The 2009–10 Pittsburgh Panthers men's basketball team represented the

University of Pittsburgh The University of Pittsburgh (Pitt) is a public state-related research university in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The university is composed of 17 undergraduate and graduate schools and colleges at its urban Pittsburgh campus, home to the universit ...

in the

2009–10 NCAA Division I men's basketball season The 2009–10 NCAA Division I men's basketball season began on November 9, 2009, and ended with the 2010 NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament's championship game on April 5, 2010, on the Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis. The opening round ...

. Their Head Coach was

Jamie Dixon James Patrick Dixon II (born November 10, 1965) is an American college basketball coach who is the head coach of the TCU Horned Frogs men's team, where he played college ball. He previously served as the head coach of the University of Pittsbu ...

, 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 The Petersen Events Center (more commonly known as "The Pete") is a 12,508-seat multi-purpose arena on the campus of the University of Pittsburgh in the Oakland neighborhood. The arena is named for philanthropists John Petersen and his wife Ge ...

Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania Pittsburgh ( ) is a city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, United States, and the county seat of Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, Allegheny County. It is the most populous city in both Allegheny County and Wester ...

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 The 2010 Big East men's basketball tournament, a part of the 2009-10 NCAA Division I men's basketball season, took place in March 2010 at Madison Square Garden in New York City. The West Virginia Mountaineers defeated the Georgetown Hoyas 60–5 ...

. They received an at–large bid to the

2010 NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament The 2010 NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament involved 65 schools playing in a single-elimination tournament to determine the national champion of men's NCAA Division I college basketball as a culmination of the 2009–10 basketball seaso ...

, earning a 3 seed in the West Region. They defeated 14 seed

Oakland Oakland is the largest city and the county seat of Alameda County, California, United States. A major West Coast port, Oakland is the largest city in the East Bay region of the San Francisco Bay Area, the third largest city overall in the Bay A ...

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 DeJuan Lamont Blair (born April 22, 1989) is an American former professional basketball player. He played college basketball for the Pittsburgh Panthers from 2007 to 2009. Blair entered the 2009 NBA draft where he was selected as the 37th overall ...

, along with point guard

Levance Fields Levance E. Fields (born June 14, 1987) is an American professional basketball player. He played college basketball at the University of Pittsburgh. Early life and high school career He is from Brooklyn, New York and attended Xaverian High School ...

and forward/center Tyrell Biggs. Guard Jermaine Dixon was the only returning starter from last season's squad while projected starter

Gilbert Brown Gilbert Jesse Brown (born February 22, 1971) is a former American football player. A nose tackle who played for the Green Bay Packers of the National Football League (1993–99, 2001–03), Brown played 125 Packers games (103 starts) recording 2 ...

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 The McDonald's All-American Game is the All-star game, all-star basketball game played each year for American and Canadian boys' and girls' High school (North America), high school basketball graduates. Consisting of the top players, each team pla ...

Dante Taylor. Also new to the team was senior guard Chase Adams, a transfer from

Centenary College of Louisiana Centenary College of Louisiana is a private liberal arts college in Shreveport, Louisiana. The college is affiliated with the United Methodist Church. Founded in 1825, it is the oldest chartered liberal arts college west of the Mississippi Rive ...

. 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

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

Schedule

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Rankings

Accomplishments

* Pitt achieved a school record ninth straight 20-win season and a school record ninth straight season with 10 wins in the Big East Conference. * Sophomore guard Ashton Gibbs was named Second-Team All-Big East. * Ashton Gibbs was named the Big East's most improved player. *Ninth straight NCAA Tournament appearance.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:2009-10 Pittsburgh Panthers men's basketball team Pittsburgh Panthers Pittsburgh Panthers men's basketball seasons Pittsburgh Panthers Pittsburgh Pan Pittsburgh Pan