Is Pitt the nation's most underrated team?

Ken Pomeroy had an interesting article last week about Pitt being underrated. So much so, that he calls the Panthers the most underrated team in the nation.

The article isn't a free one, so I won't go too much into it. But the gist is that Pitt's defense, offensive rebounding, and shooting make them a solid team. Hard to disagree with that, but I'm not sure they're undervalued all that much - here's why.

To say the Panthers, a top 20 team as of last week, are severely underrated would mean they're a top five or top ten team. And I just don't see it. Surely, the Panthers are not one of the top five teams in the nation, or even top ten. Pitt just doesn't have the resume to prove that.

There was a blowout win against Georgetown and another quality win over Syracuse, but after that, the resume is a bit hollow. They beat Cincinnati on the road, but the Bearcats have taken a tumble and that win isn't all that impressive anymore. They blew a big lead to Notre Dame. They lost to Marquette ... twice. They lost to Rutgers. None of that would suggest they should be a top ten team.

And the fact is that Pomeroy just thinks the Panthers are better than they really are in my opinion. In his rankings on his website a short while ago, he had Pitt ranked fourth in the nation - ahead of many teams, including Michigan. Pitt has several more losses than the Wolverines and lost the head to head matchup.

Even beyond the losses, Pitt just hasn't shown the consistency of a top ten team. They nearly lost to Oakland early in the year then almost beat Michigan. They lost at Rutgers then came back to blow out Georgetown. They beat Syracuse and Cincinnati then lost to both Marquette and Notre Dame. Pitt has just been wildly inconsistent this season ... and top ten teams aren't that up and down.

Pitt may be slightly overlooked this year, but I think calling them the most underrated team in the nation is a stretch.

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