While Pitt's season ended in about as disappointing of a finish as possible (losing seven of their final eight contests), they improved by two wins from 2018-2019 and by eight wins from the abysmal 2017-2018 campaign.
After a victory over the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets on February 8, the Panthers sat with a 15-9 record. They were likely out of NCAA Tournament conversation, but would have been a safe bet to make the National Invitation Tournament.
Pitt did not win another regular contest, but defeated the Wake Forest Demon Deacons in the first round of the ACC Tournament in Greensboro before being eliminated in the second round by the North Carolina State Wolfpack. The Panthers finished the season with a 16-17 record, securing their fourth consecutive losing season.
While the season did not live up to expectations under second-year head coach Jeff Capel, there were many bright spots along the way. Here are Pitt's five best wins of the 2019-2020 season.
5) Wednesday, January 22 (Pitt defeats Boston College, 74-72)
In a late-night contest at the Petersen Events Center, Pitt enters the game as an 11-point favorite. However, the Panthers put up a horrendous first half, trailing by a 33-19 score with 3:21 left in the first half. A late surge leads Pitt on a 9-0 run to end the half, trailing by a 33-28 mark at halftime. Pitt puts up a much-better second half, reaching their highest lead at 65-55 with 4:22 left in the half. Pitt falters down the stretch, allowing Duke transfer and the Eagles' Derryck Thornton to trim the Pitt lead to two points (72-70) with 27 seconds left. Out of a timeout, Pitt's Justin Champagnie turns the ball over to Thornton, who ties the game (72-72) with 12 seconds left. Champagnie gets the ball to Ryan Murphy, who hits a running jump-shot from the free-throw line to give Pitt the lead with four seconds left. Murphy's shot completes a roller-coaster victory for the Panthers. Murphy finishes the contest with 11 points, while Champagnie leads the charge 17 points and 10 rebounds.
4) Tuesday, November 12 (Pitt defeats Robert Morris, 71-57)
The Panthers travel 20 miles west from the Petersen Events Center to Moon Township, where the Robert Morris Colonials are set to open up the brand-new UPMC Events Center. The two schools, separated by just 25 minutes, are meeting for the first time since 2011. Pitt starts the game on a 7-0 run, with the arena's first points scored on a three-point jumper by Ryan Murphy. The Colonials get on the board after Murphy fouls Robert Morris' Dante Treacy on a three-point attempt. Treacy sinks all three free-throws and Robert Morris goes on an exceptional 18-0 run, giving them a commanding 18-7 lead. Pitt responds nicely, taking a 27-24 lead with 2:18 left before a Charles Bain three ties the game. At the half, the score is tied at 27. In the second half, Pitt starts on fire, capped off by a Xavier Johnson three to give the Panthers a 49-37 lead with 12:51 left in the half. Pitt never looks back en route to a 71-57 victory. The road win snaps a 24-game road losing streak for the Panthers, a streak that began on February 22, 2017 with a loss at Wake Forest. Despite a pushback from the Colonials, Pitt remains undefeated against Robert Morris in 31 meetings.
3) Wednesday, January 8 (Pitt defeats North Carolina, 73-65)
Following a brutal loss at-home to Wake Forest in which Pitt led by a 22-6 mark in the first half, the Panthers travel to Chapel Hill for a crucial date with the Tar Heels. Pitt has not defeated North Carolina since 2015, their only victory over the Tar Heels since joining the Atlantic Coast Conference in 2013-2014. After a lackluster first half, Pitt heads into the locker room trailing by a 37-28 tally. A back-and-forth beginning to the second half sees Justin Champagnie finally square the game up at 51 on a three-pointer with 11:00 remaining in the half. After Carolina's Garrison Brooks hits a jumper to give the Heels a 53-51 lead, Champagnie proceeds to hit another three-pointer, and Pitt would not surrender the lead for the rest of the game. Punctuated by a Trey McGowens dunk with 1:11 remaining to give Pitt a 69-63 lead, Pitt secures an ACC road victory, defeating North Carolina by a 73-65 mark. McGowens finishes the contest with 24 points, while Champagnie accounts for an additional 22 points. The road victory is the first for Pitt in conference play since winning at Boston College on February 8, 2017.
