The season just started, and already one Big East powerhouse has fallen in shocking fashion. The Pitt Panthers lost at home, to Long Beach State, where they were previously unbeaten in their last 58 nonconference games, and this was only the second time they have lost to a non-Big East team at the Petersen Event Center.
Long Beach State beat Pitt in every facet of the game, and were lead by Casper Ware who scored a career-high 28 points. He was obviously not a friendly ghost to the Panthers as he continuously made shot after shot and killed any momentum the Panthers may have had.
With this loss, the question now is “What’s wrong with Pitt?” Some may ask if they were ranked too high as they were ranked 9th. Some may wonder if they can't beat Long Beach how in the world are they going to compete in the ACC with the likes of Duke and North Carolina. Those are all fair questions, but the most important question is, “What will they do in March?”
This is not college football. One loss like this does not put a team out of title contention. Pitt can afford to lose a few games and still make a run at the National Title. This loss does not completely ruin their season. The Big East has almost made it a habit to lose “cupcake” out of conference games early on in the season. A few years ago Syracuse lost to Cleveland State at the Carrier Dome, and Syracuse did just fine that year making it to the Sweet 16.
The fact that Pitt was greatly outplayed by a lower opponent at home is a bit concerning, but in reality, Long Beach State had noting to lose and they played like it. When playing these “cupcake” teams it is important to realize they have noting to lose, and they will pull out all the stops as Long Beach State did. Even with this boneheaded play Long Beach was able to keep their composure and pull out the win on one of the toughest places to play.
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