If you’re unfamiliar with the term “buy game,” it’s basically this: a much superior opponent pays an inferior non-conference opponent to play against them.
And for the third straight season, the University of Pittsburgh basketball team has lost such a game — including back-to-back season openers at home. First it was a 75-70 loss to Nicholls St. during the 2019-20 season. Then Pitt dropped its home-opener 80-70 to Saint Francis last year. The latest season-opening defeat came at the hands of The Citadel, a 10.5-point underdog who went into Petersen Events Center and handed the Panthers a 78-63 loss.
What makes Pitt’s latest loss all the more appalling is the fact that there aren’t any excuses for it. The 2020-21 season was filled with oddities; no fans, scrimmage-like feel, etc., and the season prior could be considered an unlucky break — Pitt trailed by just one point with under a minute left and had a chance to tie with around 10 seconds to play. The beatdown that The Citadel gave Pitt on Tuesday night was inexcusable. There were fans and plenty of opening-day energy from the crowd, yet Pitt was outclassed from the opening tip onward.
Pitt loses a buy game to The Citadel. The epitome of brutality.
— Jon Rothstein (@JonRothstein) November 10, 2021
The previous two losses set the tone for how each season played out as Pitt finished both with a losing record. Hoping to avoid a similar outcome this year, Pitt heads to West Virginia looking to get to .500 early in this season.
While Pitt’s loss took the cake for the most embarrassing on Tuesday night, there were a few other strong ACC nominees. Georgia Tech, a 9.5-point favorite at Tipico Sportsbook, couldn’t shake the Miami (OH) Redhawks. They don’t get a pass, but the Redhawks did return basically its entire team from a season ago. So, I get it; cohesion and familiarity help early in the season. No. 25 Virginia’s loss to Navy, however, was bad.
This isn’t your mid-to-late 2010s Virginia team that has national championship expectations. But it is a nationally ranked team that still has Tony Bennett at the helm. That seems like a recipe ripe for covering a 15.5-point spread, let alone winning a home-opener against an opponent that hadn’t beaten a Top 25 team since David Robinson was on the roster. Apparently not, though, because Cavaliers fell 66-58 to the Midshipmen on Tuesday.
As it stands, the ACC is off to an interesting start. Be sure to monitor the action on Wednesday night when Florida State opens as 19.5-point home favorites vs. Penn, and Wake Forest (-15.5) hosts William & Mary.
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