Pitt has something to prove, and process begins at Virginia Tech

Pitt fans have seen this act before, or at least something similar. What’s worse, it’s back after first revealing itself less than a week ago.

Two of the fans’ favorite teams won seven games to start the season, with the help of late dramatics that only served to heighten the expectations. Then, all of a sudden, things went wrong.

In the case of the football team, it’s a five-game losing streak.

For Jeff Capel’s basketball team, it’s only one loss, but Pitt moved from 7-1 to 7-2 on Wednesday night after taking a sound thrashing from Mississippi State, 90-57.

The difference:

• The football team has only a bowl game remaining to possibly sugar-coat what has happened since the dawn of November.

• The basketball team has 22 chances to make amends and prove with concrete evidence that what they’ve contended since the start of the season is true — that this is a special group.

The first of those opportunities will be Saturday at Virginia Tech. It’s the first of 20 ACC games. Those mid-majors go away after games Dec. 11 and 21 against Eastern Kentucky and Sam Houston.

The Panthers traveled directly to Blacksburg, Va., from Starkville, Miss., for the last of their grueling five-game road stretch against power conference foes. Capel purposefully constructed the schedule to challenge his players, give them an opportunity to build a strong resume for the NCAA Tournament and prepare his team for even more difficult games within the conference.

Before the loss to the Bulldogs, Pitt had ascended to fifth in the NCAA NET rankings. The Panthers fell to No. 12, second only to No. 4 Duke among ACC teams.

But was the 7-1 start a tease?

It’s a good bet when Capel gathers his team for practice prior to the Virginia Tech game, he will call for increased physicality and aggressiveness. Mississippi State had a commanding edge in points in the paint (52-14) and rebounding (49-27).

Despite the presence of seven scholarship players 6-foot-7 or taller, including 7-footer Guillermo Diaz Graham, his twin brother, Jorge, at 6-11 and three others who are 6-10, Pitt has not been a good rebounding team this season.

Guillermo Diaz Graham and 6-3 guard Ishmael Leggett are tied for the team lead with 6.3 per game, but they’re 18th in the ACC. Overall, Pitt’s rebounding margin of 2.9 per game is 12th in the conference, not even remotely close to No. 1 SMU at 10.3.

Capel is not a coach to limit his players’ shooting opportunities. Pitt is fifth in the ACC in 3-point attempts (224), but the percentage of makes is only ninth (33.5). Guards Leggett and Jaland Lowe lead Pitt in scoring (17.0 and 16.9) and are among the top eight in the conference, but they have combined to hit only 24 of 83 from beyond the arc (28.9%).

The ingredients are there for Pitt to remain among the top teams in the conference. The best teams always have good guard play, and Pitt can be among the best when Damian Dunn returns from his thumb and ankle injuries. He was averaging 15.2 points through the first five games.

There also is a strong friendship and sense of team among Pitt’s players that, in theory, should help overcome adversity.

Pitt had similar camaraderie on its roster last season. So it was no accident that when Pitt lost by 33 points late last season at Wake Forest, the Panthers recovered to win five of their last seven, including a victory against the Demon Deacons in the rematch less than a month later in the ACC Tournament.

Virginia Tech has problems of its own and is tied with Miami for the worst record in the ACC (3-5). The Hokies have lost their most recent five games to Penn State, Jacksonville, Michigan, South Carolina and Vanderbilt, all by double-digit margins.

It will take some work, a better rebounding mindset and more of those 3-pointers to drop for Pitt to defeat anyone. At least there’s plenty of time to make it happen.