| Mode: | Basketball |
| Year: | 2010–11 |
| Team: | Pittsburgh Panthers |
| Short Conf: | Big East |
| Coachrank: | 12 |
| Aprank: | 4 |
| Record: | 28–6 |
| Conf Record: | 15–3 |
| Hc Year: | 8th |
| Asst Coach1: | Pat Sandle |
| Ac1 Year: | 10th |
| Ac2 Year: | 3rd |
| Ac3 Year: | 1st |
| Stadium: | Petersen Events Center (Capacity: 12,508) |
| Champion: | Big East Regular Season Champions Coaches vs. Cancer Classic Champions Belfast Int'l Basketball Classic Champions |
| Bowl Result: | Round of 32 |
The 2010–11 Pittsburgh Panthers men's basketball team represented the University of Pittsburgh in the 2010–11 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. They were led by eighth-year head coach Jamie Dixon, in his twelfth total year at the university. The team played its home games in the Petersen Events Center in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania and are members of the Big East Conference. They finished the season 28–6, 15–3 in Big East play to capture the regular season conference championship. As the 1 seed in the 2011 Big East men's basketball tournament, they were upset by 9 seed Connecticut in their first tournament game. They received an at-large bid in the 2011 NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament as the 1 seed in the southeast region. They defeated 16 seed UNC Asheville in the first round before being upset by 8 seed Butler in the second round.
The Pittsburgh Panthers finished the 2009 season 25 - 9, 13 - 5 in Big East play and lost in the quarterfinals of the 2010 Big East men's basketball tournament. They received an at - large bid to the 2010 NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament, earning a 3 seed in the West Region. They defeated 14 seed Oakland in the first round before being upset by 6 seed and AP No. 25 Xavier in the second round. Finishing at No. 20 in the final Coaches' Poll, Pitt returned four starters and the bulk of their reserves including 86% of its scoring and 88% of its rebounding.[1] Pitt has been ranked in the 2010-11 preseason among the top ten teams in the nation, and among the favorites to win the Big East Conference, by multiple national publications.
The Panthers conducted a preseason tour of Ireland, going undefeated in several exhibition games played against national and professional teams.[2]
At the Big East Conference media day on October 20, Pitt was selected by a vote of the league's coaches to finish first in the Big East Conference receiving 12 out of 15 possible first place votes. Pitt guard Ashton Gibbs received a preseason first-team all-conference selection.[3] The Panthers were ranked fourth in the nation in the preseason USA Today Coaches' Poll[4] and fifth in nation in the preseason AP Poll.[5]
Pittsburgh finished their out-of-conference schedule 12–1, losing only to Tennessee at the Consol Energy Center, home of the Pittsburgh Penguins.
As of March 7, the Panthers were ranked third nationwide in both polls. They finished the regular season at the top of the Big East Conference, with a 15-3 record in conference play.
The Panthers earned a number one seed in the 2011 NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament, the third overall seed in the tournament.
The Panthers used a balanced attack, with eight players averaging 4.9 points per game or more. Gilbert Brown and Brad Wanamaker both averaged over ten points a game, while Ashton Gibbs led the team at 15.9 ppg (eighth in the Big East).
| Name[6] | Position | Year at Pittsburgh | Alma Mater (Year) | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jamie Dixon | Head coach | 12th (8th as Head Coach) | TCU (1987) | |
| Pat Sandle | Assistant coach | 10th | San Francisco State (1987) | |
| Brandin Knight | Assistant coach | 5th | University of Pittsburgh (2005) | |
| Pat Skerry | Assistant coach | 1st | Tufts (1992) | |
| Brian Regan | Director of Basketball Operations | 4th | Saint Vincent (1988) | |
| Jordan Marks | Video Coordinator | 2nd | University of Pittsburgh (2008) | |
| Jason Richards | Video Assistant | 1st | Davidson (2008) |
| Name | Position | Height | Weight (lb.) | Year | Hometown | Previous School | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| align=center | 5 | Forward | align=center | 215 | Senior (RS) | South Kent School | |||
| align=center | 2 | Guard | align=center | 175 | Freshman | Hargrave Military Academy/Plainfield HS | |||
| align=center | 12 | Guard | align=center | 190 | Junior | Scotch Plains, NJ | Seton Hall Prep | ||
| align=center | 52 | Center | align=center | 250 | Senior | Highland HS | |||
| align=center | 44 | Forward | align=center | 200 | Freshman | Brentwood, NY | South Kent School/Brentwood HS | ||
| align=center | 15 | Forward | align=center | 200 | Freshman | Baltimore, MD | Baltimore City College | ||
| align=center | 21 | Guard/Forward | align=center | 220 | Freshman (RS) | Lancaster, PA | St. Benedict's Prep/J.P. McCaskey H.S. | ||
| align=center | 55 | Forward/Center | align=center | 235 | Sophomore | Fort Bend Hightower HS | |||
| align=center | 14 | Guard | align=center | 180 | Senior | Brophy College Prep | |||
| align=center | 35 | Forward | align=center | 220 | Junior | Chester, PA | Chester HS | ||
| align=center | 11 | Forward | align=center | 240 | Sophomore | Greenburgh, NY | National Christian Academy (MD) | ||
| align=center | 22 | Guard | align=center | 210 | Senior | Philadelphia, PA | Roman Catholic HS | ||
| align=center | 1 | Guard | align=center | 190 | Sophomore (RS) | Brooklyn, NY-Paterson, NJ | St. Anthony HS | ||
| align=center | 3 | Guard | align=center | 200 | Freshman | Benedictine HS | |||
| align=center | 42 | Forward | align=center | 225 | Freshman (RS) | Bishop McNamara HS (MD) | |||
|-!colspan=9 style="background:#091C44; color:#CEC499;" | Ireland Summer Competition Tour|-!colspan=9 style="background:#091C44; color:#CEC499;" | Exhibition|-!colspan=9 style="background:#091C44; color:#CEC499;" | Regular season|-!colspan=9 style="background:#091C44; color:#CEC499;" | Big East tournament|-!colspan=9 style="background:#091C44; color:#CEC499;" | NCAA tournament|-
See main article: 2010–11 NCAA Division I men's basketball rankings.
| Tied with team above or below also with this symbol --> | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Poll | Pre | Wk 1 | Wk 2 | Wk 3 | Wk 4 | Wk 5 | Wk 6 | Wk 7 | Wk 8 | Wk 9 | Wk 10 | Wk 11 | Wk 12 | Wk 13 | Wk 14 | Wk 15 | Wk 16 | Wk 17 | Wk 18 | Final | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| AP | 5 | 5 | 5 | 3 | 3 | 8 | 6 | 6 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 2 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 3 | 4 | n/a | |
| Coaches | 4 | 4 | 5 | 3 | 3 | 8 | 6 | 6 | 5 | 5 | 4 | 2 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 6 | 5 | 3 | 4 | 12 |
Pitt clinched at least a share of the Big East Conference regular season championship
The senior class of Gilbert Brown, Brad Wanamaker and Gary McGhee accumulated the most wins of any class in school history with 109 total wins.
With his 214th win, head coach Jamie Dixon became the all-time NCAA leader in wins through a coach's first eight seasons.
Brad Wanamaker became only the second player in school history to score 1,000 points, grab 500 rebounds, and give 400 assists.
Pitt finished a school record 7-2 in Big East road games