34 and Counting

How many people do you know that could fail at their job 34 straight times and still be employed?

How many people can lose to their direct competition in the workplace for 2 straight years and have a job?

I know one person that can, Agnus Berenato.

The Pitt’s women’s basketball coach has not seen her team win a conference day in 745 days. It has been 2 straight regular seasons without a conference win. 34 straight Big East conference games that have gone in the loss column for the Lady Panthers.

The last time that the Lady Panthers won a Big East basketball game was February 15, 2011, to put that into perspective, that was 45 days before Clint Hurdle managed his first game for the Pirates.

Agnus and Co. have lost pretty much every way imaginable, but the most common way is in a blowout. The team has lost 3 games by just 2 points including a double overtime, 2 point loss, just weeks ago. They have also lost 23 games by double digits including 5 by 30+ points in this 34 game conference losing streak.

Pitt has been bad offensively and defensively. They have been held to under 50 points in 15 games, or 44% of the time. They have allowed 70+ points 17 times and have held their opponents under 60 just 5 times.

The Lady Panthers have losses of 33, 40, 41, 49 and 76 points in that span. YES, a 76 point loss. Pitt has only scored 76 points as a team 3 times in their last 34 conference games, but lost last season to Notre Dame by that many, 120-44.

Oh yeah, Agnus Berenato is also the 7th highest paid employee at the University of Pittsburgh, a state funded school. Berenato has a contract through the 2015-16 season and receives just under $500K annually.  Only basketball head coach Jamie Dixon, football head coach Paul Chryst, athletic director Steve Pederson and 3 university executives making more annually.

Based on my research (not all schools release the salaries of coaches) Berenato is the 5th highest paid coach in the Big East. She hasn’t won a game in the conference in the last 2 seasons, but she is getting paid better than 10 other coaches in the conference. As of the end of the 2011 season, the average salary for Big East women’s basketball coaches was $129,479; Berenato is making 3 times that amount.

The Big East record for most consecutive losses in conference play is 39 straight held by the Providence College Lady Friars from 2003 to 2006. Pitt will not have a chance to bypass that mark,only because the Lady Panthers will be leaving the Big East after 2 more games and moving to the ACC.

Sadly the Lady Panthers aren’t just losing to Big East teams. They have lost to Youngstown State, Lafayette, Duquesne and Rider in non-conference games this season. Pitt did win 9 games during the non-conference portion of their schedule this season, but just 1 of those teams, Old Dominion, has a winning record this season.

A team’s RPI (Ratings Percentage Index) has become a very popular and reliable way of rating all 345 NCAA Division 1 teams. Pitt is currently ranked 225. Only Mississippi (230) and Oregon (247) are ranked behind Pitt of BCS conference schools. Old Dominion is also the only team that Pitt has beaten that is rated ahead of them in the RPI.  Pitt’s best win after that is against Mt. St. Mary’s.

To summarize, the 5th highest paid women’s basketball head coach in the Big East and the 7th highest paid employee of the University of Pittsburgh hasn’t won a conference game in her last 34 attempts, yet she is still employed. That seems completely reasonable, right?

When is enough, enough? Could you imagine if Mike Tomlin would go two and a half seasons without beating anyone from the AFC North? Or if Dan Bylsma didn’t beat the Islanders in nearly 3 years? Better yet, what if Jamie Dixon was losing like this with the men’s team at Pitt, would anyone stand for it? Would any of these coaches keep their jobs in those circumstances? The answer is no, and Agnus Berenato shouldn’t be keeping her job either.

BETology 3/1: The Projections

The Rant will be your daily site to find out exactly how your team stacks up against the rest of the conference as we creep closer to the Big East Tournament in New York City, which begins March 12th.

With all the schools in the Big East off Thursday and Friday this week before the final 8 days of the regular season, I decided to play CNN on Election Night and start projecting winners.  I wanted to look at some of the possibilities for each team with their remaining schedule.  Using realtimerpi.com for their projections of each of the remaining games on the Big East schedule, I was able to project what the bracket might look like for the Big East Tournament this year.

