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.”...

One of my biggest beefs with the Pitt basketball team has been its inability to hit free throws. That happened again Tuesday night. Up one and shooting two, the Panthers had a chance to get some breathing room. Clank. Clank. Cincinnati gets an offensive rebound, puts it back in. Game over. I still think Pitt's a Top 25 team.

Let's get this straight: A team from a power conference, one with a history of regular appearances, has a 10-0 start to the season and still hasn't cracked the Top 25 in the Associated Press poll? Yeah, the schedule might be easy, but it always is to start the season. And it's not like other teams are going through a grinder to start the season. The big test will be against Cincinnati on Tuesday. A win there, and there's no excuse for avoiding the Panthers. But they really should be Top 25 right now.

I've heard some moaning and groaning about the immediate future of the Pitt basketball program. Center Steven Adams announced Monday that he was leaving for the NBA draft. Good for him, I thought. Go pursue your dreams. Then, I immediately thought of Chris Taft. He was another touted Pitt basketball player who had dreams of the NBA. It didn't work out for him. I'm not sure how well it will work out for Adams. Adams is a project, so some team likely will take a chance on him, hoping his raw skills will develop. I wasn't worried about the future of the basketball program. Yes, they're short-handed right now going into their inaugural season in the ACC. But there's still time. Jamie Dixon can recruit, although it is late in the game. I just didn't see Adams as someone who oozed talent, someone ready to play in the NBA. If he did, maybe the Pitt basketball team would still be playing in the NCAA tournament. I wish him the best. I don...

UCLA basketball might be a destination place to coach, but who still wants to coach there? Oh, I'm sure there are plenty of candidates that will step up and interview for the job. But there's no chance the next coach will retire and be celebrated in Westwood. Ben Howland was canned Sunday as coach of the Bruins. He won a Pac-12 championship this season and posted a 25-win season. That wasn't good enough. The Bruins lost in the first round, something that was rumored would get him fired. Turned out to be true. He compiled a 233-107 record, pretty darned good. He also went to three straight Final Fours, something most fans would consider a dream. Howland's teams struggled the past couple years, and that was enough to do him in. He's a good coach. No, strike that, an excellent coach. He resurrected the Pitt basketball program. He took UCLA to some pretty good heights. But he wasn't John Wooden. The ironic thing is, if John Wooden were alive, h...

The rumor mill is churning and Pitt coach Jamie Dixon is the one being tossed about. USC reportedly is after Dixon, who just suffered another early exit in the NCAA tournament as the Panthers' coach. If Dixon does go, would it help Pitt? It's a tough question to answer. Pitt has had some good regular seasons under Dixon. They are an annual choice for the Big Dance, too. It's when the postseason comes around that Dixon has his troubles. It's hard to imagine that his teams haven't been able to live up to their billing at tourney time, so it would stand to reason that finding a new coach could change this. I'm not opposed to seeing Dixon leave, but I don't think it's an easy answer. When Ben Howland left Pitt for UCLA, people around Pittsburgh thought the Panthers would be able to get a big-name coach to fill the vacancy. To their surprise, they couldn't. They had to promote Dixon, then an assistant. It worked out, but it also shows ...

Is anyone shocked that Pitt lost the opening game of the NCAA tournament Thursday? Well, maybe if you believe everything you read in some of the newspapers. I've argued in the past that the Pittsburgh media has a homer complex when it comes to Pitt basketball. Either that, or they really can't objectively watch the game. Leading up to the tournament, we heard that Pitt could be seeded as high as third but probably would settle for a sixth seed. Try eighth. And they didn't even play like a No. 8. The Panthers lost to Wichita State 73-55. Another disappointment. Their staunch defense slipped (Malcolm Armsted had 22 points and averaged 10.4 this season). They found no go-to scorer when they needed it. And they lost to a team they were supposed to beat. Steven Adams led Pitt with 13 points and 11 boards, but that was it. Trey Woodall let the Panthers down, committing five turnovers and having only one assist. Let the excuses begin.

Will it be another season of disappointment for Pitt basketball? It's been an up-and-down season for the Panthers, with more ups than downs. After two disappointing losses last week against ranked teams, the Panthers rebounded Sunday against an outmanned St. John's team. Pitt (21-7) will close out the season with South Florida, Villanova and DePaul. If they go 3-0 and pick up a win in the Big East tourney, that should give them plenty of momentum for March Madness and a good seed for the NCAA tournament. If the 23rd-ranked Panthers stumble, they still should get a spot, but questions will remain. The Panthers need Tray Woodall, who scored 25 against St. John's, to be the go-to guy. One thing I've always thought the Panthers lacked in the tournament has been a legit scorer who can take over a game. Maybe Woodall can be that guy. If he is, then it could be a really good season for the Panthers.

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.

Congratulations to the Pitt basketball team on a 20-win season after beating Butler 68-62 in overtime. My question as they enter the best-of-three College Basketball Invitational championship series next week against Washington State: If they win the CBI, will they hang a banner? And what would that banner say, "We're No. 101"?

Everyone knew the Pitt basketball team wasn't good enough to get invited to the NCAA tournament with a 17-16 record. It didn't seem to be a stretch for it to end up playing in the NIT tournament. It turns out the Panthers weren't good enough for the NIT. Instead, Pitt will host Wofford (19-13) in the CBI tournament Wednesday at the Petersen Events Center. I'm sure we'll hear all the good reasons why playing in the College Basketball Invitation is a good thing. It'll probably be along the lines of a young team will continue to develop, it'll give the seniors a chance to extend there careers a little more, and other happy thoughts. I'm not buying it.   Pitt should have stated Sunday it would not accept any postseason invitations and spared itself of the embarrassment of being snubbed by the NIT. The only thing worse would be a loss to Wofford. Don't think it can''t happen.

What do you think: Will the Pitt college basketball team get an invitation to the NIT tournament or the CBI tournament Sunday night after the NCAA bids are handed out? Maybe they should just pass after a 17-16 season.

Every spring you can count on a handful of things: the return of baseball, preparation of taxes, a wild party on St. Patrick's Day and, of course, the Pitt collapse in the NCAA basketball tournament. Saturday was the latest chapter in Pitt sports history where the eighth-seeded Butler Bulldogs crushed the hopes of Pitt fans with an unbelievable 71-70 win in the NCAA tournament. It was the second time in three seasons that the No. 1-seeded Panthers failed to make the Final Four. And this time, they failed to make the Sweet 16 under coach Jamie Dixon. The ending proved to be typical Pitt. It also proved my theory with the Panthers: They will break your heart. The Panthers failed to get a shot off with a lead, giving Butler the ball with less than 10 seconds left. Butler scored to take the lead, beating the so-called tough Pitt defense. With less than 2 seconds left, Pitt's Gilbert Brown was unbelievably fouled. It was a so-so call, but it was the gift Pitt needed. Bro...