2024 North Carolina Sports Network
Atlantic Coast Conference Basketball Spotlight:
Pittsburgh

By Evan Rogers
North Carolina Sports Network

School: University of Pittsburgh

Location: Pittsburgh, Pa.

Previous NCAA Conference Affiliations: Eastern Intercollegiate Conference (1932-39), Eastern Eight (1976-82), Big East (1982-2013)

Conference: Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC)

ACC Member Since: 2013-14

ACC Ranking Among 32 Leagues (KenPom): 5th (2024), 7th (2023), 5th (2022), 5th (2021), 4th (2020)

NCAA Tournament Bids: 27 (1941, 1957, 1958, 1963, 1974, 1981, 1982, 1985, 1987, 1988, 1989, 1991, 1993, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2013, 2014, 2016, 2023)

Conference Titles: 4 (1981, 1982 in Eastern Eight; 2003, 2008 in Big East)

Conference 1st-Place Finishes: 10 (1933, 1934, 1935, 1937 in EIC; 1987, 1988, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2011 in Big East)

Head Coach: Jeff Capel III (49 years old, 6th season at Pittsburgh)

As A Player: Duke (1993-97), 3 years professionally

Record At Pittsburgh (Through Feb. 26): 93-90 (.508) in 5+ seasons

Previous Head Coaching Experience: VCU (2002-06), Oklahoma (2006-11)

College AC Experience: Old Dominion (2000-01), VCU (2001-02), Duke (2011-18)

Assistant Under: Jeff Capel II, Mack McCarthy, Mike Krzyzewski

2022-23 Record: 24-12, 14-6 (3rd in 15-team ACC)

2023-23 Preseason Prediction (Media): 9th in 15-team ACC

2023-24 Record (Through Feb. 26): 18-9, 9-7 ACC

2023-24 Midseason Ranking (KenPom/NET): #54/47 nationally (5th/5th in ACC)

Remaining Regular-Season Games: at Clemson (2/27), at BC (3/2), FSU (3/5), NC State (3/9)

Last season, Pittsburgh ended its six-year NCAA Tournament drought. This year, the Panthers have a realistic chance of making it a back-to-back success story.

Pitt earned an at-large bid to the 2023 Big Dance and was awarded a spot in the First Four, with a #11 seed. The Panthers then won two games in the NCAA Tournament, sneaking by Mississippi State, 60-59, in the First Four, before knocking off sixth-seeded Iowa State, 59-41, in the first round.

“It was huge just to get in,” coach Jeff Capel said of last year’s NCAA Tournament berth. “But I don’t think anyone in our program was satisfied just to get in. Then we went out and we performed. We performed well.

“It was a big deal. It was a big deal to the university, to the city of Pittsburgh, to certainly our current players, to the former players, to everyone. It’s a big deal, and hopefully it’s something we can build off of.”

Entering this season, the Panthers returned their top scorer from last year’s squad in 24-year-old veteran Blake Hinson, a sixth-year college player who previously spent two seasons at Mississippi and two more at Iowa State, although he didn’t play in any games with the Cyclones.

A second-team All-ACC honoree a season ago, Hinson has upped his scoring output to 18.9 points per game this season, which puts him among the league leaders in that category. The 6-foot-8 forward also leads the Panthers in 3-point shooting percentage (42.2) and makes (95).

Pitt also struck gold on the recruiting trail.

True freshman point guard Carlton “Bub” Carrington has provided an instant impact for the Panthers this season. Before the midseason emergence of Duke guard Jared McCain, Carrington may have been the favorite for the ACC’s Rookie of the Year honor.

Averaging 12.7 points, 5.2 rebounds and 4.2 assists per game, Carrington has earned ACC Rookie of the Week honors four times this season. In his first college game, a season-opening win over North Carolina A&T, he notched a triple-double, with 18 points, 12 rebounds and 10 assists.

