Where does Pitt men’s hoops go from here?

Another year, another Sweet 16 loss. It’s becoming pretty commonplace for Pitt basketball…. Another year, another Sweet 16 loss. It’s becoming pretty commonplace for Pitt basketball. This loss, despite it coming at the hands of Pitt’s former architect Ben Howland, who just happens to head a team going to the Final Four for the second straight year, is as bad as any of the losses in the third round.

I know UCLA is a great team and it is clear that the Bruins’ tenacious defense played a large part in Pitt’s demise, but let’s be honest here. If the Panthers make their layups, they win that game. It’s that simple.

That being said, there isn’t much else to say about Pitt’s Sweet 16 loss to the Bruins on Thursday night. When you botch more than a dozen shots from inside the lane, you are going to lose, especially when both teams are struggling to crack the 60-point barrier. I can’t blame Jamie Dixon for anything that went on out there – he can’t make his team make shots.

I also find it completely ironic that a Ben Howland team wins by shooting free throws, especially against a team that he created, one that also couldn’t shoot free throws when he was the coach. You can’t write it any better than that.

So let’s take one last look at the questions surrounding Pitt basketball as the Panthers (29-8) close out the season without any kind of new banner to hang in the Pete.

Was this season a disappointing one for Pitt?

I think the answer is clear here.

Pitt didn’t win the regular season Big East title, squandering the conference lead after a 10-1 start that made the Panthers out to be the beast of the Big East. Then the Panthers rebounded, beating two quality teams in the Big East Tournament on their way to the championship round. There, Dixon’s team had a chance to save face, but bowed out in embarrassing fashion by 23 points to Georgetown.

Making matters worse, Pitt set a Big East Championship low for points with only 42 in the loss.

Alright, so no Big East accolades. Getting past the Sweet 16 for the first time in program history could help make up for that, right?

It could have this time, especially when you consider that Pitt could only do so by going through Howland and the Bruins in the state of California. Once again, though, the offensive futility set in and Pitt only got to 50 points because of some late, meaningless 3-pointers. UCLA made its free throws and won, 64-55, to end Pitt’s season.

So no Big East title, no NCAA Tournament run that extended past any of the years prior. Sounds disappointing to me.

What is it going to take for Pitt to get past the Sweet 16?

At this stage, I’m not even entirely sure.

Pitt has had all kinds of opportunities to get it done. In 2002, the Panthers played a 10-seed that they should have easily controlled. The next year Pitt had to go through Marquette, but the Panthers had not only the lead in that game, but they also had, arguably, the best Pitt team in the last decade on the floor with it.

I’ll admit that 2004 was a no-contest. Oklahoma State was just too good for Pitt that year and only a fool would argue against that. As good as that Pitt team was, beating eventual national champion UConn once and playing it to three points in the two losses, the Panthers just didn’t have enough offensive firepower to get past the Cowboys.

This year was as winnable as any of those, I think, and that is a surprising thing to say. Sure, Pitt was playing a very good team in its own backyard, but the game itself played out in a way that Pitt could have won. UCLA blew countless opportunities to blow the game open, but Pitt could only answer with missed shots on the other end. The Panthers needed UCLA to shoot horribly, and that actually happened, but Pitt couldn’t score.

As for what Pitt needs to do, I’d say it’s as simple as not choking. The Panthers have blown these opportunities enough for anybody to see that. I hate saying Pitt choked against the Bruins, but all the Panthers needed to do was make a few inside shots and we are talking about a close game.

Some more offensive firepower couldn’t hurt. This team was supposed to have that, though.

What should we expect of Pitt next year?

Not as much as we did this year, for sure. As much talent as Pitt returns, I think it will be tough to expect this team to win the Big East and make a deep NCAA Tournament run.

Consider that Pitt loses its entire starting frontcourt. True, Aaron Gray didn’t exactly fill up “SportsCenter’s” Top 10 this season, but any coach will tell you that he is a tough one to scheme for. Both he and forward Levon Kendall were, if nothing else, big and annoying for the opposition. I remember the win over UConn in February, a stretch where Gray and Kendall sat for extended minutes and the Huskies went inside four possessions in a row and scored very easy buckets.

That was a nice preview of what next year could be like for Pitt if the Panthers don’t find some solid inside play early.

The guard play should be good once again, headed by Ronald Ramon and Levance Fields. Sam Young really started to develop down the stretch. Mike Cook and his athleticism are back for another year, as are the fundamentals of Tyrell Biggs. That alone is enough experience for top-25 consideration. Overall, though, I’d have to say this team is an NCAA at-large team that is a first- or second-round team.

That assumes little production from the newbies, though. I wouldn’t be surprised if Dixon gets more out of this team. This season was, by far, his best coaching job to date. These were his guys, and they won a few games that, normally, Pitt would lose. I say Dixon has them contending for a spot in the top five of the Big East.

It’s only March, though. Only seven more months until we find out for sure. I can’t wait.