Pitt faces similar problems that BC basketball faced when they moved to the ACC. I shared BC season basketball tickets during the Big East years (we used to buy our Big East Tournament tickets through BC which was a lot easier than buying through UConn) and we never had a hard time finding people to go to games. We knew people who went to UConn, Georgetown, Syracuse, Villanova, St. John's, Providence, Seton Hall... and they were excited to see their team play. We kept the season tickets the first year BC went to the ACC, but friends only wanted to go to the UNC and Duke games. We dropped the season tickets the next year and I have not been to a game at BC since.
Another similarity is that both BC and Pitt pushed out relatively successful coaches and the programs have had difficulty recovering. Unlike UConn, neither BC or Pitt have a strong historical basketball fanbase.
I would argue that is much easier for UConn to return to winning than it would be at Pitt. What teams in the AAC have advantages over us? Nobody. What schools in the ACC have advantages over Pitt? Most. The real surprise in my mind is that Pitt became a power in the Big East over St. John's, Georgetown, and Villanova.
Look at what the demise of the Big East did for Villanova. In Jay Wright's first 12 seasons, he was 114-91 in Big East play (including 24-30 the last 3 years), had one regular season championship, and no Big East Tournament championships. In the New Big East, Villanova has been dominant going 168-13 in NBE play, won four regular season championships, and 2 NBE Conference tournaments. Two years ago, they won the national championship.
I think UConn can rise again and be a national power. We should be dominant in the AAC and winning will bring more winning.