Friday, November 29, 2013

Pitt, Football and Basketball

The Pitt Panthers closed their football season today the same way that they began it last Labor Day evening - by giving up 41 points to a school from Florida, and losing convincingly.  Tonight it was the Miami Hurricanes who laid the wood to the Panthers and coming away with a 41-31 win, and trust me, the game wasn't as close as the score indicated.  The Panthers finish their season with a 6-6 record and will be making a trip to some meaningless bowl game in late December.

After Florida State beat Pitt 41-13 to open the season I wrote, among other things,  the following:

You just have to hope for game by game improvement as the season progresses and maybe for an unexpected upset somewhere along the line.

Well, Pitt did get that big upset when they beat Notre Dame earlier in the month.  It was easily the high point of the season.  As to whether the game by game improvement occurred, not so much.  Every step forward seemed to be accompanied by a step-and-a-half backward, tonight's drubbing by Miami being a prime example.

On the other hand, as I was driving home from the game, the radio announcers said that 19 freshman had significant playing time for Pitt this season.  Here is hoping that that is a sign that a youth movement under Paul Chryst is taking place and that it will bear fruit in the seasons ahead.

On to basketball.  The Panther Hoopsters are 6-0 and coming off a most impressive two game performance at one of those pre-season tournaments, this one in Brooklyn, earlier in the week.  I will get to see them tomorrow afternoon when they take on Duquesne in the "City Game" at the Consol Energy Center.  I will have more on that match-up later in the weekend, but I am especially excited that this will be my first visit to the Consol Energy Center.  The building is now into its fourth year of hosting events, and I cannot believe that it has taken me this long to get down there.  Of course, I will be giving all of you my impressions of the Building.



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