Pittsburgh: 20-10, 9-9 in the ACC
Head Coach: Jamie Dixon
Leading Scorer: Michael Young (15.9 PPG)
Season Recap: Led by junior forward Michael Young, the Panthers have had a fairly average season. They played a weak nonconference schedule and found plenty of success, save for a 13-point loss to then-No. 11 Purdue Dec. 1. Pittsburgh started off 3-0 in ACC play after a four-point victory on the road against Notre Dame, but that promise faded when head coach Jamie Dixon’s squad struggled to beat the conference’s top talent and dropped six of its next nine games.
Things looked to be turning around beginning Feb. 16, as a double-overtime win against Wake Forest sparked three wins in four games. The last victory in that stretch was a 76-62 demolition of Duke on Senior Day in the Steel City, when the Panthers dominated the boards 39-20. But back-to-back four-point losses at Virginia Tech and Georgia Tech to close out the regular season put Pittsburgh squarely on the bubble entering the ACC tournament.
How They Make a Run: Pittsburgh has the second-best rebounding margin in the conference, but its bigs—Young, Jamel Artis, Sheldon Jeter and Rafael Maia—are also fairly mobile, with Artis capable of stepping out the perimeter, where he knocks down 35.0 percent of his 3-pointers. If they heat up from the perimeter like they did against Duke, the Panthers could be especially dangerous alongside the efficient play of senior guard James Robinson, who is the NCAA career leader in assist-to-turnover ratio among players who dished out at least 400 assists.Pittsburgh has already knocked off Syracuse twice this year and, with a win against the Orange Wednesday, could go toe-to-toe with the strong frontcourt of North Caroling trying to avenge a lopsided loss in Chapel Hill Feb. 14.
Get The Chronicle straight to your inbox
Signup for our weekly newsletter. Cancel at any time.