STANDINGS:

#Georgetown Hoyas 12-3 (projected record: 14-4)
1 more win for the Hoyas and they will at least clinch a double bye in New York.  If Georgetown wins 2 of their final 3 games they will win the regular season championship in the Big East and enter the tournament as the top seed.
3-2 vs Rutgers  W 71-55
3-6 @ Villanova  L 64-61
3-9 vs Syracuse  W 72-64

#Louisville Cardinal 11-4 (projected record: 13-5)

Louisville will have to win at least 1 of their final 3 games to get one of the 4 double byes, but may have win even more than that. 
3-2 @ Syracuse  L 72-64
3-4 vs Cincinnati  W 78-63
3-9 vs Notre Dame  W 78-64

#Marquette Golden Eagles 11-4 (projected record: 12-6)

Just like Louisville, Marquette will need to win at least 1 of their final 3 games to assure a double bye.  Beating Notre Dame tomorrow would go a long way for the Golden Eagles.
3-2 vs Notre Dame  W 71-64
3-5 @ Rutgers  L 68-67
3-9 @ St. John’s  L 71-65

#Syracuse Orange 10-5 (projected record: 12-6)

Syracuse will almost certainly have to win either the Louisville or the Georgetown game as well as DePaul at home.  Winning all 3 would get Syracuse a double bye, while losing all 3 would have the Orange playing on Wednesday.
3-2 vs Louisville  W 72-64
3-6 vs DePaul  W 85-53
3-9 @ Georgetown  L 72-64  

#Notre Dame Fighting Irish 10-5 (projected record: 11-7)

Notre Dame has not been good on the road and will likely need to win one and maybe both of their two remaining road games as well as the home game with St. John’s to secure a double bye.
3-2 @ Marquette  L 71-64
3-5 vs St. John’s  W 73-63
3-9 @ Louisville  L 78-64

#Pittsburgh Panthers 10-6 (projected record: 12-6)

Pitt will have to hope that if they take care of business, the teams above them will beat each other up enough for Pitt to leap them in the standings.
3-3 vs Villanova  W 72-56
3-9 @ DePaul  W 69-58

UCONN Huskies 9-6 (projected record: 11-7)

UCONN, although ineligible for post season play this season, can continue to wreak havoc for their opponents while helping the other teams in the conference that are fitting for seeding in the conference tournament.
3-2 @ Cincinnati  L 67-59
3-6 @ South Florida  W 73-72
3-9 vs Providence  W 76-64

#Villanova Wildcats 9-7 (projected record: 10-8)

Mathematically Villanova can still claim a double bye, but they need a ton of help for that to happen.  Villanova is now working on their NCAA Tournament resume.
3-3 @ Pitt  L 72-56
3-6 vs Georgetown  W 64-61

#St. John’s Red Storm 8-7 (projected record: 9-9)

Much like Villanova, St. John’s does still have an extremely slim chance of claiming one of the top 4 seeds in New York and playing both Notre Dame and Marquette helps.  The Johnnies need to win out and have Syracuse, Pitt and Marquette or Notre Dame lose all of their remaining games to make that happen.  St. John’s will need to probably need to win 2 of their final 3 games as well as winning 1 game in New York to get into the NCAA Tournament.  That should be the goal of Steve Lavin and Co at this point.
3-2 @ Providence  L 74-64
3-5 @ Notre Dame  L 73-63
3-9 vs Marquette  W 71-65

#Providence Friars 7-8 (projected record: 9-9)

Providence has clinched a spot playing Wednesday in New York, now they are fighting for seeding.  Finishing as either the 5^th or 6^th seed gets you a game against a team that had to play on Tuesday.  The Friars would have to win all 3 of their remaining games for that to be a possibility, but with a somewhat easy schedule, it isn’t out of the question.
3-2 vs St. John’s  W 74-64
3-5 vs Seton Hall  W 74-62
3-9 @ UCONN  L 76-64

#Cincinnati Bearcats 7-8 (projected record: 9-9)

