Busting Brackets
Fansided

ACC Basketball: Ranking all 18 programs after additions of Stanford, Cal, and SMU

By Tristan Freeman

Feb 5, 2023; Boulder, Colorado, USA; Stanford Cardinal head coach Jerod Haase during the second half against the Colorado Buffaloes at the CU Events Center. Mandatory Credit: Ron Chenoy-USA TODAY Sports
Feb 5, 2023; Boulder, Colorado, USA; Stanford Cardinal head coach Jerod Haase during the second half against the Colorado Buffaloes at the CU Events Center. Mandatory Credit: Ron Chenoy-USA TODAY Sports /
facebooktwitterreddit
Prev
8 of 19
Next
ACC Basketball Pittsburgh Panthers forward Guillermo Diaz Graham (25) and forward Jorge Diaz Graham Bob Donnan-USA TODAY Sports
ACC Basketball Pittsburgh Panthers forward Guillermo Diaz Graham (25) and forward Jorge Diaz Graham Bob Donnan-USA TODAY Sports /

12. Pittsburgh Panthers

Just a decade ago, the Panthers were viewed as one of the best teams in all of college basketball. They were consistently ranked and under former coach Jamie Dixon, made 10 straight NCAA Tournament appearances, including one in the Elite 8. But when he “left”, things went completely down under Kevin Stallings, including going 0-18 in ACC Basketball play in 2018.

The program has struggled to rebuild ever since, just making its first NCAA Tournament appearance last season in year 5 of the Jeff Capel era. The hope is that they’ve gotten to the point talent-wise where they won’t be back at the bottom of the conference. There are still some questions about whether Coach Capel is the guy long-term for the job but the recruiting has certainly turned up.

When it comes to judging the Panthers as an ACC program, there’s not much positive to go on. They’ve been in the middle-to-bottom tier in all but one year since leaving the Big East, though they do have multiple wins over Duke and North Carolina. We’ve seen this program do well in a top-tier conference so maybe the adjustment period is over.

Time will time with Pittsburgh but for now, it’s hard to have them above some other programs that either have more advantages or simply a better recent history in comparison.