The Sports Monitor

Pitt basketball fans had been waiting for Duke for years. And Monday night seemed like the best time to show the Blue Devils the Panthers were for real. Pitt was a team ascending. Duke was having an un-Duke-like season. Plus, the game was at the Pete. Everything was going in the Panthers' favor. Then they played the game. Duke handed Pitt a 15-point loss, 80-65. So much for this being a game Pitt would win. I've been of the opinion for more than a month now that Pitt was a Top 25 team. They slowly made it. They've played some good basketball. Maryland coach Mark Turgeon really added to the hype after Pitt beat them last week. “I’ve been doing this a long time. I’ve been an assistant coach and a head coach for about 26 years, and I’m telling you, that’s one of the best teams I’ve ever coached agains. How they’re ranked 20th at 18-2 is an absolute joke. I think they’re a Top 5 team in this country, to come into this building and really control the game.”...

What a difference a year makes. And a new league. The Pitt football schedule was released and the Panthers will open the season in prime time, facing Florida State on Labor Day at Heinz Field. It's a great way to start off play in the ACC. The game will receive plenty of hype and attention between now and then, and it's likely the Panthers will get routed much like they did in Dave Wannstedt's highly touted debut against Notre Dame. But that's not the point. This schedule looks much better than the Big East days. After Florida State, Pitt gets New Mexico, Duke, Virginia, Virginia Tech, Old Dominion, Navy, Georgia Tech, Notre Dame, North Carolina, Syracuse and Miami. Can't wait for the season to start.

I've been a fan of Pitt athletics since I was a kid. I've grown accustomed to failures and shortcomings the past 25 or so years, so it's hard to not take a cynical view of things. When Maryland announced it was leaving the ACC and moving to the Big 10, it seemed like a minor loss for Pitt fans. Maryland football is nothing exceptional, but the basketball program could excite. Today, espn.com announced the ACC has landed Louisville to replace Maryland. As a Pitt fan, that's good news. I think Louisville is an upgrade in football and turns the ACC into a superior basketball conference. In fact, I think the new ACC will be better than the Big East's basketball conference, which, before the defections, might have been the best ever.

The landscape of college athletics could be in for another change if a New York Times report plays out. Pitt and Syracuse, according to the Times , are taking to the Atlantic Coast Conference about membership. The second graph of the story was interesting: No one from Pittsburgh, Syracuse or the A.C.C. denied the conversations were taking place. Officials from all three entities declined to comment on the matter. Maybe it'll happen. Maybe it won't. I will say this, however, if the Big East can't get Notre Dame or final other colleges to expand, having Pitt jump to the ACC is a good move. I love the Big East for basketball. I think it's the best conference out there. But for football? As much as I'd like to see Pitt succeed in the Big East, I have to wonder about the future of football playing in the Big East. The Big East gets no respect when it comes to football. Even when it had Miami and Virginia Tech, the conference didn't get a whole ...