Like Providence, Cincinnati will be playing on Wednesday.  Unlike Providence, their schedule will make it tough to get into the 5^th or 6^th spot. 
3-2 vs UCONN  W 67-59
3-4 @ Louisville  L 78-63
3-9 vs South Florida  W 80-58

Rutgers Scarlet Knights 4-11 (projected record: 5-13)

Rutgers is locked into the opening day of the tournament.  Due to the odd scheduling with just 14 teams this year, there is a distinct advantage to playing in the 9:00pm game on Tuesday.  If you finish 12^th or 13^th you are forced into a quick turnaround on Wednesday if you win, going from 7:00pm on Tuesday to 2:00pm Wednesday.  The winner of the 11/14 game stays at night and gets a full 24 hours between their game.  The state rivalry game with Seton Hall to close the season very well may determine who is the 11 seed and who is the 12 seed.
3-2 @ Georgetown  L 71-55
3-5 vs Marquette  W 68-67
3-8 @ Seton Hall  L 74-64

Seton Hall Pirates 3-13 (projected record: 4-14)

Seton Hall probably has to win both of their final 2 games to get the 11 seed in the tournament.  The schedule would lead you to think that is possible, but let’s not forget that the Pirates have won just 1 of their last 10 games.
3-5 @ Providence  L 74-62
3-8 vs Rutgers  W 74-64

DePaul Blue Demons 2-13 (projected record: 2-16)

The Blue Demons have finished dead last in the conference for 4 straight seasons and with just 3 games to go they aren’t in last place, so at least they have that going for them.
3-3 @ South Florida  L 74-60
3-6 @ Syracuse  L 85-53
3-9 vs Pitt  L 69-58

South Florida Bulls 1-14 (projected record: 2-16)

South Florida could finish the regular season with just 1 conference win.  Oddly enough it came against Georgetown, who is the likely top seed in New York.
3-3 vs DePaul  W 74-60
3-6 vs UCONN  L 73-72
3-9 @ Cincinnati  L 80-58
#- Clinched Opening Round Bye

UPCOMING GAMES:

Saturday:
Louisville @ Syracuse, NOON CBS
UCONN @ Cincinnati, 2:00pm ESPN Regional
Notre Dame @ Marquette, 2:00pm ESPN
St. John’s @ Providence, 8:00pm ESPN Regional
Rutgers @ Georgetown, 9:00pm ESPNU

Sunday:

Villanova @ Pitt, NOON ESPN Regional
DePaul @ South Florida, 2:00pm ESPN Regional

Monday:

Cincinnati @ Louisville, 7:00pm  ESPN

BETology (based on projections):

TUESDAY March 12th:
7:00pm
12 – Seton Hall
Vs
13 – South Florida (1-0 vs DePaul)

9:00pm

11 – Rutgers
Vs
14 – DePaul (0-1 vs South Florida)

WEDNESDAY March 13th:

NOON
8 – Providence (2-0 vs St. John’s and Cincinnati)
Vs
9 - St. John’s (1-1 vs Providence and Cincinnati)
 
2:00
5 – Syracuse (0-2 vs Marquette and Pitt)
Vs
Tuesday 7:00 winner

7:00

7 – Villanova
Vs
10 - Cincinnati

9:00

6 – Notre Dame
Vs
Tuesday 9:00 winner

THURSDAY March 14th:

NOON
1 – Georgetown
Vs
Wednesday NOON winner

2:00

4 – Pitt (1-2 vs Marquette and Syracuse)
Vs
Wednesday 2:00 winner

7:00

2 – Louisville
Vs
Wednesday 7:00 winner

9:00

3 – Marquette (3-0 vs Pitt and Syracuse)
Vs
Wednesday 9:00 winner

Check back tomorrow for another update!

BETology 2/28

The Rant will be your daily site to find out exactly how your team stacks up against the rest of the conference as we creep closer to the Big East Tournament in New York City, which begins March 12th.

After a night off for the Big East on Tuesday, 6 teams were back in action on Wednesday.

