Are the Pittsburgh Panthers A Top Five Team In the ACC?


Villanova Wildcats

Charles LeClaire-USA TODAY Sports

The Pittsburgh Panthers will be playing in the ACC in the 2013-14 college basketball season. So where do they stand in the conference and are they a top five team?

According to ESPN’s Jay Bilas they are not. He has the Panthers ranked No. 6 in a recent power ranking.

Pittsburgh won 24 games last season, finished 12-6 in the Big East and earned a No. 8 seed in the 2013 NCAA Tournament. Not amazing by the Panthers’ standards, but it was still a pretty solid season. However, they lost their first game of the dance against the Wichita State Shockers, who made it all the way to the Final Four.

This is a team that is losing a bunch of talent, which includes Steven Adams and Tray Woodall, so it makes sense why they are not ranked in the top five of the conference standings, at least in this power ranking.

The season is still a ways away and Pittsburgh usually always seems to compete.

This version of the ACC will not be any easier than last year’s Big East, so the competition will be fierce as always for the Panthers, but they should be used to that by now.

Still, if players can emerge early Pittsburgh could crack the top five of the ACC standings. Many teams at the top of the conference, such as the Duke Blue Devils, are losing a bunch of talent. Sure, Duke will have a lot of potential once again, but it still has to prove its worth in the upcoming season.

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