Pitt's Big East Basketball Home And Away Opponents

Home: Cincinnati, Georgetown, Louisville, Providence, Rutgers, St. John's, South Florida, Villanova, West Virginia

Away: Connecticut, DePaul, Louisville, Marquette, Notre Dame, Seton Hall, South Florida, Syracuse, West Virginia

Repeats are italicized

-Relieved with our repeat opponents. Louisville will be a contender but we at least get a game at the Pete. West Virginia will be 2nd or 3rd tier in the Big East and South Florida will most likely be near the bottom.

-At first, the home schedule wasn't doing a whole lot for me, but I'm slowly warming up to it. Pitt can avenge a home loss to Georgetown from two seasons ago. We also drew Cincinnati, a team many feel as a dark horse for the Big East title, and St. John's, which is a huge unknown given all the freshmen on their roster. Villanova and a Rutgers team many think could finish in the top half of the conference also play in front of the Zoo. Throw in a Backyard Brawl and the home schedule isn't too bad.

-The road schedule intrigues me. We go to Marquette, where we won for the first time two seasons ago. Trips to UConn, Notre Dame, and Syracuse will be tough. But if the 2009-2010 Pitt team could beat Syracuse in the Dome, I'm liking our chances there. Notre Dame has had our number recently, but now that Hansbrough is gone, maybe Pitt can beat the Irish? I'm still not confident given the way Mike Brey has used the burn offense against us the past few seasons (I still contend that the 50-45 loss in the BET in 2010 will go down as one of the most boring games ever). A road trip to Morgantown is hit or miss really. I could see us winning, but I wouldn't be shocked with a loss.

-The Big East gets an B+ for Pitt's schedule, but F overall. Seriously, only one Syracuse-Georgetown matchup? F for you,John Marinatto.

-Off the top of my head, worst case scenario is 11-7. Losses on the road to UConn, Louisville, Marquette, Notre Dame, Syracuse, West Virginia. I can't see Pitt losing more than 1 game at home, maybe Cincinnati or Louisville? Or Providence, who seems to always give Pitt trouble? All the home games are definitely winnable though. It usually takes 15-16 wins to win the Big East, I'm gonna say Pitt is 14-4, losses @ Louisville, @ Notre Dame, one from the @UConn/@Syracuse/@West Virginia group, and one at home. That should place the Panthers in the top 4, which means Pitt will get the double-bye (and be knocked out in the quarterfinals of the Big East tournament for the 4th year in a row). Best case scenario in my opinion is 16-2, with losses @ Louisville and @ Notre Dame.