STANDINGS:

#Georgetown Hoyas 12-3
3-2 vs Rutgers
3-6 @ Villanova
3-9 vs Syracuse

#Louisville Cardinal 11-4

3-2 @ Syracuse
3-4 vs Cincinnati
3-9 vs Notre Dame

#Marquette Golden Eagles 11-4

3-2 vs Notre Dame
3-5 @ Rutgers
3-9 @ St. John’s

#Syracuse Orange 10-5

3-2 vs Louisville
3-6 vs DePaul
3-9 @ Georgetown

#Notre Dame Fighting Irish 10-5

3-2 @ Marquette
3-5 vs St. John’s
3-9 @ Louisville

#Pittsburgh Panthers 10-6

3-3 vs Villanova
3-9 @ DePaul

UCONN Huskies 9-6

3-2 @ Cincinnati
3-6 @ South Florida
3-9 vs Providence

#Villanova Wildcats 9-7

3-3 @ Pitt
3-6 vs Georgetown

#St. John’s Red Storm 8-7

3-2 @ Providence
3-5 @ Notre Dame
3-9 vs Marquette

#Providence Friars 7-8

3-2 vs St. John’s
3-5 vs Seton Hall
3-9 @ UCONN

#Cincinnati Bearcats 7-8

3-2 vs UCONN
3-4 @ Louisville
3-9 vs South Florida

Rutgers Scarlet Knights 4-11

3-2 @ Georgetown
3-5 vs Marquette
3-8 @ Seton Hall

Seton Hall Pirates 3-13

3-5 @ Providence
3-8 vs Rutgers

DePaul Blue Demons 2-13

3-3 @ South Florida
3-6 @ Syracuse
3-9 vs Pitt

South Florida Bulls 1-14

3-3 vs DePaul
3-6 vs UCONN
3-9 @ Cincinnati
#- Clinched Opening Round Bye

YESTERDAYS RECAP:

Pitt- 64
South Florida- 44
Once again, the Pitt defense led the way for the Panthers in their 20 point win that was much closer than that.  South Florida actually led this game in the second half, but Pitt finished the game on a 36-14 run to put away the Bulls.  It was the 2^nd straight game that the Panthers held their opponents under 50 points and the 5^th game this season that they have done that to a Big East opponent. 

Pitt currently sits in 6^th place in the conference, but has 2 very winnable games left on their schedule (vs Villanova, @ DePaul), both of which they will be favored to win.  The best Pitt could do at this point is tie for 1^st place with Georgetown, whom they hold the head-to-head tiebreaker over.  A more realistic goal might be just getting into the top 4 which would ensure Pitt of a double bye into the quarterfinals of the Big East Tournament.  While Pitt is playing their final 2 games against teams below them in the standings, the 5 teams above them in the standings will play a total of 4 games against each other.  Pitt will have to hope that if they take care of business, the teams above them will beat each other up enough for Pitt to leap them in the standings.

Georgetown- 79

UCONN- 78
The Hoyas scored the final 8 points of the 2^nd overtime to extend their win streak to 10 games and their lead in the conference to a full game.  Georgetown now sits alone atop the conference standings with just 3 games remaining, 2 of which will be on the Hoyas’ home court, where Georgetown is 14-1 this season.  1 more win for the Hoyas and they will at least clinch a double bye in New York.  If Georgetown wins 2 of their final 3 games they will win the regular season championship in the Big East and enter the tournament as the top seed.

UCONN, although ineligible for post season play this season can continue to wreak havoc for their opponents while helping the other teams in the conference that are fitting for seeding in the conference tournament.  Connecticut does not play any more games against the teams at the top of the standings, but still plays both Cincinnati and Providence, who are battling each other in the standings.

Louisville- 79

DePaul- 58
DePaul jumped out to an 8-0 lead, but then went over 5 minutes without making a field goal as Louisville rattled of 14 points.  The Cardinals never looked back from that point, cruising to their 4^th straight win and 7^th in their last 8 games.  Their lone loss in that span was a 5-overtime defeat at Notre Dame. 

