Mar 20, 2018 3 min read

Western Pennsylvania had been a vast wasteland of men’s major-college basketball this season. Neither Duquesne nor Robert Morris universities finished with a winning record, but both were fabulously successful compared with the University of Pittsburgh. The pathetic Panthers lost their final 19 games en route to an all-time worst 8-24 mark.

Duquesne, a once-proud program, started strong under new coach Keith Dambrot, whose father played during the Dukes’ glory years of the 1950s. Then they stumbled the second half of the campaign, ending up 16-16 and out of the NCAA tournament for a remarkable 41st consecutive year. Robert Morris, which has had some solid seasons under coach Andy Toole, was an inconsistent 16-17.

A tournament staple and national power from 2002 to 2014, Pitt continued a plunge that began toward the end of the Jamie Dixon coaching regime, which was undermined by top recruit Steven Adams’ defection after only one winter in Oakland. After the Panthers lost all 19 of their Atlantic Coast Conference games this winter, Athletic Director Heather Lyke fired coach Kevin Stallings after a mere two seasons. Lyke is conducting the obligatory national search for Stallings’ replacement – and search for a return to the halcyon days.

The final tally for Pittsburgh’s Division I men’s programs: Three teams, collective 40-57 record, zero appearances in the NCAA’s celebrated Big Dance. Regional fans can still root for West Virginia University, which has advanced to the round of 16, but the Mountaineers are across the state line.

Last week, however, quality college hoops did take place in the erstwhile Steel City. For the third time in seven years, the NCAA came to PPG Paints Arena for first- and second-round games. Two doubleheaders, afternoon and evening, were contested Thursday, with the four winners engaging in another doubleheader Saturday. At stake: two slots in the prestigious Sweet 16.

Villanova and Duke earned them easily, and not surprisingly. They excelled in the paint at PPG Paints, each winning twice by more than 20 points. Both are high seeds, Villanova being No. 1 in the East Regional, the Blue Devils No. 2 in the Midwest. A showdown in the national semifinals is almost expected.

Only two of the six games in Pittsburgh were competitive, both on Thursday, when Rhode Island upset Oklahoma in overtime and Alabama edged Virginia Tech by three. The other four contests were decided by at least 22 points. Still, fans got to see two championship-caliber teams – Villanova, which is seeking its second national title in three years, and perennial powerhouse Duke. They also watched two projected NBA stars, the Wildcats’ Mikal Bridges and Duke’s Marvin Bagley III.

Pitt partisans who attended both days realized an added bonus. They saw Rhode Island play twice and were able to scrutinize Rams coach Dan Hurley, who is rumored to a candidate for the Panthers’ head coaching position.

Pittsburgh, from an athletic standpoint, has long been considered an event city, and fans responded in big numbers last week. Attendance for Thursday’s games was 18,700-plus, and Saturday’s contests attracted near-capacity crowds of 19,000-plus. The tournament has been a big hit here, and will return in 2022.

Nobody can dispute that Pittsburgh and its environs are football-crazed, from the Steelers down to high schools. But for one week, in a season of mediocrity or worse for the teams at Western Pennsylvania’s three major universities, the klieg lights shone brightly and proudly on the region.