More recently, true freshman point guard Jaland Lowe also has become a prominent part of the Panthers’ rotation. After coming off the bench (and sometimes playing limited minutes) in November and December, he entered the starting lineup on Jan. 6 and has played at least 34 minutes in each of the last nine games.

Across the board, the Panthers offer one of the tallest rosters in the entire country. Capel rotates post players Guillermo Diaz Graham (7-0), Jorge Diaz Graham (6-11) and Federiko Federiko (6-11), sometimes even playing multiple big men at the same time. Through Feb. 26, the Panthers were second in the ACC in rebounding margin, at plus-five per game.

Pitt entered its Feb. 27 matchup at Clemson on the NCAA Tournament bubble and in search of another signature victory.

The Panthers already have one crown-jewel triumph (80-76 at Duke) and another sensational accomplishment (74-63 at Virginia, ending the Cavaliers’ national-best 23-game home winning streak), but their only other victory over a likely NCAA Tournament team came at home against Wake Forest. After Clemson, Pitt may not face another legit at-large candidate until the ACC Tournament quarterfinals.

2023-24 Pitt Panthers
(18-9, 9-7 ACC; through Feb. 26)

Starters

PG Carlton Carrington, Fr. — 33 mpg, 13 ppg, 5 rpg, 39% FG, 80% FT, 28% threes, 113/52 ATO, 7 blocks, 14 steals
(6-5/190); 4-star signee; St. Frances Academy; Baltimore, Md.

G Ishmael Leggett, r-Jr. — 29 mpg, 12 ppg, 5 rpg, 42% FG, 83% FT, 37% threes, 58/37 ATO, 6 blocks, 32 steals
(6-3/185); URI transfer (2-year starter); St. John’s HS; Prince George’s, Md.

F Zack Austin, r-Jr. — 23 mpg, 7 ppg, 4 rpg, 42% FG, 74% FT, 27% threes, 26/10 ATO, 37 blocks, 28 steals
(6-7/210); HPU transfer (2-year starter); Moravian Prep; Winston-Salem, N.C.

F Blake Hinson*, r-Sr. — 33 mpg, 19 ppg, 5 rpg, 45% FG, 67% FT, 42% threes, 21/37 ATO, 3 blocks, 14 steals
(6-8/230); 2023 2nd-team All-ACC; Ole Miss (2-year starter); Sunrise (Kan.) Christian; Deltona, Fla.

C Federiko Federiko*, Jr. — 21 mpg, 5 ppg, 5 rpg, 62% FG, 42% FT, 25/26 ATO, 38 blocks, 15 steals
(6-11/225); 2022 Northern Oklahoma JC transfer (All-NJCAA HM); Helsinki, Finland

Key Reserves

PG Jaland Lowe, Fr. — 25 mpg, 9 ppg, 3 rpg, 38% FG, 82% FT, 35% threes, 78/39 ATO, 2 blocks, 23 steals
(6-3/170); 4-star signee; Fort Bend Marshall HS; Missouri City, Texas

F William Jeffress, r-Jr.. — 12 mpg, 2 ppg, 2 rpg, 36% FG, 64% FT, 25% threes, 7/8 ATO, 6 blocks, 17 steals
(6-7/210); 2022-23 redshirt; 4th-year reserve; McDowell HS; Erie, Pa.

F Guillermo Diaz Graham, So. — 18 mpg, 7 ppg, 4 rpg, 50% FG, 60% FT, 41% threes, 28/28 ATO, 24 blocks, 22 steals
(7-0/220); 2nd-year Pitt backup; IMG (Fla.) Academy; Canary Islands, Spain

F Jorge Diaz Graham, So. — 10 mpg, 4 ppg, 3 rpg, 36% FG, 79% FT, 29% threes, 12/11 ATO, 5 blocks, 7 steals
(6-11/210); 2nd-year Pitt backup; IMG (Fla.) Academy; Canary Islands, Spain

*—returning starter (started at least 50% of current team’s games last season)