Louisville is tied for 2^nd place with Marquette as of today, with 3 games remaining on the schedule.  Louisville has the most difficult schedule remaining of any of the teams near the top of the standings.  The Cardinals still play 2 more games against teams in the top 5 of the conference standings, including going to Syracuse on Saturday.  Louisville will probably have to win at least 1 of their final 3 games to get one of the 4 double byes, but may have win even more than that. 

TODAY’S GAMES:

No Big East Game Scheduled

UPCOMING GAMES:

Saturday:
Louisville @ Syracuse, NOON CBS
UCONN @ Cincinnati, 2:00pm ESPN Regional
Notre Dame @ Marquette, 2:00pm ESPN
St. John’s @ Providence, 8:00pm ESPN Regional
Rutgers @ Georgetown, 9:00pm ESPNU

Sunday:

Villanova @ Pitt, NOON ESPN Regional
DePaul @ South Florida, 2:00pm ESPN Regional

Monday:

Cincinnati @ Louisville, 7:00pm  ESPN

BETology:

TUESDAY March 12th:
7:00pm
12 – Seton Hall
Vs
13 – DePaul

9:00pm

11 – Rutgers
Vs
14 – South Florida

WEDNESDAY March 13th:

NOON
8 – St. John’s
Vs
9 - Providence

2:00

5 – Notre Dame
Vs
Tuesday 7:00 winner

7:00

7 – Villanova
Vs
10 - Cincinnati

9:00

6 – Pitt
Vs
Tuesday 9:00 winner
 
THURSDAY March 14th:
NOON
1 – Georgetown
Vs
Wednesday NOON winner

2:00

4 – Syracuse
Vs
Wednesday 2:00 winner
 

7:00

2 – Louisville
Vs
Wednesday 7:00 winner
 
9:00
3 – Marquette
Vs
Wednesday 9:00 winner

Check back tomorrow for another update!

Pitt Releases 2013 Football Schedule

On Monday, the ACC unveiled their 2013 football schedule.  It is the first schedule with the new additions of Pitt and Syracuse, which both officially join the ACC on July 1^st.  The ACC looks to improve its image of being low level BCS conference and plans on doing that with their product on the field.  ACC teams have 9 non-conference games against teams that finished the 2012 season ranked in the AP Top 10.  An ACC team will play each of the Top 4 teams in those final rankings, Virginia Tech vs #1 Alabama, Virginia vs #2 Oregon, Clemson vs #3 Georgia and Pitt vs #4 Notre Dame.  No other BCS conference has more than 4 Top 10 teams from last year on their schedule.

With the conference schedule being released yesterday, it also finalized all the teams’ schedules, putting dates to each opponent.  The conference will kickoff the season on Labor Day Night when the defending champion travels to Heinz Field in Pittsburgh to welcome Pitt to the conference.  That game will be broadcast on ESPN with an 8:00pm kickoff.

This will be the 1^st game between FSU and Pitt since 1983, when Pitt defeated Bobby Bowden’s Seminoles 17-16 at Pitt Stadium.  The two schools have played 8 times in history with Pitt holding a series lead of 5 games to 3.  For Pitt, the Labor Day game, which almost didn’t happen due to previously scheduled games that weekend for both teams, is a no-lose situation in many ways.  The Panthers, who fight for attention in this sports driven city with the Steelers every season, will be playing their biggest game of the season on national television in prime time one week before the Steeler season even starts.  Pitt will also hope to take advantage of a young and inexperienced Florida State team playing on the road the first game of the season.  Florida State will be replacing their starting QB as well as their top offensive lineman, while Pitt returns 9 starters from their defense.  Florida State will also be replacing 6 starters on defense, including 3 lineman and 2 linebackers, as well as adjusting to a new defensive coordinator who has never held that position before.

Pitt knew that they would have to play Florida State at some point this season; this is the best possible time for the Panthers to get them and possibly pull the upset.

