburgh. This year, along the defensive line, the Steelers will enter the draft with 33-year-old Pro...
Pitt Take 5: Jeff Capel tells his team not to panic, ‘Let’s go have fun’ in South Beach
Maybe the quirk Jeff Capel noticed among his players during the Notre Dame game will disappear merely by everyone understanding what’s at stake Saturday night in Coral Gables, Fla. At least, that’s the hope. But in advance of Pitt visiting Miami with the ACC regular-season championship on the line, Capel...
Analysis: With ACC championship hopes still alive, Pitt carries heavy expectations into final game
The chief takeaway from Pitt’s 88-81 loss to Notre Dame is the need to avoid the following cliche that now has lost its relevance. Maybe you’ve heard it already: Before the start of the season, Pitt fans eagerly would have accepted the outcome of the first 30 games if they...
Pitt’s Micky Phillippi flourishes in the midst of wrestling ‘addiction’
Micky Phillippi first became addicted at the age of 5. More than 20 years later, the addiction still consumes him. What’s more, he has no plans to fight it or make it disappear. Why should he give up wrestling? “This sport is addicting,” he said. Phillippi, a Derry graduate who...
First Call: Omar Khan admits ‘concern’ over Kenny Pickett’s concussions; Mike Brey goes to campus bar to celebrate win over Pitt
Thursday’s “First Call” has an admission from Pittsburgh Steelers general manager Omar Khan about Kenny Pickett’s concussions. Notre Dame coach Mike Brey celebrates beating Pitt. Duquesne gets some help. Late-night Metropolitan Division results. And Connor McDavid is just unstoppable. Khan on Kenny’s concussions Appearing on ProFootballTalk’s “PFT Live” at the...
Pitt falls flat in 88-81 loss to Notre Dame in Irish coach Mike Brey’s final home game
If Pitt was overwhelmed by the emotion from Notre Dame coach Mike Brey’s final home game, the Panthers picked a bad time for a letdown. Whatever the reason, the result was a damaging — and embarrassing — 88-81 loss to the Irish on Wednesday night in South Bend, Ind. The...
Pitt invited to coach Mike Brey’s going-away party at Notre Dame
Mike Brey said he’s excited about almost everything that will occur Wednesday night at Joyce Center on the Notre Dame campus. He said 30 of his former players are coming to the game against Pitt, Brey’s last at home after nearly 23 years as Notre Dame’s coach. The night will...
Pitt women hope for ‘fresh start’ in ACC Tournament
Lance White knew rebuilding the Pitt women’s basketball program wouldn’t be easy. Five years ago, he arrived after 15 seasons at Florida State where he was recognized as one of the country’s top assistants. He carried energy, enthusiasm and a difficult challenge into his first head-coaching opportunity. Pitt had won...
Tim Benz: For local college basketball teams, it’s a good year to be goodVideo
As Pitt was hanging 99 points on the scoreboard en route to a 17-point win over Syracuse, the Oakland Zoo rooting section was going crazy as former walk-on and one-time team manager Aidan Fisch scored the last basket of the game. The Panthers bench stormed the floor as the final...
For 1st time since 2015-16 season, Pitt is a top-25 basketball team
The only part of Pitt’s season more consistent than solid performance on the court was fans’ outcry and indignation over their team’s exclusion from the Associated Press Top 25. That so-called disrespect ended Monday when Pitt (21-8, 14-4) slipped into the AP and USA Today Coaches polls at No. 25...
Pitt cracks AP Top 25 poll, top spots unchanged
The top five spots in The Associated Press men’s college basketball poll remained the same. The rest of the AP Top 25 was a big jumble. At No. 25, Pittsburgh finds itself ranked for the first time since 2016. The Panthers moved up after beating Georgia Tech and Syracuse last...
Emotional sendoff on senior night ‘nothing short of a dream’ for Pitt’s Aidan Fisch
Since the moment he arrived on campus in Oakland, Aidan Fisch dreamed of wearing a Pitt uniform and contributing to a winning team. His contributions began early on as a team manager for the men’s basketball team. Flash ahead to Saturday night, and Fisch was pinching himself as he scored...
Nothing normal about Pitt’s historic improvement from 11 to 21 victories
Sam Clancy works in the same building as Jeff Capel. It’s inevitable that Pitt basketball, past and present, cross paths occasionally. One day this season, in the midst of Pitt’s historic recovery from oblivion, Clancy walked up to the coach and announced, “I’m a proud basketball alumni. I’m walking around...
