Pittsburgh offers Maryland basketball a lackluster opponent for ACC-Big Ten Challenge

Maryland basketball was spoiled in its first two years representing the Big Ten in the ACC-Big Ten Challenge.

In the Terps’ first year as a member of the Big Ten, they welcomed local rivals Virginia to the Xfinity Center. Last season, they traveled to Chapel Hill and played a North Carolina team that ultimately played in the national title game.

This year, Maryland will not be playing a team that can be considered a local rival like UVA, nor will they be playing a team as talented and highly ranked as UNC. Instead, Maryland will face a team that has only been in the ACC since 2013 (and hasn’t finished above .500 in the conference since its debut season): Pittsburgh.

There is nothing really exciting about facing Pitt. Unlike UVA and UNC, Maryland has no prior history with the program, given its brief time in the ACC. While Maryland was making history with teams like UVA and UNC, Pitt was battling it out in the Big East with teams like Georgetown and Syracuse.

While prior history helps make these games interesting, there were several opponents Maryland barely has any history with that would have made for a far more interesting matchup.

The Terps could have played Syracuse, fresh off its surprising run to the Final Four. They could have played Notre Dame, who is coming off back-to-back appearances in the Elite Eight. Miami and Louisville have little history with Maryland but still would have provided a more intriguing matchup than Pitt.

Pitt has largely wallowed in mediocrity since making the Elite Eight in 2009. The Panthers have failed to make the Sweet 16 since 2009 and have not spent time in the top ten of the AP poll since November 2011. Pitt’s recent mediocrity arguably led to Jamie Dixon leaving the team to coach up his alma mater, TCU.

The only thing that can make this game interesting from a Maryland fan’s perspective is that they are playing a team from Pittsburgh. Anyone at Maryland who is fan of the Capitals and/or Ravens can attest to their hatred of any team that comes from Pittsburgh. But even then, it is hard to imagine anyone can feel animosity towards a player on Pitt’s roster to the degree that they feel for Sidney Crosby or Ben Roethlisberger.

Maryland’s dream matchup in the ACC-Big Ten challenge is Duke, but that is not likely to happen to any time soon. That being said, any of Syracuse, Notre Dame, Miami and Louisville would have all been better matchups than Pitt.