2) Wednesday, November 6 (Pitt defeats Florida State, 63-61)
The Panthers start their second season under Jeff Capel with a pivotal match-up against the Seminoles. Florida State is coming off a 2018-2019 season in which they made it to the Sweet Sixteen before being defeated by the Gonzaga Bulldogs in Anaheim, California. The Seminoles have lost in their last three trips to the Petersen Events Center despite being ranked in the latter two instances. In 2016-2017, the #17 Seminoles fall to the Panthers by an 80-66 score on February 18, while the 2018-2019 Seminoles, who enter as the #11 team, fall to Pitt by a a 75-62 mark on January 14. A grudge-match of a first half ends with the score tied at 25. Florida State takes command early in the second half, as a Malik Osborne layup gives the Seminoles a 40-31 lead with 13:37 left in the game. Pitt storms back, taking the lead (41-40) on a Xavier Johnson three-pointer at the 10:21 mark. After continued back-and-forth, the Seminoles' Trent Forrest ties the game at 56 on a layup with 2:31 to go. With 1:10 remaining, Florida State's Raiquan Gray hits a free-throw to trim the Panthers' lead to one (60-59). With 37 seconds left, Ryan Murphy misses a three-pointer and the Panthers secure an offensive rebound before coughing the ball up to Florida State. Forrest misses a jumper and Murphy secures the rebound before hitting two free-throws to give Pitt a 62-59 lead with 21 seconds left. Trey McGowens makes a free-throw to extend Pitt's lead to two (63-61) with seven seconds remaining, but misses the second attempt. Florida State puts up a game-tying attempt at the buzzer, but it does not go down. Ryan Murphy, Xavier Johnson and Terrell Brown all tie for the Panthers' high in points with 13 each. Pitt starts off the season with a dramatic conference victory, while winning their fourth consecutive home meeting with Florida State.
1) Monday, November 25 (Pitt defeats Kansas State, 63-59)
In the semifinals of the Fort Myers Tip-Off, Pitt is looking to defeat another power-conference opponent. Kansas State, out of the Big 12 Conference, is coming off a season in which they earned a 4-seed in the NCAA Tournament before being upset by the 13-seeded UC-Irvine Anteaters. The Panthers and Wildcats meet for the first time since 2014, when Pitt blew Kansas State out by a final score of 70-47 in the third place game of the Maui Invitational. The script appears to be flipped in the early stages of this meeting, however. The Wildcats score the first nine points of the game before Ryan Murphy hits a jumper with 15:59 remaining in the first half to break the ice. Pitt fails to gain any semblance of an offensive performance for the majority of the half, trailing by a 27-17 score with 3:59 to go before halftime. Pitt puts up a late surge, ending the half on a 11-3 run to go into the half trailing by a 30-28 tally. A nail-biting second half sees Pitt possess a 57-51 lead heading into the final media timeout. After a Xavier Sneed three-pointer, a Carter Diarra layup and a Sneed layup, Kansas State reclaims the lead at 58-57 with with 2:45 to go. A stalemate in the contest's final minutes is broken when Xavier Johnson hits a dramatic go-ahead layup with 11 seconds left, giving the Panthers a 59-58 lead. At the defensive end, Xavier Johnson draws a charge, allowing Pitt to grab the possession back with just four seconds remaining. Johnson sinks both free-throws to give Pitt a 61-58 lead, and proceeds to intentionally foul Diarra in order to avoid a game-tying three-point attempt. Diarra makes the first and intentionally tries to miss the second, but is unsuccessful. Justin Champagnie secures the rebound, is fouled and hits both free-throws to seal an excellent come-from-behind victory for the Panthers, winning by a 63-59 mark. Two days later, Pitt defeats the Northwestern Wildcats by a 72-59 score to win the early-season tournament. The tournament victory is the first for Pitt since they defeated the Texas Tech Red Raiders and the Stanford Cardinal en route to the title at the 2013 Legends Classic.
A 2019-2020 season that was capped by disappointment was filled with many iconic moments.
In 2020-2021, under third-year head coach Jeff Capel, Pitt is expected to return to postseason action, whether that be the NCAA Tournament or the NIT. More signature moments are on the way for a program that is well on the right track.
No Rutgers🤔