2010–11 Pittsburgh Panthers men's basketball team

This article is about 2010–11 Pitt men's basketball. For 2010–11 Pitt women's basketball, see 2010–11 Pittsburgh Panthers women's basketball team.

The 2010–11 Pittsburgh Panthers men's basketball team represented the University of Pittsburgh in the 2010–11 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. They were led by eighth-year head coach Jamie Dixon, in his twelfth total year at the university. The team played its home games in the Petersen Events Center in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania and are members of the Big East Conference. They finished the season 28–6, 15–3 in Big East play to capture the regular season conference championship. As the 1 seed in the 2011 Big East men's basketball tournament, they were upset by 9 seed Connecticut in their first tournament game. They received an at-large bid in the 2011 NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament as the 1 seed in the southeast region. They defeated 16 seed UNC Asheville in the first round before being upset by 8 seed Butler in the second round.

2010–11 Pittsburgh Panthers men's basketball
Big East Regular Season Champions Coaches vs. Cancer Classic Champions Belfast Int'l Basketball Classic Champions
NCAA tournament, Round of 32
Conference	Big East Conference
Ranking
Coaches	No. 12
AP	No. 4
Record	28–6 (15–3 Big East)
Head coach	Jamie Dixon (8th season)
Assistant coaches	Pat Sandle (10th season) Brandin Knight (3rd season) Pat Skerry (1st season)
Home arena	Petersen Events Center (Capacity: 12,508)
Seasons ← 2009–10 2011–12 →

2010–11 Big East men's basketball standings
v t e	Conf							Overall
Team	W		L		PCT			W		L		PCT
No. 4 Pittsburgh	15	–	3		.833			28	–	6		.824
No. 5 Notre Dame	14	–	4		.778			27	–	7		.794
*#12 Syracuse	12	–	6		.667			27	–	8		.771
No. 14 Louisville	12	–	6		.667			25	–	10		.714
No. 18 St. John's	12	–	6		.667			21	–	12		.636
Cincinnati	11	–	7		.611			26	–	9		.743
No. 22 West Virginia	11	–	7		.611			21	–	12		.636
Georgetown	10	–	8		.556			21	–	11		.656
No. 10 Connecticut†	9	–	9		.500			32	–	9		.780
Villanova	9	–	9		.500			21	–	12		.636
Marquette	9	–	9		.500			22	–	15		.595
Seton Hall	7	–	11		.389			13	–	18		.419
Rutgers	5	–	13		.278			15	–	17		.469
Providence	4	–	14		.222			15	–	17		.469
South Florida	3	–	15		.167			10	–	23		.303
DePaul	1	–	17		.056			7	–	24		.226
† 2011 Big East tournament winner As of April 4, 2011^[1] *Syracuse:: 7 wins vacated due to sanctions against the program; Disputed record: Syracuse–(27–8)(10–6) Rankings from AP Poll

Outlook

The Pittsburgh Panthers finished the 2009 season 25–9, 13–5 in Big East play and lost in the quarterfinals of the 2010 Big East men's basketball tournament. They received an at–large bid to the 2010 NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament, earning a 3 seed in the West Region. They defeated 14 seed Oakland in the first round before being upset by 6 seed and AP No. 25 Xavier in the second round. Finishing at No. 20 in the final Coaches' Poll, Pitt returned four starters and the bulk of their reserves including 86% of its scoring and 88% of its rebounding.^[2] Pitt has been ranked in the 2010-11 preseason among the top ten teams in the nation, and among the favorites to win the Big East Conference, by multiple national publications.

The Panthers conducted a preseason tour of Ireland, going undefeated in several exhibition games played against national and professional teams.^[3]

At the Big East Conference media day on October 20, Pitt was selected by a vote of the league's coaches to finish first in the Big East Conference receiving 12 out of 15 possible first place votes. Pitt guard Ashton Gibbs received a preseason first-team all-conference selection.^[4] The Panthers were ranked fourth in the nation in the preseason USA Today Coaches' Poll^[5] and fifth in nation in the preseason AP Poll.^[6]

Season

Pittsburgh finished their out-of-conference schedule 12–1, losing only to Tennessee at the Consol Energy Center, home of the Pittsburgh Penguins.

