Pitt vs. Virginia Tech: Open Gamethread

Just three games ago, Pitt's basketball season was essentially being left for dead. The Panthers had lost eight straight games and looked like a train wreck.

Now, they've won two in a row against Boston College and Syracuse, and while those aren't great teams by any means, there's at least a little bit of life in the team. The Panthers dominated the Orange on the boards and were the most aggressive on defense that I've seen them in some time. If anything, they've given us a reason to become interested again.

Tonight, Pitt welcomes Virginia Tech to the Pete and should have at least a fighting chance to get a third straight win. The Hokies are no easy matchup, obviously. They're 17-7 on the season and, in much better shape to reach the NCAA Tournament. For that reason, you can expect a good effort from them as they look to firm up their resume. From the Pitt standpoint, I'm still not exactly sure what this team is fighting for. They're not out of NCAA Tournament contention completely, but have very little margin for error. And as I wrote about before, I don't know how easy it is to get up for an NIT invite.

If the Panthers can find a way to win tonight, though, the season gets that much more interesting.

Game time is at 7:00 p.m. and you can see it on ESPN2. If you can convince your significant other to let you watch the game on Valentine's Day, kudos.

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