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Pittsburgh Basketball: Brutal Virginia Tech losses puts staff on hot seat

Feb 7, 2022; Blacksburg, Virginia, USA; Pittsburg Panthers head coach Jeff Capel looks on during a game against the Virginia Tech Hokies during the second half at Cassell Coliseum. Mandatory Credit: Ryan Hunt-USA TODAY Sports
Feb 7, 2022; Blacksburg, Virginia, USA; Pittsburg Panthers head coach Jeff Capel looks on during a game against the Virginia Tech Hokies during the second half at Cassell Coliseum. Mandatory Credit: Ryan Hunt-USA TODAY Sports

Pittsburgh Basketball lost back-to-back games against Virginia Tech. Could this be the start of the end of the Jeff Capel era?

The Pittsburgh Basketball program got a nice double-digit win over rival Syracuse to get its third win in ACC play. But good news/bad news came to them right after, with Ithiel Horton returning from suspension part 2 but the team had to play Boston College during a snowstorm and Wake Forest on the road after getting Coach Capel back from covid.

Both of those games ended up being blowout losses and just poor defensive play overall. But I wanted to give the team a pass due to bringing a player back into the rotation and not having their coach with them.

But Virginia Tech took that pass away.

The Hokies have been an overall disappointment but have turned it around in the past month to stay on the bubble. And as an elite three-point shooting team, it looked like a potential mismatch against the Panthers. And that proved to be true. In both games on Saturday and Monday, Virginia Tech led by around 30 points both times after massive first-half runs. Femi Odukale and Jamarius Burton led a comeback to cut the deficit from 27 to 3 in the first game but the early letdown was too much to overcome.

In the second game, John Hugley came off the bench after scoring just two points against the Hokies in the first go-around. But after playing hard for the first minute, Virginia Tech took him completely out of the game, limiting him to another two points and five turnovers in 21 minutes. Even more concerning, his body language looked bad as the big man hasn’t been as aggressive overall.

And that in itself creates a major question for head coach Jeff Capel. The team is now in last place in the ACC at 8-16 overall and 3-10 in league play. And with Horton back, that leaves just Nike Sibande as the only player out of the picture. And with all due respect, he’s not worth 20 points of scoring difference, which is the margin of defeat the Panthers have dealt with.

And making matters worse, there’s a real possibility that key players could be leaving after the season if no progress gets made. Hugley and Odukale are the key building blocks and foundation for any rebuilding effort for Pittsburgh Basketball and if either enters the transfer portal in the next couple of months, that goes the only real excuse for keeping this staff around. There are no current class of 2022 recruits right now and the portal is the only hope to get good talent but if this team has another exodus then is it really worth it to keep the same staff around instead of fully starting over?

There’s a reported buyout that’s above 10 million if a decision is made this offseason but the level of apathy is rising among a fanbase that was willing to give Coach Capel another year. A month ago, it looked as if it was a done deal that changes wouldn’t be made. But after multiple blowout losses, that has gone back into question. Upcoming games against Florida State, NC State, North Carolina, and NC State would determine how this goes, as a win needs to come somewhere.

Or just being competitive would suffice.