As of March 7, the Panthers were ranked third nationwide in both polls. They finished the regular season at the top of the Big East Conference, with a 15-3 record in conference play.

The Panthers earned a number one seed in the 2011 NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament, the third overall seed in the tournament.

The Panthers used a balanced attack, with eight players averaging 4.9 points per game or more. Gilbert Brown and Brad Wanamaker both averaged over ten points a game, while Ashton Gibbs led the team at 15.9 ppg (eighth in the Big East).

Coaching staff

Name^[7]	Position	Year at Pittsburgh	Alma Mater (Year)
Jamie Dixon	Head coach	12th (8th as Head Coach)	TCU (1987)
Pat Sandle	Assistant coach	10th	San Francisco State (1987)
Brandin Knight	Assistant coach	5th	University of Pittsburgh (2005)
Pat Skerry	Assistant coach	1st	Tufts (1992)
Brian Regan	Director of Basketball Operations	4th	Saint Vincent (1988)
Jordan Marks	Video Coordinator	2nd	University of Pittsburgh (2008)
Jason Richards	Video Assistant	1st	Davidson (2008)

Recruiting

US college sports recruiting information for high school athletes

Name	Hometown	High school / college	Height	Weight	Commit date
Isaiah Epps point guard	Chatham, Virginia	Hargrave Military Academy	6 ft 2 in (1.88 m)	170 lb (77 kg)	Jan 11, 2009
	Recruiting star ratings: Scout:    Rivals:    247Sports: N/A    ESPN grade: 93
J. J. Moore small forward	South Kent, Connecticut	South Kent School	6 ft 6 in (1.98 m)	195 lb (88 kg)	Nov 11, 2009
	Recruiting star ratings: Scout:    Rivals:    247Sports: N/A    ESPN grade: 94
Cameron Wright shooting guard	Cleveland, Ohio	Benedictine High School	6 ft 4.5 in (1.94 m)	195 lb (88 kg)	Aug 9, 2009
	Recruiting star ratings: Scout:    Rivals:    247Sports: N/A    ESPN grade: 93
Overall recruiting rankings: Scout: not ranked   Rivals: not ranked
Note: In many cases, Scout, Rivals, 247Sports, and ESPN may conflict in their listings of height and weight. In these cases, the average was taken. ESPN grades are on a 100-point scale. Sources: "Pittsburgh Commit List for 2010". Rivals.com. Retrieved October 3, 2010. "Men's Basketball Recruiting". Scout.com. Retrieved October 3, 2010. "Pittsburgh Basketball Recruiting 2010". ESPN.com. Retrieved October 3, 2010. "Scout.com Team Recruiting Rankings". Scout.com. Retrieved October 3, 2010. "2010 Team Ranking". Rivals.com. Retrieved October 3, 2010.

Roster

^[8]

