PITTSBURGH (93.7 The Fan) – In honor of the team’s raucous sixth man, the Oakland Zoo, who likely enjoyed the Pitt basketball resurgence more than any group. The six best moments of the 2022-23 basketball season.
As with any list there are a few that just missed.
Honorable Mention
· 68-65 win over nationally ranked Virginia-Panthers trailed by 10 at halftime, but scored 45 points on the Cavs defense in the second half. Pitt forced a shot clock violation in the final minute to help secure the home win.
· The day the football team would have a dramatic win in the Sun Bowl started with Pitt beating North Carolina 76-74 behind Jamarius Burton’s career-high 31 points (14-17 FG). “Nobody on our team could guard him”-said Tar Heels head coach Hubert Davis after.
6-NCAA Selection Sunday (early break of rules, but NCAA selection is a game in itself)
· Even if you believed they did enough, there were anxious moments based on different projections over the days leading up to Selection Sunday. The 15 ACC wins and 22 overall got them back to the NCAA Tournament and the seeding gave them another chip on their shoulder.
5-Northwestern
· It was a Monday night opposite the Steelers on prime-time, the Panthers were 4-3 coming off three straight wins but not impressive performances. Facing a team that had given up 43 points to nationally ranked Auburn and would finish second in the Big 10, the Panthers went in and buried the Wildcats on their home floor 87-58. Jeff Capel often talked of this game as a turning point to the season, not just for who they beat or where they won, rather it showed them the style to be successful. The Panthers had 22 assists on 26 made field goals. Blake Hinson finished with 22 points & eight rebounds.
4-Mississippi State
· The first NCAA Tournament win in nine years had more lead changes, 21, than any game in the tournament in five years. Burton created the game-winning jumper with 10 seconds left and Guillermo Diaz Graham blocked a shot in the ensuing possession as Pitt won 60-59. Midland’s Nelly Cummings led Pitt with 15 points, Greg Elliott with 13 and Hinson with 12. Federiko Federiko was unable to go so the freshman Diaz Graham played a career-high 37 minutes.
3-Miami
· It’s the team with the ACC Player of the Year that could match Pitt’s experience. The Panthers were coming off a previous home loss to Florida State and a tight win against Wake Forest. The conference co-champs would lead by as much as 11 and up eight with just over two minutes to play. Pitt’s defense would hold Miami scoreless the rest of the game as the Panthers won 71-68. Like the Northwestern game, that brought more belief to the team and fans, as Hinson’s tip-in with 31 seconds to play was the difference.
2-Iowa State
· Having to play in the NCAA Tournament Tuesday the Panthers got home and quickly turned around for a matchup with six-seeded Iowa State from the best conference in the country three days later. They were a defensive force in the Big 12, but it was the Panthers defense holding the Cyclones without a field goal for the first 10 minutes of the game and to 17% shooting in the second half. Guillermo Diaz Graham started again and scored the first five points of the game and Cummings had a pair of three-point plays to start the second half leading to a 59-41 win.
1-Senior Night
· The five who had major roles in creating this season played in front of a sellout crowd, each getting loud ovations as they were honored before the game. Hosting Syracuse after Jim Boeheim’s comments, he would later retract, about Pitt buying a team had the Zoo fired up. The Panthers erupted for 62 second half points (fifth most in program history). All the regulars had big games, but it was a driving move to the hoop by former manager, walk-in and now scholarship forward Aiden Fisch for points 98 and 99 that drew the biggest eruption at the Petersen Events Center. As the buzzer sounded, the team piled on Fisch as if Pitt had won a national championship. Cummings said was probably the most fun thing he’s done in his life, it was pure adrenaline. It illustrated how a program previously divided by players inability to co-exist came together for a common goal this season.
Capel would win ACC Coach of the Year, Nike Sibande the ACC Sixth Man of the Year, Burton and Hinson All-ACC players. As they said following their NCAA run, they put Pitt basketball back on the map.
