Pittsburgh Basketball: 2020-21 season preview for the Panthers

Pittsburgh’s ACC opponents

With the conference having raised the number of inter-conference opponents from 18 to 20, the Panthers have more tough foes to deal with, some even for a second time. The teams that the Panthers have to play twice include Clemson, Duke, NC State, Syracuse, Wake Forest, and Louisville.

When it comes to unbalanced schedules, Pittsburgh didn’t do too badly. While it’s always tough to see the Blue Devils twice, they did avoid the same fate with Virginia, North Carolina, and Florida State, the other three ACC programs that are ranked in consensus preseason national polls. And while the Panthers are near the bottom in many ACC polls themselves, so is Wake Forest. Those matchups may ultimately determine who ends up in the rear of the league this season.

Overall, the Panthers have a fairly decent ACC schedule. The games against both North Carolina and Florida State are at home, although there likely won’t be much of a “zoo” atmosphere at those games.

The key stretch for Pittsburgh is actually the first right games of the conference. They start off with Miami on the road, before facing Louisville, Duke, Florida State, and Notre Dame. Georgia Tech, Syracuse, and Duke again follow that. There’s a genuine chance that the Panthers won’t be favored in any game outside of Notre Dame, so a 3-5 or better record should be the goal if they want to avoid the bottom of the standings.