Inside The Panthers

Pitt Plummets in KenPom Rankings After UNC Loss

The Pitt Panthers' place in college basketball rankings took a massive dive after the loss to North Carolina.

Stephen Thompson

Pitt Plummets in KenPom Rankings After UNC Loss
Pitt Plummets in KenPom Rankings After UNC Loss /
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PITTSBURGH -- The Pitt Panthers had just beaten an 11-1 Purdue Ft. Wayne team at the Petersen Events Center just before breaking for Christmas, elevating them to No. 42 in KenPom, their second-highest ranking of the season. But it's been all downhill for the Panthers since as they've suffered back-to-back 

The Panthers dropped from No. 45 to No. 51 in the KenPom rankings following their 70-57 loss to No. 8 North Carolina at the Petersen Events Center, their largest post-gameday drop since mid-November, when they went from a season-high ranking of No. 40 after beating Jacksonville to No. 51 in the wake of a blowout loss to Florida. 

They currently sit as the fifth-highest-ranked team in the ACC with the fifth-best defense and eighth-best offense in the conference. 

While Pitt's defensive efficiency rating rose from the 44th to 40th in college basketball after holding the high-flying North Carolina offense well under their season averages, their offensive efficiency took a massive hit, falling from No. 63 nationally to No. 80. 

There's been an inverse correlation between the overall rating of their strength of schedule and the Panthers' overall rating as the 2023-24 season progresses. 

Pitt had been slowly climbing up several college basketball rankings systems, from KenPom to the NET Rankings and even Joe Lunardi's early NCAA Tournament projections. But their current three-game losing streak in ACC play has presented some doubt that the Panthers will be able to hold up through the gauntlet of ACC play.  

Pitt travels to Louisville, Kentucky this weekend, looking to notch their first conference win of the season and get back on track against the lowly Cardinals. 

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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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