Inside The Panthers

Pitt Picked 12th in Sports Illustrated Preseason ACC Rankings

There are not high expectations for the Pitt Panthers entering the 2023-24 season.

Stephen Thompson

Pitt Picked 12th in Sports Illustrated Preseason ACC Rankings
Pitt Picked 12th in Sports Illustrated Preseason ACC Rankings /
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PITTSBURGH -- Not much is expected of the Pitt Panthers, who made a remarkable run into the NCAA Tournament last season, turning around years of mediocre results, but lost four of their top five scorers to graduation. 

Sports Illustrated's Kevin Sweeney picked the Panthers to finish 12th in the league, with Florida State, Louisville and Notre Dame the only teams expected to fall below them. No Pitt players were selected for their preseason All-ACC first-team or predicted to win Player of the Year or Newcomer of the Year.

He did predict a starting lineup that consists of Jaland Lowe, Ishmael Leggett, Blake Hinson, Zack Austin and Federiko Federiko. 

"This would be a big step back after the Panthers made the NCAA tournament a season ago, but point guard concerns loom," Sweeney wrote. "Freshmen Lowe and Carlton Carrington are the two options to run the show, and whoever wins the job has quite the challenge as the primary ballhandler. The good news: The pieces around the PG spot are strong, with returning star Hinson back at power forward and a pair of plug-and-play transfers on the wing."

A reloaded Duke team was picked to finish first in the conference, followed by Miami, North Carolina, Virginia and Clemson to round out the top five. Syracuse, Virginia Tech, NC State, Wake Forest, Georgia Tech and Boston College come next in that order ahead of Pitt. 

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Stephen Thompson
STEPHEN THOMPSON

Stephen Thompson graduated with a bachelor's degree in communications and political science from Pitt in April 2022 after spending four years as a sports writer and editor at The Pitt News, the University of Pittsburgh's independent, student-run newspaper.  He primarily worked the Pitt men's basketball beat, and filled in on coverage of football, volleyball, softball, gymnastics and lacrosse, in addition to other sports as needed. His work at The Pitt News has won awards from the Pennsylvania News Media Association and Associated College Press.  During the spring and summer of 2021, Stephen interned for Pittsburgh Sports Now, covering baseball in western Pennsylvania. Hailing from Washington D.C., family ties have cultivated a love of Boston's professional teams and Pitt athletics, and a fascination with sports in general.  You can reach Stephen by email at stephenethompson00@gmail.com and follow him on Twitter. Read his latest work:

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