The Florida State game is just the beginning to the Pitt schedule, which is one of the best home schedules in the nation for the 2013 season.  After a bye week, the 2^nd week of the season Pitt will host New Mexico in a non-conference game.  This will be the first time that Pitt ever plays against the Lobos in football.  New Mexico is coached by Pittsburgh native, Bob Davie, who saw his team finish with a 4-9 record in his first year of the job last season.

Week 3 sees the Panthers play their 1^st road game in the ACC when they travel to Durham, NC to take on the Duke Blue Devils.  Pitt last played Duke in their national championship season in 1976, winning 44-31.  Pitt leads the all-time series 9-8.  The Blue Devils have continually been improving under David Cutcliffe, but will have to replace 3-year starter Sean Renfree at quarterback.  The Blue Devils got to a bowl game last year, losing in the Belk Bowl to Cincinnati and finishing the season 6-7.

Pitt returns home the final week of September for another ACC foe, Virginia.  The last time Pitt saw the Cavaliers on the football field it wasn’t pretty for Panther fans.  Virginia dominated Pitt in Charlottesville 44-14 in 2007.  Virginia started the 2012 season off strong, including an upset win against Penn State, but they lost 8 of their final 10 games and they too will be replacing their starting QB before the 2013 campaign begins.

If Pitt can find a way to beat Florida State in the season opener, it is not out of the realm of possibilities that they enter October undefeated and 3-0 in conference play.

After another bye week to start October Pitt finishes the season playing 8 games in 9 weeks, starting with a road game in Blacksburg, VA against the Virginia Tech Hokies.  Pitt beat VT last season 35-17, so you can be sure that the Hokies will be looking for revenge, but for whatever reason the Panthers have faired well against the Hokies in recent years.  Despite Virginia Tech holding a 7-5 edge all-time in the series, Pitt has won the last 4 meetings including their last game at Lane Stadium in 2002.  Virginia Tech will also be the 1^st team that Pitt faces that has the same quarterback as in the 2012 season in Logan Thomas.  Thomas has been hyped and praised since coming out of high school and going into his senior year is looking to finally put it all together.

After the game against Virginia Tech, Pitt steps away from ACC play for 2 weeks, first hosting FCS opponent Old Dominion.  ODU was 11-2 last year and reached the 2^nd round of the FCS playoffs.  It will be the 1^st time Pitt plays ODU in football and the 1^st time ODU steps up to play a FBS school in history.  Old Dominion started playing NCAA football in 2009 and is in the process of moving up to FBS in 2014 when they plan to join Conference USA.

The Naval Academy is the next non-conference opponent for Pitt. This game will be on the road in Annapolis, MD.  Pitt has played Navy 38 times in history and holds a 22-13-3 advantage over the Midshipmen.  This is the final game of a 4 game series between the two schools that started in 2007.  Pitt won back-to-back games in ’08 and ’09 after losing the 2007 match-up.  After some scheduling conflicts prevented the series from wrapping up in 2010, the two teams will go back at it this fall.

After the Naval Academy, Pitt gets back into conference play with a game in Atlanta, GA against Georgia Tech.  Pitt holds a 5-2 series lead, but hasn’t played the Yellow Jackets since 1976 when Pitt won easily 42-14.  This game is somewhat of a blessing in disguise from the ACC to Pitt.  Both Navy and Georgia Tech run a rare and unique Triple Option Read offense.  In this day and age of college football, it is not something that you see everyday and can be very difficult to prepare for.  Pitt will see it against Navy, and then again with Georgia Tech.  Playing these two teams back-to-back basically gives Pitt 2 straight weeks preparing against the Triple Option Read before they play their conference game with Georgia Tech.

Now here is when the schedule takes a serious step up in competition.  The final 4 games of the regular season for Pitt come against 4 teams that finished with at least 7 wins last season.

Notre Dame, who entered the BCS National Championship game undefeated last season, is first up in this brutal 4 game stretch for the Panthers.  Notre Dame, which escaped last years game against Pitt with a triple overtime win to keep their title hopes alive, will be in Pittsburgh this year for the annual showdown between the teams.  Notre Dame has played Pitt 66 times in history, 5^th most among any Irish opponents.  Only Navy (84), Purdue (84), USC (83) and Michigan State (79) have played Notre Dame more than Pitt has.

