Jovenitti: 10 reasons why Pitt men’s basketball can win it all this season

Pittsburgh fans always seem to find reasons to believe that “this is the year.” And since… Pittsburgh fans always seem to find reasons to believe that “this is the year.” And since many of them are also Pirates fans, it’s certainly understandable that they find hope in the little things — like that pitcher with “potential” that the team got with a cheap contract.

But Pitt basketball fans actually have plenty of reasons to believe that this is the year the Panthers could finally break the Final Four barrier, and maybe even win it all.

Here are the top 10 reasons why Pitt could go all the way this year.

10. Three-point shooting. For the first time in the Jamie Dixon era, Pitt is great at shooting from behind the arc. The Panthers lead the Big East in the 3-point shooting percentage, and Ashton Gibbs leads the league with an average of 3.2 threes per game.

9. Teamwork. Here’s a fun game to play while watching Pitt beat up on DePaul this Saturday — count how many times the Panthers pass the ball on each possession. You will likely be astounded at just how many players touch the ball on offense. Sure, Pitt doesn’t have a guy like Connecticut’s Kemba Walker — who can beat a defense by himself — but the Panthers’ pristine passing can beat even the best defense.

8. Bench scoring. The Panthers who sub into games carry a heavy workload. On many teams that would be problematic, but Pitt’s bench isn’t all that different from its starters — a testament to Dixon’s coaching. In the Seton Hall game, 31 of Pitt’s 72 points came from the bench.

7. Improvement. The scariest part about this Pitt team is that it seems to keep improving. When things go wrong, the Panthers learn from their mistakes and fix them. Look at the Tennessee loss, during which turnovers and free-throw shooting killed them. Pitt bounced back and now has one of the best assist-to-turnover ratios in the country.

6. Tournament sites. One thing that could help the Panthers this year is the proximity of many of the NCAA Tournament locations. Of course, this all depends on Pitt’s seeding, but it appears the Panthers are headed to a No. 1 or No. 2 seed.

If that’s the case, then the Panthers will likely play in nearby Cleveland or Washington, D.C., in the first rounds and maybe even in Newark, N.J., in the East Regional if they get really lucky. That pretty much guarantees there will be a nice Pitt crowd in attendance, unlike on trips to Milwaukee and California.

5. Physicality. Don’t let Pitt’s great shooting fool you. This is still a Pitt team. The Panthers are known for their aggressive defense and hard-nosed style of basketball. That is no different this year.

4. Perimeter defense. One of Pitt’s crutches in the last few years has been awful perimeter defense. Very frequently, teams would beat Pitt by getting easy looks from the 3-point line. Whenever Pitt ran into a hot-shooting team, it would lose. This year, Pitt can contest from the arc.

3. Jamie Dixon. This is simple enough. Jamie Dixon wins games. No he doesn’t have the best record in the tournament, but he is widely regarded as one of the best coaches in a conference saturated with great coaches.

2. It’s only a matter of time. This is Dixon’s eighth year as head coach. A coach of his caliber will learn from his past Tournament mistakes, and hopefully it won’t be long before Pitt makes it over that Final Four hurdle.

1. Depth. Pitt is widely regarded as the deepest team in the country. One thing that killed the Panthers in past NCAA Tournaments was the difference in officiating. After going through the physical Big East — where most bumps and bruises aren’t whistled as fouls — the Tournament’s unpredictable officiating would cost Pitt dearly.

But this team can handle foul trouble thanks to its incredible depth. If Ashton Gibbs gets three fouls early, Travon Woodall will be willing to step up. All five Pitt starters have more-than-capable backups. The refs called a tight game against Connecticut on Dec. 27, and Pitt won that game handily.

Looking at all these reasons, it’s easy to believe this could be the year.