Name	#	Position	Height	Weight (lb.)	Year	Hometown	Previous School
Gilbert Brown	5	Forward	6 ft 6 in (1.98 m)	215	2Senior (RS)	Harrisburg, PA	South Kent School
Isaiah Epps	2	Guard	6 ft 2 in (1.88 m)	175	2Freshman	Plainfield, NJ	Hargrave Military Academy/Plainfield HS
Ashton Gibbs	12	Guard	6 ft 2 in (1.88 m)	190	1Junior	Scotch Plains, NJ	Seton Hall Prep
Gary McGhee	52	Center	6 ft 11 in (2.11 m)	250	2Senior	Anderson, IN	Highland HS
J. J. Moore	44	Forward	6 ft 6 in (1.98 m)	200	2Freshman	Brentwood, NY	South Kent School/Brentwood HS
Aron Nwankwo	15	Forward	6 ft 7 in (2.01 m)	200	2Freshman	Baltimore, MD	Baltimore City College
Lamar Patterson	21	Guard/Forward	6 ft 5 in (1.96 m)	220	1Freshman (RS)	Lancaster, PA	St. Benedict's Prep/J.P. McCaskey H.S.
J. J. Richardson	55	Forward/Center	6 ft 7 in (2.01 m)	235	1Sophomore	Missouri City, TX	Fort Bend Hightower HS
Nick Rivers	14	Guard	6 ft 0 in (1.83 m)	180	1Senior	Phoenix, AZ	Brophy College Prep
Nasir Robinson	35	Forward	6 ft 5 in (1.96 m)	220	1Junior	Chester, PA	Chester HS
Dante Taylor	11	Forward	6 ft 9 in (2.06 m)	240	1Sophomore	Greenburgh, NY	National Christian Academy (MD)
Brad Wanamaker	22	Guard	6 ft 4 in (1.93 m)	210	2Senior	Philadelphia, PA	Roman Catholic HS
Travon Woodall	1	Guard	5 ft 11 in (1.80 m)	190	1Sophomore (RS)	Brooklyn, NY-Paterson, NJ	St. Anthony HS
Cameron Wright	3	Guard	6 ft 4 in (1.93 m)	200	1Freshman	Cleveland, OH	Benedictine HS
Talib Zanna	42	Forward	6 ft 9 in (2.06 m)	225	1Freshman (RS)	Kaduna, Nigeria	Bishop McNamara HS (MD)

