Pitt's Jeff Capel works to keep up team's confidence while preparing for SMU

Jeff Capel has confronted many difficult situations in his seven seasons leading the Pitt program.

• He inherited a team that was winless in the ACC the season before he arrived.

• Trying to recruit from that baseline, he ended up with three players who showed promise but ended up transferring, two with four games remaining on the 2020-2021 schedule.

• He also coached through the covid pandemic and players running into legal trouble that disrupted the ’20-21 and ’21-22 seasons.

Now, after two successful seasons that featured 46 total victories, Pitt’s first NCAA Tournament berth in eight years and the benefit of a contract extension through 2030, Capel must find a way to reverse more adversity.

And, perhaps, a crisis of confidence among his players.

The Panthers (14-9, 5-7 ACC) carry a three-game losing streak and a 2-7 record since early January into Dallas where SMU, one of the ACC’s best teams, is waiting. The Mustangs (18-5, 9-3) will be Pitt’s hosts at 9 p.m. Tuesday at Moody Coliseum, representing a Quad 1 opportunity for the Panthers, who are 1-7 in such games.

Plus, starting senior guard Damian Dunn, who is averaging 9.9 points and 24.9 minutes, fractured his elbow Saturday at North Carolina and likely is lost for the season, Capel said.

“We are a team that’s struggling a little bit with confidence,” Capel said Monday morning on the ACC coaches’ conference call. “So the main thing is trying to keep the spirits up, trying to keep us together.

“We just have to keep fighting. I thought we did some really good things against North Carolina (a 67-66 loss), put ourselves in position where we had a chance to win the game on the road in a tough environment. We just have to keep pushing.”

The first order of business is finding a player off the bench to replace Dunn. A 23-year-old Temple graduate and a transfer from Houston who has logged 125 collegiate games, Dunn scored 23, 15 and 24 points against West Virginia, Louisville and Wake Forest. He missed seven games earlier this season with a thumb injury.

“Unfortunately, we’ve been through this before,” Capel said. “Guys stepped up before so, hopefully, that helps us in this moment.”

Capel suggested freshman Brandin Cummings and others “will get an opportunity.” Cummings scored 30 points against Eastern Kentucky on Dec. 11, but he is averaging only 3.3 points and 10.5 minutes per ACC game.

Pitt’s shaky NCAA Tournament hopes only can be revived by winning at least seven of the remaining eight regular-season games to reach 21 victories before the conference tournament.

But Capel said the only future he’s thinking about is the SMU game.

“We have a lot to worry about that’s on our plate with SMU,” he said. “We’re not looking forward. We’re looking right in front of us. That’s all we can control: our effort and our preparation right now with SMU.”

He said the losing hasn’t dampened players’ attitudes.

“I think the team is close,” he said. “That’s been there even in the midst of us not winning over this past month as much as we were earlier. I don’t think that’s changed.

“Obviously, we’re down. No one is happy with the fact that we’ve lost three in a row. No one is more disappointed than us, nobody. But the spirit is still good. Guys are still working. Guys have a good attitude.

“We understand it’s us that has to change it. There are things we have to do. We have to go out and do it, not just talk about it.”