Tim Benz: For local college basketball teams, it's a good year to be good

As Pitt was hanging 99 points on the scoreboard en route to a 17-point win over Syracuse, the Oakland Zoo rooting section was going crazy as former walk-on and one-time team manager Aidan Fisch scored the last basket of the game.

The Panthers bench stormed the floor as the final horn sounded and swarmed Fisch in celebration on Senior Night. The Petersen Events Center was deafening as the crowd celebrated Pitt’s first 20-win season since 2016.

The crowd went wild when Aidan Fisch scored pic.twitter.com/PugNpyumUI

— ACC Network (@accnetwork) February 26, 2023

“When I saw that ball go through the basket, just the energy in the building — the fans, him, his teammates, it was one of the most special things that I’ve ever experienced as a coach,” Pitt coach Jeff Capel said following the game.

That building hasn’t sounded like that since the glory days of the Ben Howland-Jamie Dixon era when the Panthers were frequent participants in the NCAA Tournament and constant threats to win the Big East.

“In the history of the Oakland Zoo, I don’t know if there was anything — that has to match what the best has been. Maybe even better. That was everything. That was great,” Pitt forward Blake Hinson said after beating Syracuse.

Of late, the Pitt basketball team hasn’t just been the big story in Oakland; it has been the best story in all of Pittsburgh sports. While swinging from 11-21 a year ago to 21-8 this year, the Panthers are currently ranked in the Top 25 for the first time since January 2016, and they are sitting atop the ACC standings at 14-4 after going 6-14 a year ago.

Meanwhile, just down Fifth Avenue a bit, Duquesne is 19-10 after going 6-24 last season. If the Dukes win either of their final two regular-season games — at home against Massachusetts on Wednesday or at Fordham on Saturday — it will be the program’s third 20-win season in the past 42 years. Coach Keith Dambrot managed to post that turnaround with a roster that features 10 newcomers. It’s a group that Dambrot insists has parlayed its off-the-court attributes into on-court success.

“Good camaraderie. Good resilience. Good toughness,” Dambrot said during a recent taping of his coach’s show on AT&T SportsNet. “They care about winning. They like each other. Those are the biggest things. For a new group, that’s really quite remarkable.”

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And it’s not just Pitt and Duquesne when it comes to improvement on the local college basketball scene.

• Robert Morris (15-16, 10-10) is entering its third Horizon League Tournament on Tuesday night at home against IUPUI (5-26, 2-18). The Colonials have 10 conference wins so far. They only had eight combined in their first two years of Horizon League play.

• After posting losing seasons in three of the last four years, Penn State is 17-12. With a damaging loss to Rutgers on Sunday night, ESPN.com dropped the Nittany Lions to the “Next Four Out” line in its Tuesday morning “Bracketology” update. But PSU is still in the hunt for the NCAA Tournament if the Lions can win some games late against Northwestern and Maryland, and make a little noise in the Big Ten Tournament. If Penn State qualifies, it’d be the school’s first NCAA berth since 2011.

• Following a 16-17 season a year ago, CBS Sports’ Jerry Palm had West Virginia (17-13) predicted to be a “First Four” team to open the Tournament as of Tuesday morning. The Mountaineers beat Iowa State on the road 72-69 on Monday to enhance their position.

•Let’s also add a mention for IUP being 27-1 (NCAA DII) heading into the PSAC tournament this week.

The Steelers failed to win a playoff game for a sixth consecutive year. The Penguins are barely clinging to the Eastern Conference’s final playoff spot and could miss the postseason for the first time since 2006. And, while there is some hope that the Pirates may be improved in 2023 following two straight 100-loss seasons, the club isn’t exactly printing World Series tickets yet.

For local college basketball, it’s a good year to be good. There’s a bit of a void for sports optimism in Pittsburgh these days, and the region’s hoops teams are seizing on an opportune time of the calendar to fill it up.

A few appearances in March Madness would go a long way toward paying off the effort.