Schedule

Date time, TV	Rank^#	Opponent^#	Result	Record	Site (attendance) city, state
Ireland Summer Competition Tour
Sat. Jul. 31* 2:00 pm		Ireland Select	W 99–54	—	Neptune Stadium (1,650) Cork, Ireland
Sun. Aug. 1* 9:00 am		South Regional All-Stars	W 92–52	—	Neptune Stadium (857) Cork, Ireland
Tue. Aug. 3* 2:30 pm		Ireland Select	W 110–61	—	DCU Arena (897) Dublin, Ireland
Wed. Aug. 4* 2:30 pm		Dart Killester	W 88–62	—	DCU Arena (1,253) Dublin, Ireland
Fri. Aug. 6* 3:30 pm		vs. Melbourne Tigers Belfast International Basketball Classic	W 92–76	—	Odyssey Arena (3,309) Belfast, Northern Ireland
Sat. Aug. 7* 12:00 pm		vs. England National Team Belfast International Basketball Classic	W 82–69	—	Odyssey Arena (1,830) Belfast, Northern Ireland
Exhibition
Sun. Oct. 31* 2:00 pm, Comcast Network	No. 5	Northwood (Fl.)	W 104–62^[9]		Petersen Events Center (6,240) Pittsburgh, PA
Thu. Nov. 4* 7:00 pm, Comcast Network	No. 5	No. 2 (Div. II)^^ Indiana (Pa.)	W 73–56		Petersen Events Center (6,728) Pittsburgh, PA
Regular season
Mon. Nov. 8* 7:00 pm, ESPNU	No. 5	Rhode Island 2K Sports Classic/Coaches vs. Cancer	W 83–75	1–0	Petersen Events Center (9,256) Pittsburgh, PA
Wed. Nov. 10* 7:00 pm, ESPN3	No. 5	Illinois-Chicago 2K Sports Classic/Coaches vs. Cancer	W 97–54	2–0	Petersen Events Center (9,148) Pittsburgh, PA
Sat. Nov. 13* 4:00 pm, ESPN Regional/FSN Pittsburgh	No. 5	North Florida	W 95–49	3–0	Petersen Events Center (10,052) Pittsburgh, PA
Thu. Nov. 18* 7:00 pm, ESPN2	No. 5	vs. Maryland 2K Sports Classic/Coaches vs. Cancer	W 79–70	4–0	Madison Square Garden  New York, NY
Fri. Nov. 19* 7:35 pm, ESPN2	No. 5	vs. Texas 2K Sports Classic/Coaches vs. Cancer Championship	W 68–66	5–0	Madison Square Garden (11,723) New York, NY
Tue. Nov. 23* 7:00 pm, ESPN Regional/FSN Pittsburgh	No. 5	Robert Morris	W 74–53	6–0	Petersen Events Center (10,121) Pittsburgh, PA
Sat. Nov. 27* 7:00 pm, ESPN3	No. 5	Penn	W 82–58	7–0	Petersen Events Center (10,594) Pittsburgh, PA
Wed. Dec. 1* 9:00 pm, ESPNU	No. 3	vs. Duquesne The City Game	W 80–66	8–0	CONSOL Energy Center (12,860) Pittsburgh, PA
Sat. Dec. 4* 2:00 pm, ESPN Regional/FSN Pittsburgh	No. 3	Rider	W 87–68	9–0	Petersen Events Center (8,719) Pittsburgh, PA
Wed. Dec. 8* 7:00 pm, ESPN3	No. 3	Delaware State	W 70–42	10–0	Petersen Events Center (8,520) Pittsburgh, PA
Sat. Dec. 11* 3:25 pm, ESPN	No. 3	vs. No. 11 Tennessee DirecTV SEC/Big East Invitational	L 76–83	10–1	CONSOL Energy Center (15,166) Pittsburgh, PA
Sat. Dec. 18* 7:00 pm, ESPN Regional/FSN Pittsburgh	No. 8	Maryland Eastern Shore	W 97–64	11–1	Petersen Events Center (9,515) Pittsburgh, PA
Wed. Dec. 22* 7:00 pm, ESPN3	No. 6	American	W 61–46	12–1	Petersen Events Center (9,489) Pittsburgh, PA
Mon. Dec. 27 8:30 pm, ESPN2	No. 6	No. 4 Connecticut Big Monday	W 78–63	13–1 (1–0)	Petersen Events Center (12,725) Pittsburgh, PA
Tue. Jan. 4 7:00 pm, ESPN Regional/FSN Pittsburgh	No. 5	at Providence	W 83–79	14–1 (2–0)	Dunkin Donuts Center (9,181) Providence, RI
Sat. Jan. 8 2:00 pm, ESPN Regional/WTAE-TV	No. 5	Marquette	W 89–81	15–1 (3–0)	Petersen Events Center (11,438) Pittsburgh, PA
Wed. Jan. 12 7:00 pm, ESPN/ESPN2	No. 5	at No. 22 Georgetown	W 72–57	16–1 (4–0)	Verizon Center (15,712) Washington, D.C.
Sat. Jan. 15 7:00 pm, ESPN Regional/FSN Pittsburgh	No. 5	Seton Hall	W 74–53	17–1 (5–0)	Petersen Events Center (9,236) Pittsburgh, PA
Mon. Jan. 17 7:30 pm, ESPN	No. 5	No. 3 Syracuse Big Monday	W 74–66	18–1 (6–0)	Petersen Events Center (12,925) Pittsburgh, PA
Sat. Jan. 22 4:00 pm, ESPN Regional/FSN Pittsburgh	No. 5	at DePaul	W 80–50	19–1 (7–0)	Allstate Arena (8,325) Rosemont, IL
Mon. Jan. 24 7:00 pm, ESPN	No. 2	No. 15 Notre Dame Big Monday	L 51–56	19–2 (7–1)	Petersen Events Center (12,591) Pittsburgh, PA
Sat. Jan. 29 8:00 pm, ESPN2	No. 2	at Rutgers	W 65–62	20–2 (8–1)	Louis Brown Athletic Center (8,024) Piscataway, NJ
Sat. Feb. 5 6:00 pm, ESPN Regional/FSN Pittsburgh	No. 4	Cincinnati	W 71–59	21–2 (9–1)	Petersen Events Center (12,615) Pittsburgh, PA
Mon. Feb. 7 7:00 pm, ESPN	No. 4	at No. 25 West Virginia Backyard Brawl, Big Monday	W 71–66	22–2 (10–1)	WVU Coliseum (14,175) Morgantown, WV
Sat. Feb. 12 9:00 pm, ESPN	No. 4	at No. 9 Villanova ESPN College GameDay	W 57–54	23–2 (11–1)	The Pavilion (6,500) Villanova, PA
Wed. Feb. 16 7:00 pm, ESPN3	No. 4	South Florida	W 67–55	24–2 (12–1)	Petersen Events Center (12,519) Pittsburgh, PA
Sat. Feb. 19 12:00 pm, ESPN	No. 4	at St. John's	L 59–60	24–3 (12–2)	Madison Square Garden (14,514) New York, NY
Thu. Feb. 24 9:00 pm, ESPN	No. 4	West Virginia Backyard Brawl	W 71–58	25–3 (13–2)	Petersen Events Center (12,876) Pittsburgh, PA
Sun. Feb. 27 2:00 pm, CBS	No. 4	at No. 16 Louisville	L 59–62 ^OT	25–4 (13–3)	KFC Yum! Center (22,758) Louisville, KY
Wed. Mar. 2 9:00 pm, ESPNU	No. 4	at South Florida	W 66–50	26–4 (14–3)	USF Sun Dome (4,640) Tampa, FL
Sat. Mar. 5 4:00 pm, CBS	No. 4	No. 19 Villanova	W 60–50	27–4 (15–3)	Petersen Events Center (12,843) Pittsburgh, PA
Big East tournament
Thu. Mar. 10 12:00 pm, ESPN	(1) No. 3	vs. (9) No. 21 Connecticut Big East Quarterfinal	L 74–76	27–5	Madison Square Garden (19,375) New York, NY
NCAA tournament
Thu. Mar. 17* 3:10 pm, truTV	(1 SE) No. 4	vs. (16 SE) UNC Asheville NCAA Second Round	W 74–51	28–5	Verizon Center (17,578) Washington, D.C.
Sat. Mar. 19* 7:10 pm, TBS	(1 SE) No. 4	vs. (8 SE) Butler NCAA Third Round	L 70–71	28–6	Verizon Center (18,684) Washington, D.C.
*Non-conference game. ^#Rankings from Division I AP Poll unless otherwise noted.  ^^Division II NABC Coaches' Poll.. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. SE=NCAA Southeast Regional. All times are in Eastern Standard Time.

