2009–10 Pittsburgh Panthers men's basketball team


The 2009–10 Pittsburgh Panthers men's basketball team represented the University of Pittsburgh in the 2009–10 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. Their Head Coach was Jamie Dixon, who was in his 7th year as head coach at Pittsburgh and 11th overall at the University. The team played its home games in the Petersen Events Center in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania and were members of the Big East Conference. They finished the 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 Men's Division I Basketball Tournament, earning a 3 seed in the West Region. They defeated 14 seed Oakland in the first round before losing to 6 seed and AP No. 25 Xavier in the second round.

Outlook

The Pittsburgh Panthers advanced to last season's NCAA Elite Eight. The team lost four starters, including NBA draft selections Sam Young and DeJuan Blair, along with point guard Levance Fields and forward/center Tyrell Biggs. Guard Jermaine Dixon was the only returning starter from last season's squad while projected starter Gilbert Brown was suspended for the fall semester for academic reasons, although he reenrolled and returned to the team in December. Four freshman joined the Panthers, including McDonald's High School All-American Dante Taylor. Also new to the team was senior guard Chase Adams, a transfer from Centenary College of Louisiana. The Panthers' roster was the most inexperienced in the Big East, with six freshmen, two sophomores and only two seniors, and when Dixon went down with a foot injury in the offseason, ruling him out until well into December, the remaining roster had a total of one career start.
The Panthers were selected to finish 9th in the Big East by the Big East coaches during their conference media day.

Coaching staff

Recruiting

Roster

Name#PositionHeightWeight YearHometownPrevious School
3Guard1902SeniorBaltimore, MDCentenary/Mount Saint Joseph HS
*5Guard/Forward2002Junior Harrisburg, PASouth Kent School
24Guard2003Senior, TransferBaltimore, MDTallahassee CC/Maine Central Inst/Blake HS
44Guard2052JuniorMars, PAMars Area HS
12Guard1901SophomoreScotch Plains, NJSeton Hall Prep
52Center2502JuniorAnderson, INHighland HS
25Forward2401Freshman Nassau, BahamasSt. Pius X HS
21Guard/Forward2201FreshmanLancaster, PASt. Benedict's Prep/J.P. McCaskey H.S.
55Forward2351FreshmanMissouri City, TXFort Bend Hightower HS
14Guard1801JuniorPhoenix, AZBrophy College Prep
35Forward2201SophomoreChester, PAChester HS
11Forward2401FreshmanGreenburgh, NYNational Christian Academy
22Guard2102JuniorPhiladelphia, PARoman Catholic HS
1Guard1901Freshman Brooklyn, NYSt. Anthony HS
42Forward2251FreshmanKaduna, NigeriaBishop McNamara HS

*Suspended for the fall semester for academic reasons, but re-enrolled and returned to the team in December.

Schedule

Pitt's 2009-10 schedule.
!colspan=9 style="background:#091C44; color:#CEC499;" | Scrimmage
!colspan=9 style="background:#091C44; color:#CEC499;" | Exhibition
!colspan=9 style="background:#091C44; color:#CEC499;" | Regular season
!colspan=9 style="background:#091C44; color:#CEC499;" | Postseason†
Big East Men's Basketball Championship
!colspan=9 style="background:#091C44; color:#CEC499;" | NCAA Division I Men's Basketball Championship

Rankings

PollPreWk 1Wk 2Wk 3Wk 4Wk 5Wk 6Wk 7Wk 8Wk 9Wk 10Wk 11Wk 12Wk 13Wk 14Wk 15Wk 16WK 17Wk 18Final
APrvrvrvrvrvrvrv--231691722251912171618n/a
Coachesrvrvrvrv--------rv2011172123211618161620

Accomplishments