JBL | The Quadaily 25, 2028 Season (Day 57): Pitt Is The Shi...
The Pitt Panthers suffered their first loss of the season on 53, falling to #1 Indiana.
They then turned around and lost at Syracuse.
If you have not yet looked at our poll for today, we did not move them. They still sit at #15.
What gives? Two losses in four days should move a team considerably down, right? Are we Pitt homers? (Definitely not.) But we learned some things about Pitt in the last two years, and this much, to us, is clear:
Pitt is for real.
The Panthers were down 45-30 at the half to Indiana. They were down 22 with 13:34 left. From that point, the team went on a 25-7 run over ten minutes to climb within four with 3:44 left.
Indiana then kept them at bay. But Jagan Hagedorn's three with 1:55 left cut it back to four. The Daniel Matic's layup with 1:22 left made it a six-point game, 71-65.
From there, it was all Pitt.
Drew Shapard hit a three throw. He missed the second, but Jonathan Garnett fought around a box out to get the board, and put back. The lead was cut down to three.
Pitt then forced a shot-clock violation on Indiana. Pitt wasted no time, as Jonathan Severado's three four seconds later tied the game at 71. Indiana had a chance at a win, but Demonte Lindsey's jumper missed at the buzzer.
In overtime, Indiana would get a little breathing room again, twice. They led 77-73 with 1:49 left. Pitt, though, managed to come back to tie it again with :39 left, before Rodney Collins' three with :27 left, and Indiana's ability to play keep away earned them the win.
This ended up as a statement game for both teams. Pitt could have rolled over. But that is not this time. Yes, their starting lineup was -11 in their 17:33 on the court. But it was worse with 13:34 left. They were able to pull themselves together and make a run at the crown. And they very nearly pulled it off. The surrounding lineups, while a couple were not great, did manage to further Pitt's getting back into the game. Bo Dorn and Kale Sanders, in particular, were instrumental in getting them back into the game (combined +25 in their time on the floor). Dorn, in particular, with 13 points on 5-6 shooting, was huge off the bench. And Drew Shepard (18 points, 9 rebounds) and Jonathan Severado (15-5-4), the two leaders of this team, did as they do.
Indiana, meanwhile, did let Pitt back in the game after being up so much and dominating the game for the first 27 minutes...but they managed to close out an undefeated team on the road. That was as pressure-packed a game as they have had this year; a hostile environment against a hungry team with renewed energy. And they came out with the win. As impressive as their resume has been so far, this win is as good as any of them.
On 56, Pitt went to the Carrier Dome to face a Syracuse team better than their record. The two went to overtime, where Amadi Adekoya's two free throws put Pitt up, 78-77, with eleven seconds left.
Unfortunately for Adekoya, the hero became the goat; his fifth foul came when he overcommitted on Jaylen Mathews' shot fake with 1.2 seconds left on the clock. Mathews went to the line and hit both free throws, giving Syracuse the lead. Hagedorn missed a shot at the horn, and Syracuse held on, 79-78.
So, two big games, the second on the road. Two losses, but both in overtime. All things considered, they were bound to lose. That they were undefeated was amazing as it was already. But taking these losses in this manner is quite impressive, and makes them worthy of staying where they are, at 16th. Only two teams in the nation are undefeated at this point, Kentucky and San Diego State. Only the latter might stay undefeated for quite some time. But we couldn't conceive of docking Pitt for these two losses when you compare that resume to the teams around them.
Pitt's resume is still an interesting one in flux. Their point stats are in direct contradiction to their efficiency stats. Their saving grace is that they simply do not turn the ball over. They are fourth in the nation in turnovers, and third in turnover percentage. They also get to the line (though they are merely okay in converting them). We are hard-pressed to consider them championship material, but also hard-pressed to say they aren't a top-15 team right now. That could obviously change, but they have proven to be an incredibly tough out.
- We talked about Missouri a couple of weeks ago, but we wanted to highlight something. Heading into today, Missouri is third in RPI and second in SOS. They trail only Duke in RPI+SOS, at 1.403.
The top ten, for the record, coming into today:
1) Duke (1.465)
2. Missouri (1.403)
3. UConn (1.369)
4. Illinois (1.361)
5. Maryland (1.355)
6. North Carolina (1.346)
7. Kentucky (1.345)
8. Southern Cal (1.333)
9. Florida (1.322)
10. St. John's (1.331)
- Here's a quick and somewhat crude look at the early candidates for National Player of the Year.
1. PF Brandon Dampier, Missouri. Dampier, a bit of a polarizing prospect coming out of high school, is averaging 21.9 points, 10.0 rebounds, 1.55 steals, and 1.27 blocks per game for a Mizzou team that has taken the nation by storm. His 40.6 PER leads the nation.
2. C Jeremy Sawvell, Arizona. Sawvell is averaging 17.5 points and 6.5 rebounds. Not only that, but he's shooting an absurd 72.3% from the field. He has lived up to the top prospect overall ranking he had coming into this season.
3. SF Jack Dawkins, UConn. Jack made the transition to the Big East, and the big time, seamlessly. He leads the nation in scoring, at 22.5 points per game. He also is averaging 5.6 rebounds, three assists, and a nation-leading 3.15 steals per game.
4. PG Justin Noel, NC State. Noel is averaging 15.8 points and 7.4 assists (third in the nation) in leading the Wolfpack to a top-ten ranking. He is shooting 58% from the field, and 48.5% from three. He has put this team on his back, and has been able to carry them pretty well so far.
5. SG Joey Bullock, Gonzaga. Joey Bulls is averaging 19.0 points and 7.1 assists (fifth nationally) for the Zags. He has not been as efficient as Noel, but he has had the same effect for Gonzaga that Noel has had for NC State.
Honorable Mention - SF Kamil Scheer, Miami (Fla). Scheer is posting 17.9/5.5/4.0/1.6/1.4. Nobody is posting those kind of numbers anywhere in the nation. Nobody has at least 17/5/4/1/1. That's a a crazy line.
Honorable Mention - SG/SF Trayvon Easley, Duke. Easley is averaging 15.2/5.0/4.7, along with 2.08 steals per game. His percentages aren't terribly efficient, but he's also been the leader of a Duke team that went through the Death March in non-conference play. Missouri was closer to #3 UConn in SOS than #1 Duke. That's how tough that schedule was.
Before we start, a note about this poll. North Carolina flip-flopped with UConn this week, due to the strength of their win against Purdue on the road. That was good enough to jump ahead of a UConn team that almost lost to Seton Hall.
The Quaddaily, 2028 Season
Day 57
1. Indiana (10-1, 1)
2. Southern Cal (11-1, 2)
3. Duke (11-2, 3)
4. North Carolina (11-2, 5)
5. Connecticut (11-2, 4)
6. Kentucky (11-0, 6)
7. Arizona (11-2, 8)
8. Kansas (9-3, 9)
9. NC State (11-1, 7)
10. Washington (10-2, 11)
11. Colorado (11-1, 12)
12. Virginia (10-1, 10)
13. Illinois (10-1, 15)
14. San Diego State (11-0, 17)
15. Pittsburgh (10-2, 15)
16. Michigan State (6-5, 13)
17. Missouri (9-2, 17)
18. Ohio State (10-2, 20)
19. Florida (8-3, 16)
20. Stanford (10-2, 21)
21. Oklahoma State (9-2, 24)
22. Purdue (7-4, 19)
23. Utah (8-3, 22)
24. Georgetown (8-4, 25)
25. Villanova (8-3, NR)
Next: MIchigan, Penn State, Memphi, Maryland, Gonzaga
Dropped Out: Georgia Tech (23)