Pitt rallies past North Carolina, snaps 22-game ACC road-game losing streak
CHAPEL HILL, N.C. — Pitt’s road skid is over. North Carolina’s problems at home are far from it. Trey McGowens scored 24 points and Pitt ended a 22-game losing streak in conference road games with a 73-65 victory against North Carolina on Wednesday night. Justin Champagnie added 22 points for...
First Call: Golden Knights’ Marc-Andre Fleury blames himself for loss; Penguins trade targets heat upVideo
Wednesday’s “First Call” features an unhappy Marc-Andre Fleury after losing to his old Penguins teammates. Two Penguins’ trade targets net goals. Bob Huggins gets fined. And the Pitt hoops team may be catching North Carolina at the right time. At least Roy Williams seems to think so. No Flower power...
Pitt rewards Jeff Capel with contract extension through 2026-27
Pitt on Wednesday made an impressive commitment to basketball coach Jeff Capel, announcing a two-year contract extension that carries him through the 2026-27 season. Capel, who was hired to replace Kevin Stallings after the 2017-18 season, took a Pitt team that was 8-24 and winless in the ACC and led...
Could victory against North Carolina launch Pitt to greater heights?
Six years ago in Pitt’s first ACC Tournament game, the Panthers ventured deep onto the conference footprint and defeated North Carolina, 80-75, in Greensboro Coliseum. Jamie Dixon’s team repeated the victory a year later, 89-76, at Petersen Events Center. Enjoy the memory, Pitt fans. North Carolina has won the past...
Steelers sign former Pitt running back Darrin HallVideo
For the third time in the past 10 weeks, former Pitt star Darrin Hall signed a contract with the Pittsburgh Steelers. A 1,000-yard rusher for the Panthers in 2018, Hall signed a reserve/future deal Tuesday. Hall twice over the second half of this past season had short stints on the...
Pitt volleyball setter Maddie Soboleski transfers to South AlabamaVideo
Pitt redshirt freshman setter Maddie Soboleski, who last season ranked second in assists for the ACC women’s volleyball champion Panthers, has transferred to South Alabama. Soboleski, an Edinboro native, announced the move Tuesday on her Instagram account, and the transfer was confirmed by the Pitt athletic department. She recorded 140...
Pitt wide receiver Cameron O’Neil will transfer
Wide receiver Cameron O’Neil, who was an all-state player in Alabama in 2017 before coming to Pitt, has decided to transfer. O’Neil redshirted in 2018 and did not appear in any games this season. He was not part of the rotation at wide receiver that included seniors Maurice Ffrench and...
When Pitt comes to North Carolina, coach Roy Williams seeks more than historic winVideo
Roy Williams has presided over 1,119 college basketball games — not counting 11 seasons when he was a Dean Smith assistant at North Carolina. He needs one victory to pass Smith and stand fourth among Division I men’s coaches, behind Duke’s Mike Krzyzewski, Syracuse’s Jim Boeheim and Bob Knight. Historic...
Pitt acted swiftly to get transfer quarterback Joey Yellen on board
Quarterback Joey Yellen wasn’t in the transfer portal long last month before Pitt offensive coordinator Mark Whipple reached out to him. And, now, Yellen, a transfer from Arizona State, finds himself in Whipple’s meeting room, hoping to one day take snaps from center in Pitt’s offense. The Tribune-Review and other...
Kevin Gorman: Pitt needs dynamic duo to trust in each other, teammatesVideo
Xavier Johnson was trying to make a play in the final seconds, with Pitt trailing by a point. What transpired left Jeff Capel fuming and frustrated, trying to make a point about how to play. It wasn’t just because Johnson picked up his dribble at the right elbow or because...
Pitt wastes big lead in loss to Wake ForestVideo
The question facing Pitt on Saturday after its 69-65 loss to Wake Forest was this: What was more distressing? • Losing to what looks to be a second-tier ACC team. Wake Forest (8-5, 1-2) came into the game ranked 106th in the NCAA Net rankings, 12th in the 15-team conference....
Pitt forward Au’Diese Toney will miss Wake Forest game with elbow injury
Sophomore forward Au’Diese Toney, who has missed only nine starts in 45 career games, injured his elbow in practice this week and will not play Saturday when Pitt resumes ACC play against Wake Forest at Petersen Events Center. Toney’s absence will be a blow to coach Jeff Capel, who has...
