Until late in the 2004–05 season, Pittsnogle primarily came off the bench for the Mountaineers. However, on February 5, 2005 starting center D'or Fischer was unable to play against Pitt due to illness. Fischer was replaced in the starting lineup by Pittsnogle, who proceeded to score 27 points in an upset of the Panthers. He remained in the starting lineup for the rest of the season, and quickly came to the forefront during the 2005 NCAA Tournament, when on March 24, 2005, he scored 22 points and grabbed 8 rebounds in a 65-60 victory against Texas Tech in the Sweet 16 round, and then scored a team-high 25 points (on 9-for-15 shooting) and grabbed 5 rebounds in a 93-85 overtime loss to Louisville on March 26.