Pitt basketball ranked last in ACC preseason men’s basketball media poll

The Pitt men’s basketball team isn’t expected to be very good this season. The latest dose of that reality dropped this week at the ACC basketball media days as the Panthers were picked dead last in the preseason conference poll by the media.

Duke is first in the poll by a wide margin over No. 2 North Carolina. Also not a surprise was that Pitt did not have any players picked for preseason honors.

Here’s the rundown of voting (first-place votes in parentheses).

1. Duke (57) - 1020

2. North Carolina (7) - 921

3. Notre Dame (4) - 852

4. Miami (1) - 809

5. Louisville - 733

6. Virginia - 690

7. Virginia Tech - 549

8. Florida State – 519

9. Georgia Tech - 468

10. Syracuse - 420

11. Wake Forest - 378

12. NC State - 310

13. Clemson - 289

14. Boston College - 181

15. Pittsburgh – 141

Pitt’s last-place ranking won’t come as a surprise to most. The Panthers practically turned over their entire roster and, unlike a program like Kentucky or Duke, isn’t bringing in five-star recruits, either. The likely best player on the team is Ryan Luther, last year’s Sixth Man and, at least to this point in his career, pretty much the textbook definition of a role player.

In other words, buckle up for what is likely going to be a long season.

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