Pittsburgh Basketball: Ranking non-conference opponents for 2021-22 season

8. UMBC Retrievers

2020-21 season record: 14-6 (10-4 in America East)

The Retrievers have been up there with Vermont at the top of the conference for the past five years. But with head coach Ryan Odom moving on to Utah State and key players R.J. Eytle-Rock and Brandon Horvath moving on, the team may take a step back in the pecking order.

The good news is that new head coach Jim Ferry will have four senior guards to lean on this upcoming campaign. Darnell Rodgers, L.J. Owens, and Keondre Kennedy all averaged over 8.0 ppg last season and are joined by DePaul grad transfer Ray Salnave for even more depth. If they can get some kind of frontcourt production to balance things out, UMBC can still be a threat in the America East.

7. Monmouth Hawks

2020-21 season record: 12-8 (12-6 in MAAC)

Thanks to a senior core of starters, the Hawks were able to navigate a road-heavy league schedule to still finish second in the conference standings. But the two leading scorers (Deion Hammond and Melik Martin) have moved on, taking with them nearly 30 ppg of offensive production.

The good news is that the other two seniors (Marcus McClary and George Papas) will be back and are capable of being leading scorers in a now elevated role. Seton Hall transfer Shavar Reynolds will have an impact replacing Hammond but like all MAAC teams not named Iona, the lack of size makes their upset hopes problematic.