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With the ACC struggling, will Pitt reap the benefits?

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From Nov. 20th thru Dec. 1st, I’ll be on the road, hitting 21 games in 11 days. To follow along and read my stories from the road, click here.

BROOKLYN -- The talk of the ACC heading into the season was the league’s trio of powerhouses.

Duke was going to be a national title contender with Jabari Parker joining Rodney Hood in their front court. North Carolina would be as well, if only they could figure out a way to get P.J. Hairston eligible to play again. Syracuse might take a while to grow into their potential, but once Tyler Ennis develops as a point guard, they would be challenging for a conference title again, just a bit further south this time.

And then there was Notre Dame and their guards.

And Virginia and their defense.

And Maryland and Boston College and Georgia Tech and ... have you noticed who’s missing from this list?

It would be wrong to say that the Pittsburgh Panthers entered the season without expectations. You know, because they’re Pitt. They’ve become a perennial NCAA tournament team, one that regularly competed for Big East titles. Anything less than the big dance is unacceptable, and that inherently means that the Panthers have expectations each and every year. They’ll tell you that.

But the Panthers didn’t have any hype this season. There was no talk amongst the media prognosticators of Pitt being a group that could finished in the top four of the ACC let alone a potential title contender.

Might it be time to reevaluate that?

It’s early, I know, but after a dominating, 76-53 win over Texas Tech in the semifinals of the Legends Classic, the Panthers are now sitting at 5-0 with five convincing wins. They still haven’t beaten anyone of note, and we should have a much better feel for how good this team is after tomorrow night’s final. But here’s the thing to remember: Pitt may be the only ACC team that’s trending in the right direction right now.

Duke’s winning games and scoring a ton of points, but this is easily the worst defensive team that Coach K has ever had in Durham. North Carolina’s got a nice win over then-No. 3 Louisville on their resume, but they still don’t have Hairston and McDonald back. Syracuse is undefeated, but they certainly haven’t been impressive in a number of those wins. Virginia loss to VCU at home looks worst with the Rams’ performance in Puerto Rico. Notre Dame got drubbed by Indiana State at home. Boston College is 2-4.

That leaves Pitt, a team chock full of grizzled veterans that win with their typical grit and grime, defending and executing offense.

“We’re an unselfish team,” senior Lamar Patterson said after going for 23 points, four assists and five steals. “We’re not one of those schools that goes out and gets highly-touted people that come in and leave early. We have people that have chemistry from being around each other so long.”

That’s not going to change.

That’s how Pitt wins games, and they’re going to continue to win games. They don’t have the same level of talent as some of the ACC favorites, and thus they don’t have the same ceiling.

But think about this: the No. 1 ACC team in KenPom’s rankings is Pitt.

Follow @robdauster