Rankings

Main article: 2010–11 NCAA Division I men's basketball rankings

Ranking Movement
Legend: ██ Improvement in ranking. ██ Decrease in ranking. ██ Not ranked the previous week. rv=Others receiving votes.

Poll	Pre	Wk 1	Wk 2	Wk 3	Wk 4	Wk 5	Wk 6	Wk 7	Wk 8	Wk 9	Wk 10	Wk 11	Wk 12	Wk 13	Wk 14	Wk 15	Wk 16	Wk 17	Wk 18	Final
AP	5	5	5	3	3	8	6	6	5	5	5	2	4	4	4	4	4	3	4	n/a
Coaches	4	4	5	3	3	8	6	6	5	5	4	2	4	4	4	6	5	3	4	12

Accomplishments

• Pitt won the 2010 2K Sports Classic benefiting Coaches vs. Cancer tournament championship in November 2010, defeating Maryland in the semifinals and Texas in the finals at Madison Square Garden.
• Pitt head coach Jamie Dixon won his 200th game with a 61-46 win over American on December 22, 2010. With the victory, Dixon tied the all-time NCAA Division I record held by Mark Few and Roy Williams for the fastest coach to earn 200 wins by achieving the mark in only eight seasons. The achievement of winning his first 200 out of 255 games also ranked Dixon among the all-time top-15 for the quickest coaches to achieve 200 victories in regards to total number of games played.^[10]
• With a win over third ranked and undefeated Syracuse on January 17, 2011, Pitt started the Big East regular season 6–0 for the first time in school history, and ran its Petersen Events Center record against teams ranked in the top five of the AP Poll to 9–0.^[11]
• With a win at South Florida on March 2, 2011:^[12]

Pitt clinched at least a share of the Big East Conference regular season championship

The senior class of Gilbert Brown, Brad Wanamaker and Gary McGhee accumulated the most wins of any class in school history with 109 total wins.

