Early On, Pitt Playing Best Ball of Jeff Capel Era

It's early, but this is the best a Pitt Panthers team has looked under Jeff Capel's leadership.

PITTSBURGH -- The Pitt Panthers are on a hot streak. They've won five in a row, including the ACC opener against NC State, all in convincing fashion and will take their show on the road to face Vanderbilt to face a third straight high major opponent in their gym. 

With a win over the Commodores, Jeff Capel and company can become the first Pitt team to win their first three true road games since the 2011 team that earned a one seed in the NCAA Tournament. 

The 2022-23 Panthers do not look particularly special when evaluated statistical category to statistical category - 97th nationally in tempo, 97th in free-throw rate, 207th in 3-point percentage, 154th at defensive rebounding, 253rd at preventing turnovers and 239th at forcing them.  

But the totality of their work tells a different story. Because, unlike past years, the Panthers are decent at a couple of things instead of great at one thing and bad at all the others and the things they do well are complementary. 

In terms of adjusted efficiency, this is the best offense and second-best defense Capel has coached since arriving in Oakland. No group of Panthers he's led has ever shot this well and defended opponents this well on aggregate. They aren't perfect but have overcome a 1-3 start by finding a winning formula. 

They have been more committed on the defensive end with their individual matchups and it's led to a cratering opponent free throw rate and better 2-point defense. Their defensive rebounding and ability to force turnovers has improved as well. 

On offense, the ball movement that Capel praised during the preseason and was lost during a trip to Brooklyn has been found and the 3-point shooting has risen as a result. The Panthers aren't particularly strong in the paint without John Hugley at 100%, but their shooting from deep - 35% or better in three of the last five games - is what elevates their efficiency rankings. 

It's one thing to be cautious - the recent history would tell you that this promising start can quickly deteriorate. But in that recent history, even when Pitt won, it was the result of a dominant singular performance or a down night from the opponent.  

This looks and feels different. Togetherness and chemistry are not just empty coach speak that Capel throws out as absent characteristics of a struggling team, but things his Panthers are putting to work when they step on the floor. The experience that they have is being put to good use and it's what allowed them to play better than the sum of their parts. 

The past five games are what fans imagined when a strong offseason of recruiting led into the regular season. With a relatively weak ACC ahead of them, it's fair to ask - why not now for Pitt to begin their march back to relevance? Why not this team and this coach to do it? This group is on its way and has earned the budding confidence each player has in it. 

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