After Notre Dame, the rest of the season is against ACC opponents.  On November 16^th, Pitt will travel to Chapel Hill to take on the Tar Heels of North Carolina.  Larry Fedora is in his 2^nd year as head coach for the Tar Heels, who finished 8-4 last year but were ineligible to play in any postseason games.  North Carolina only lost 2 offensive and 2 defensive starters from the 2012 team and is expected to be a favorite to win the Coastal Division of the ACC in 2013.  The last time Pitt and UNC met was in the 2009 Meineke Car Care Bowl in Charlotte, NC.  Pitt won that game on a last second field goal 19-17, giving Pitt their first 10-win season in 28 years.

The final road opponent of the season will be a familiar one to the Panthers, as they travel to Syracuse to play fellow Big East defector.  Syracuse finished 2012 tied for 1^st place in the Big East and then went to the Pinstripe Bowl in New York and beat up on West Virginia 38-14.  Pitt had beaten Syracuse 7 straight years until losing at the Carrier Dome 14-13 this past season.  Due to changing conferences, the two teams find themselves in a unique situation playing 2 straight seasons in Syracuse.  Syracuse lost their head coach to the NFL after the 2012 season and will have to replace QB Ryan Nassib, who had a standout senior season.

The regular season ends the same way it begins, against a Florida opponent at Heinz Field during a holiday weekend.  This time Miami will visit Pittsburgh the Friday after Thanksgiving.  Pitt and Miami will re-new their rivalry, which was largely dominated by the Hurricanes when both schools were in the Big East.  Pitt is 9-22-1 all-time and has lost their last 7 against the Hurricanes.  Their last victory came in 1997 when Pete Gonzalez led the Panthers to a 21-17 upset win. 

Here is a look at the entire 2013 football schedule for the Panthers.

Sept 2 (MON) vs Florida State*

Sept 7 BYE WEEK

Sept 14 vs New Mexico

Sept 21 @ Duke*

Sept 28 vs Virginia*

Oct 5 BYE WEEK

Oct 12 @ Virginia Tech*

Oct 19 vs Old Dominion

Oct 26 @ Navy

Nov 2 @ Georgia Tech*

Nov 9 vs Notre Dame

Nov 16 @ North Carolina*

Nov 23 @ Syracuse*

Nov 29 (FRI) vs Miami*

*ACC games

BETology 2/26

The Rant will be your daily site to find out exactly how your team stacks up against the rest of the conference as we creep closer to the Big East Tournament in New York City, which begins March 12th.

Two full weeks remain in the Big East Regular season and yet not one team has clinched their seed for the conference tournament.

STANDINGS:

#Georgetown Hoyas 11-3
2-27 @ UCONN
3-2 vs Rutgers
3-6 @ Villanova
3-9 vs Syracuse

#Marquette Golden Eagles 11-4

3-2 vs Notre Dame
3-5 @ Rutgers
3-9 @ St. John’s

#Louisville Cardinal 10-4
2-27 @ DePaul
3-2 @ Syracuse
3-4 vs Cincinnati
3-9 vs Notre Dame

#Syracuse Orange 10-5

3-2 vs Louisville
3-6 vs DePaul
3-9 @ Georgetown

#Notre Dame Fighting Irish 10-5
3-2 @ Marquette
3-5 vs St. John’s
3-9 @ Louisville

