On January 4, 2025, Pittsburgh was 12-2 (3-0) and most bracketologists had the Panthers in the 4-6 seed range. A 4 game losing streak stunted things, but after beating North Carolina Pitt was 14-6 (5-4) and still a lock for the NCAA tournament on January 28.
5 Weeks later Pittsburgh won only 2 more games to end 16-14 (7-12) after a mess of a loss to a bad NC State team on Wednesday night.
The NCAAs are long gone. The NIT isn’t on the radar, and if Pitt doesn’t win the ACCT their season is over when it shouldn’t have been.
This isn’t about the ACC being down. Pittsburgh was in a position to make the Big Dance, and it is their own fault they will miss the NCAAs.
At the end of the day, the finger has to be pointed at coach Jeff Capel. He’s lost this team. Yes, the loss of guard Damian Dunn was a factor in early February, but Pitt was already starting to struggle. Pat Kelsey and Louisville managed injuries to be one of the ACC’s top 3 teams. Jon Scheyer and Duke didn’t skip a beat losing a major contributor like Maliq Brown. Georgia Tech’s roster was decimated by injury, but had the February with 3 Q1 wins and a 7-2 record, that Pitt could only dream of.
Pitt barring a miracle in the ACCT will miss the NCAA tournament for 6th time in 7 years. Brad Brownell had a similar start at Clemson and then made the Sweet 16 in year 8. Pitt may not have any choice, but to hope Capel has that kind of turnaround.
This season simply put became a nightmare for Pitt and their fans are looking squarely at Jeff Capel.
