Pittsburgh Panthers - NCAA Basketball Betting

With five straight appearances in the NCAA tournament, the Pittsburgh Panthers have established themselves as one of the best and most consistent men's basketball programs in the nation. In four seasons now under head coach Jamie Dixon, Pitt has won over 100 games.

The Panthers didn't get that far last year, losing to that very underrated Bradley team in the second round. Coming into this season, Pittsburgh looked to have the kind of team that could finally clear the hurdle.

The Panthers returned four starters from last season's 25-win team, and seven of their top eight players. Leading the returnees was 7-1 senior center Aaron Gray, a pre-season All-American nominee who turned away from the NBA for one more crack at collegiate fame. Gray has averaged a double-double for the last two seasons now, but struggles from the free-throw line, where he shoots about as well as he does from the field.

Senior Levon Kendall, who just seems to have a knack for finding the ball; junior transfer Mike Cook, who averaged 15 points per game at East Carolina two years ago, and sophomore Sam Young, a great athlete who started coming on late in the season, man the other frontcourt spots.

Levance Fields, a 5-10 guard who showed flashes of greatness late last season, racked up a great assist-to-turnover ratio this season. Antonio Graves, a 6-3 senior guard who used to start, regained his spot in the front five this season.

The Panthers are very comfortable going seven and eight deep. Pitt won its first ten games this season, albeit vs. a soft non-conference schedule, except for losses at Wisconsin and Oklahoma State. This is a real nice, balanced team. No one player has eye-popping numbers. The only number that seems to matter is the one under the “W” in the standings.

The Panthers regularly hold opponents to point totals in the 40s and 50s, they shoot the ball well, they're unselfish, have good team chemistry and led the Big East with a wonderful assist-to-turnover ratio. They need to shoot better from the free-throw line to avoid any late-game chokes, but this team is definitely a threat to make a strong run in the tournament.

Aaron Gray – Spurned the pros to average a double-double for second straight season.

Mike Cook – Transfer has become a solid contributor.

Levance Fields – Heads up best backcourt in Big East.

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