UCONN Huskies 9-5

2-27 vs Georgetown
3-2 @ Cincinnati
3-6 @ South Florida
3-9 vs Providence

#Pittsburgh Panthers 9-6

2-27 vs South Florida
3-3 vs Villanova
3-9 @ DePaul

#Villanova Wildcats 9-7

3-3 @ Pitt
3-6 vs Georgetown

#St. John’s Red Storm 8-7
3-2 @ Providence
3-5 @ Notre Dame
3-9 vs Marquette

#Providence Friars 7-8

3-2 vs St. John’s
3-5 vs Seton Hall
3-9 @ UCONN

#Cincinnati Bearcats 7-8

3-2 vs UCONN
3-4 @ Louisville
3-9 vs South Florida

Rutgers Scarlet Knights 4-11

3-2 @ Georgetown
3-5 vs Marquette
3-8 @ Seton Hall

Seton Hall Pirates 3-13

3-5 @ Providence
3-8 vs Rutgers

DePaul Blue Demons 2-12

2-27 vs Louisville
3-3 @ South Florida
3-6 @ Syracuse
3-9 vs Pitt

South Florida Bulls 1-13

2-27 @ Pitt
3-3 vs DePaul
3-6 vs UCONN
3-9 @ Cincinnati

#- Clinched Opening Round Bye

YESTERDAYS RECAP:
Marquette- 74
Syracuse- 71
Marquette, coming off a loss over the weekend, returned to the comfy confines of the Bradley Center to beat Syracuse.  Both teams entered the game with 10-4 records in conference play, trying to stay in the top 4 in the standings to get a double bye.  Syracuse jumped out to an early lead, extending it to as many as 11 in the 1^st half.  The Cuse also held Marquette to 42% shooting and 24% from 3-point range.  However, the Golden Eagles out rebounded Syracuse by 4 and outscored them from the foul line 29-5.  Marquette is now 15-0 at home this season and hosts Notre Dame Saturday.  The Golden Eagles have all but secured a double bye in New York with the victory.  Syracuse on the other hand is in a world of uncertainty.  The Orange have now lost 5 of their last 9 and if they are not careful could find themselves out of the top 4 when the season concludes.  Syracuse has 3 games remaining, 2 of which are against teams ahead of them in the standings.  The Orange now have 5 conference losses and put themselves in position to get jumped in the standings over the final 2 weeks.  Both Pitt and Villanova hold tiebreakers over Syracuse if it were to get to that point.

Seton Hall- 66

Villanova- 65
Seton Hall pulled off the upset to get their 3^rd win of the season in conference and snap a 9 game losing streak.  Seton Hall is already slated to play on Tuesday in New York, so the result effected Villanova much more than the Pirates.  With the loss Villanova all but assures that they will be playing on Wednesday in New York.  What is more important for Nova is that they are a “bubble” team for the big tournament and losing to a team like Seton Hall doesn’t help at all.  Villanova finishes the season with Pitt and Georgetown and will probably have to win at least 1 of those as well as a few games in New York to be getting some good news on Selection Sunday.

TODAY’S GAMES:

No Big East Game Scheduled

UPCOMING GAMES:

Wednesday:
Georgetown @ UCONN, 7:00pm ESPN2
South Florida @ Pitt, 7:00pm ESPN Regional
Louisville @ DePaul, 9:00pm ESPNU

Saturday:
Louisville @ Syracuse, NOON CBS

UCONN @ Cincinnati, 2:00pm ESPN Regional
Notre Dame @ Marquette, 2:00pm ESPN
St. John’s @ Providence, 8:00pm ESPN Regional
Rutgers @ Georgetown, 9:00pm ESPNU

Sunday:

Villanova @ Pitt, NOON ESPN Regional
DePaul @ South Florida, 2:00pm ESPN Regional

BETology:

TUESDAY March 12th:
7:00pm
12 – Seton Hall
Vs
13 – DePaul

9:00pm
11 – Rutgers
Vs
14 – South Florida

WEDNESDAY March 13th:

NOON
8 – St. John’s
Vs
9 - Providence

2:00

5 – Notre Dame
Vs
Tuesday 7:00 winner

7:00

7 – Villanova
Vs
10 - Cincinnati
 
9:00
6 – Pitt
Vs
Tuesday 9:00 winner
 

THURSDAY March 14th:

NOON
1 – Georgetown
Vs
Wednesday NOON winner

2:00

4 – Syracuse
Vs
Wednesday 2:00 winner

7:00

2 – Marquette
Vs
Wednesday 7:00 winner

9:00

3 – Louisville
Vs
Wednesday 9:00 winner

Check back tomorrow for another update!