With his 214th win, head coach Jamie Dixon became the all-time NCAA leader in wins through a coach's first eight seasons.

Brad Wanamaker became only the second player in school history to score 1,000 points, grab 500 rebounds, and give 400 assists.

Pitt finished a school record 7-2 in Big East road games

• With a win over Villanova on March 5, 2011, Pitt won the outright Big East Regular Season Championship and tied a school record for Big East wins with 15.
• Junior guard Ashton Gibbs was named to the All-Big East first-team and senior guard Brad Wanamaker was named to the All-Big East second team.^[13]
• Senior guard Brad Wanamaker won the Big East Sportsmanship Award.^[14]
• Pitt received a number one seed in the 2011 NCAA Tournament for the second time in school history. The seed represented the third overall seed in the tournament.
• For the sixth straight year, Pitt won at least one game in the NCAA Tournament, the longest such active streak in the nation.
• 2010-11: Head coach Jamie Dixon won the Sporting News National Coach of the Year award.^[15]
• Ashton Gibbs and Brad Wanamaker were named Associated Press Honorable Mention All-Americans.^[16]

References

1. "Big East Conference Standings - 2010-11." ESPN.com. Retrieved March 9, 2011.
2. Hotchkiss, Greg (ed.). "Season Preview". 2010-11 Pitt Men's Basketball Media Guide. Pittsburgh, PA: University of Pittsburgh Athletic Media Relations Office. p. 66. Retrieved October 20, 2010.
3. . Basketball Australia. August 9, 2010. Archived from the original on September 27, 2012. Retrieved July 7, 2011.
4. Fittipaldo, Ray (October 20, 2010). "Coaches pick Pitt to finish 1st in Big East". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Pittsburgh, PA. from the original on October 23, 2010. Retrieved October 20, 2010.
5. "Preseason Top 25: Defending champion Duke opens at No. 1". USAToday.com. October 21, 2010. Retrieved October 21, 2010.
6. Fittipaldo, Ray (October 28, 2010). "Pitt debuts at No. 5 in AP basketball poll". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Pittsburgh, PA. Retrieved October 28, 2010.
7. Hotchkiss, pg 66–74
8. . Archived from the original on December 3, 2009. Retrieved October 4, 2010.
9. . Archived from the original on November 5, 2010. Retrieved November 1, 2010.
10. . PittsburghPanthers.com. December 22, 2010. Archived from the original on March 25, 2012. Retrieved December 23, 2010.
11. Grupp, John (January 18, 2011). "No. 5 Pitt sullies Syracuse's record". Pittsburgh Tribune-Review. Archived from the original on September 6, 2012. Retrieved January 18, 2011.
12. Fittipaldo, Ray (March 2, 2011). "Pitt overcomes slow start, dispatches South Florida, 66-50". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Pittsburgh, PA. Retrieved March 2, 2011.
13. Fittipaldo, Ray (March 7, 2011). "Gibbs voted to first team All-Big East". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Pittsburgh, PA. Retrieved March 7, 2011.
14. Fittipaldo, Ray (March 8, 2011). "Pitt's Wanamaker gets 'good award'". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Pittsburgh, PA. Retrieved March 8, 2011.
15. "Sporting News names Dixon national coach of the year". Pittsburgh Tribune-Review. March 23, 2011. Archived from the original on September 6, 2012. Retrieved March 23, 2011.
16. Grupp, John (March 28, 2011). "Two Pitt guards, PSU senior earn AP All-America honors". Pittsburgh Tribune-Review. Archived from the original on September 6, 2012. Retrieved March 30, 2011.