3 thoughts to ponder while Pitt returns to ACC action vs. Wake Forest
Two games into the ACC season with a third upcoming Saturday against Wake Forest at Petersen Events Center, there is talk around town of Pitt playing beyond the conference tournament. That hasn’t happened since Jamie Dixon left town nearly four years ago. Pitt vs. Duquesne in the NIT, anyone? OK,...
Arizona State QB Joey Yellen transfers to Pitt
Joey Yellen, who was a freshman quarterback at Arizona State last season, has transferred to Pitt and will start classes Monday, a source close to the situation told the Tribune-Review. In his only season at Arizona State, Yellen started one game – a 31-26 loss to USC – and completed...
Pitt plunging back into ACC, preparing for ‘dogfight’Video
The script has flipped in the ACC this season. After six teams finished among the top 23 in the final KenPom rankings last season, only four — No. 1 Duke, No. 4 Louisville, No. 20 Florida State and No. 30 and defending national champion Virginia — are in the top...
Pitt volleyball coach Dan Fisher signs 7-year contract through 2026
With three consecutive ACC championships in his recent past, Pitt women’s volleyball coach Dan Fisher has signed a seven-year contract that runs through the 2026 season. Fisher compiled a record of 178-49 in seven years at Pitt, including 106-29 in the ACC and league titles in 2017, ‘18 and ‘19....
Top 5 stories in Pittsburgh sports in 2019
Much like a year ago, the 2019 Steelers season ended in disappointment when the team fell short of reaching the playoffs. Also like 2018, the past year was filled with captivating storylines in Pittsburgh sports. Here’s a few of the most memorable: 1. Quarterback carousel Life without Ben Roethlisberger was...
Paris Ford says he’ll defer NFL plans, return to Pitt for 2020 season
Paris Ford made it three for three Monday when he announced his plans to return to Pitt for his junior season. Ford, who was named a first-team All-ACC strong safety in his first season as a starter, joins defensive tackle Jaylen Twyman and defensive end Patrick Jones as Pitt players...
Pitt ends nonconference schedule with win against CanisiusVideo
Pitt put holidays, mom’s home cooking and days off in the past Monday, closingthe nonconference portion of its schedule with good news and bad. With bigger, more significant days ahead. While defeating Canisius, 87-79, before a crowd of 8,035 at Petersen Events Center, Pitt set a season high for points...
Top-20 prospect Jalen Hood-Schifino verbally commits to Pitt
Pitt coach Jeff Capel landed the school’s most decorated basketball prospect in eight years when sophomore guard Jalen Hood-Schifino, a native of Penn Hills, verbally committed on his Instagram post. Pitt hasn’t successfully recruited a top-20 prospect since Jamie Dixon signed future NBA star Steven Adams in 2012. Hood-Schifino, 6-foot-4,...
Mark Madden: All meaningful Week 17 NFL games should kick off at same time
Take down the Christmas decorations and put up refreshing sports notes! I got a lot of problems with you people, and you’re going to hear about it! • New Year’s Eve is JuJu Smith-Schuster’s favorite holiday: party for six hours, then drop a ball at midnight. (That joke was stolen...
Pitt’s Patrick Jones says he won’t declare for NFL Draft
Pitt received more good news for next season Saturday when defensive end Patrick Jones announced on Twitter he plans to return for his senior season. Good news for Pitt Jerry DiPaola (@JDiPaola_Trib) December 28, 2019 That means Pitt’s two best defensive linemen last season decided to defer the possibility...
Pat Narduzzi, Pitt ready to ‘reload and go’ after bowl victory
In the minutes after Pitt’s Quick Lane Bowl victory Thursday night, Pat Narduzzi said he, his staff and players will enjoy it for more than 24 hours (a luxury they only experience at season’s end) but get back to work Jan. 2. And let’s not be fooled by the dramatic...
Pitt’s Heather Lyke helped rebuild Eastern Michigan’s programVideo
DETROIT – The Quick Lane Bowl between Pitt and Eastern Michigan on Thursday night held special meaning for Heather Lyke beyond the Panthers’ 34-30 victory. How could it not? She hired one coach (Chris Creighton at Eastern Michigan) and extended the contract of the other (Pitt’s Pat Narduzzi). Lyke, Pitt’s...
Pitt notebook: Pat Narduzzi hopes NCAA allows senior Damar Hamlin one more season of eligibilityVideo
DETROIT – Free safety Damar Hamlin is listed as a senior, but coach Pat Narduzzi said Thursday night Pitt officials are petitioning the NCAA about getting a fifth year of eligibility for the Central Catholic graduate. The basis for their petition is Hamlin’s freshman year in 2016 when he was...