Pitt Declines Postseason Opportunities, Ends Season

PITTSBURGH — The Pitt Panthers had a poor 2024-25 basketball campaign and decided that it was best to end it as fast as they could.

Pitt athletic director Allen Greene sent out a press release announcing that they won't play in any postseason tournaments. The statement also says that Greene and head coach Jeff Capel are already working on next season and looking to the future.

"Coach Capel and I are fully committed to positioning Pitt Basketball for sustained success in the ACC and NCAA Tournament," Allen Greene said. "Our responsibility is to relentlessly evaluate and enhance every aspect of our program, ensuring it reflects the championship spirit of our city. Because that work is already underway, we've determined that the best path forward for our program is to forgo postseason tournaments this year as we build for the future."

Pitt had a strong start to the season, with a 12-2 record and 3-0 in the ACC. This included wins over rival West Virginia at home on Nov. 15, a neutral site win over LSU at the Greenbrier Tip-Off in Sulphur Springs, W.Va. on Nov. 22 and a buzzer-beater comeback win over Ohio State on Nov. 29.

This gave Pitt a No. 5 ranking in the initial NET Rankings in early December and positioned themselves better than they had last campaign to make it back to the NCAA Tournament.

After they had comeback wins over Virginia Tech on the road on Dec. 7, and at home vs. both ACC newcomers in Cal on Jan. 1 and Stanford on Jan. 4, Pitt started playing their worst basketball of the season.

They would endure three four-game losing streaks, only bouyed by two back-to-back wins in between and a win over a poor Boston College team in the regular season finale on March 8.

Pitt did have a slim chance if they made a run in the ACC Tournament, but that ended quickly, in a controversial 55-54 loss to Notre Dame in the First Round on March 11.

The Panthers finished the season with a 17-15 record and 8-12 in the ACC, making it back-to-back seasons they've missed the tournament and six of the seven seasons under Capel.

This is also the second season that Pitt declined to play in the postseason, after they just missed out last campaign.