Pitt Fans Bring Old School Energy Back to Petersen Events Center

The Petersen Events Center backed the Pitt Panthers with enthusiasm rivaling that of the program's golden era.

PITTSBURGH -- The Oakland Zoo was filled to capacity 45 minutes before tip-off and the general population gradually filed in around them soon after as the Pitt Panthers prepared to host No. 20 Miami. As they did, the Petersen Events Center swelled with a soldout crowd for the first time since 2019, when then-No. 2 Duke brought three future first-round picks and Jay Z to the Steel City.

That arena has sold out before during head coach Jeff Capel's tenure but mostly because a marquee opponent like Duke, North Carolina or West Virginia had come to town - very rarely did Pitt earn big crowds on their own merit. That was not the case this time. The Panthers were the main event and their fans ensured the Hurricanes knew it. 

For much of the game, 20 Miami's clutch shot-making quelled any kind of energy the fans began to muster behind Pitt's incursions on the double-digit deficit. Every run their team tried to start was met with a silencer and it wasn't until the final 2:22 of the game, when the Panthers embarked on the 11-0 run that flipped an eight-point deficit into a three-point win, that their fans could let their full-throated support ring out. Blake Hinson's go-ahead tip-in with 25.4 seconds left elicited a reaction from the fans that caused the building to shake. 

“I thought that was a great college basketball game, great atmosphere," Miami head coach Jim Larrañaga said. "The crowd was into it from start to finish and really, I think, created an electricity that made the game pretty special.”

The more than 12,500 Pitt fans who filled the Pete became a part of the game, with the students in the Oakland Zoo reveling in the relentless harassment of the Hurricanes. 

“Oakland Zoo, y’all are part of the team, for real," Hinson said. 

With the 2003 Big East Champion Panthers in the house to take it all in, the Petersen Events Center looked like, felt like and sounded like the vaunted venue of their age. In its heyday, tickets to the Pete were the hottest in town and the home court advantage those regular sellouts created was second to none. Everything about head coach Jeff Capel's rebuild has been framed in a return to that golden era. Pitt was trying to get "back" to where they were during the glory days of the 2000's and early 2010's and that game felt like the program finally had looked like it's old self. 

The weekend tipoff at midafternoon was ideal, the opponent was good, the game was good and, above all else, Pitt is good. The Panthers delivered a classic, almost mythological, moment by storming back from down eight in the final 2:22 to steal a win after looking incapable of getting out of their own way for 37 minutes. 

There is a growing bond between these fans and this team, who both want the program and brand to return to prominence so badly. The players have lived that selfless commitment to winning and fans repaid them with their presence and enthusiasm. Senior guard Jamarius Burton was here last season. He's played in front of lifeless, empty stands before and doesn't take for granted the chance to play in high-stakes games with the force of a full home crowd at his back. 

“Last year, there wasn’t that many fans in the building and that was because we didn’t do our job," Burton said. "So it’s just great to see that many people out there supporting us and continuing to show up for us even after tough losses.”

This is a landmark moment for everyone - fans, administrators, coaches, staff and most of all, the players. Pitt's players took their 1-3 start and blowout losses to West Virginia and Michigan on the chin, never lost faith in their mission, then shaped up and rallied to deliver a season worth watching and worth celebrating. 

That is what Saturday night at the Pete felt like - a celebration of their work, belief and resilience. They have earned that and Pitt fans rewarded them. 

"I think people feel a connection with this group of guys and with this team and we’re just grateful," Capel said. "We’re grateful for them being here, for the people who work in the athletic department that help make it happen. But really, I’m happy for our guys that they get to experience that and to feel that type of energy.”

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