Pitt Panther Prowl

Pitt-Nova Preview: Familiar Foes

Of all the teams left in the NCAA Tournament, the remaining road favors the winner of tonight’s game between Pitt and Villanova.  The reason being that these two teams get to play each other on one day rest while all the other teams have to prepare for unfamiliar foes on the same rest.  The winner tonight will get to play a non-conference opponent on the long lay-off, then likely (though by no means certainly) another Big East team in the finals on one day rest.

Granted I am just talking path here.  I am in no way suggesting that any Big East team is a lock for the finals.  But in terms of preparation for matchups, Pitt and Villanova have the most favorable set-up for these next three games.

Of course talent factors in as well.  And if we look at talent, I am not certain Villanova is a team that can make the finals.  They can beat Pitt because of matchups.  Pitt struggles with guard oriented and full court pressing teams.  For Villanova, that is a check and a check.

In fact, with all the discussion of Pitt’s relative struggles compared to others in the Elite Eight, something that gets overlooked is the matchups.  ETSU, while being an inferior team, was also a pressing team.  The full court press has always given Pitt trouble.  Likewise, OSU was a guard oriented team, at times playing four guards.  Defensively, that means that Pitt had to put a big man on a guard.  No wonder they had a field day shooting threes.

Xavier was a solid matchup for Pitt.  They had two big men, one 7′ and the other just under, who were tough and physical defenders.  It doesn’t help when you have two big men double team your undersized big man.  And Xavier was also a solid rebounding team.  On paper, that game looked like it would be a tough matchup for both teams, and it was.

Matchups are huge and Pitt proved to have some of the toughest style vs. style matchups in the tourney so far.  This has made for some supposedly lackluster basketball.  Of course it is often not mentioned that Pitt shot 50% against OSU when people talk about how poorly they played.  Nor do they mention that they held Xavier to 18 points in the second half.  People say that Xavier missed shots.  But I don’t think it is a coincidence that both OSU and Xavier came up empty in the second half of their games against Pitt.  The Panthers turned the defense up to a new level in both games.

In fact, in the last 60 minutes of basketball, the Pitt defense has been so good that it has held opponents to 20% three point shooting after getting lambasted from behind the arc by the cowbows.

All said and done, Pitt played ugly ball against three teams that were tough style matchups for them.  And they came out of those three games 3-0.

Tonight is tough matcup number four.  Villanova is a guard oriented pressing team.  It is no coinciednce that Nova has beaten Pitt four of their last six meetings.  Though their last game had less to do with Pitt struggling against the press than it had with DeJuan Blair taking silly fouls and taking himself out of the game.

It has been said ad nauseum that Blair must stay on the floor tonight for Pitt to win.  Ok, fair enough.  But to be accurate, Pitt’s best players must be on the floor for them to win.  And I don’t just mean that they need to be standing out there in uniform.  They need to be on the floor mentally and emotionally.  They need to have their heads in the game.  They need to be ready to throw their superior talent and physical presence at Villanova.

Nova has no one to matchup with Blair.  Nova has no one who can hang with Sam young.  But Pitt’s struggles rarely come from other teams neutralizing those guys.  It usually has more to do with those guys not seeming ready or interested.

If Pitt looks disinterested in making a Final Four, then we as fans can’t complain that they should be there.  If Pitt is focused and ready to play, then it is hard to imagine that they don’t make it.  It is in the hands of the players.  Or more accurately, it is in their hearts.  This team has more than enough talent and physical presence to dominate Villanova.

What remains to be seen; what we will find out tonight, is if they have the heart.

Posted in Basketball, DeJuan Blair, NCAA Tournament, Sam Young, Villanova | No Comments »

Pitt Wins; Makes First Elite 8 in Dixon Era

Wow.  That is all I can say.

Wow.

I had to work and missed the first half.  I was getting text message updates the whole time.  Pitt down 2.  Pitt down 5.  Pitt down 8 at half.

Dang.

Pitt bringing it back.  Pitt on 7-0 run to open second half.  Pitt has taken the lead.

Sweet.

I finally got home to see Pitt ahead by 1, but to go ice cold, missing 10 straight shots.  But there was something about the game and about the way that Pitt’s defense was playing in the second half that just told me Pitt was going to pull it out.

However it stayed ugly for a while.  Then Pitt took a 5 point lead.  Then they gave up the lead just as fast after a 7-0 run by Xavier.

Then Mr. Clutch took it upon himself.  Levance Fields showed himself to be the most clutch player this program has seen.  He hit yet another contested step-back three to take the lead- this time for good.  Add to that a DeJuan Blair steal on the next play that led to a Fields fast break layup and a 3 point lead with 26 seconds to go.  Nail in the coffin.

AP Photo/Stephan Savoia

Wow.  60-55.  What a game.  What a team.  And Pitt finally broke the barrier of the Sweet 16 and got themselves into the Elite 8.

That is the best part.  The pressure is off.  They are over the hump.  A loss on Saturday wouldn’t be catastrophic the way a loss tonight would have been.  It doesn’t mean it won’t be hard to swallow, but it won’t be a catastrophe either.

Before tonight’s win, Pitt was playing for the legacy of this program.  Now they can play for the legacy of this team.  The Elite 8 was for validation of everything Jamie Dixon has put in place the last 6 years.  A Final Four or National Championship would be all about this team.

And this team is highly capable of going all the way.

They are also capable of losing to any of the potential matchups left for them to face.  But that doesn’t even matter.  What matters is that they finally got over the hump.

And they did it with a superb defensive effort, especially in the second half.  The Panthers held Xavier to 18 points in the final 20.  At this stage of the tournament, against a 4 seed that has been ranked as high as the top 10 this season, that defensive effort is truly remarkable.

The analysts will likely talk about the low score and how Pitt struggled to win again.  But the real story is that they played absolute lock down defense.  With under 30 seconds in the game and a one point lead, they didn’t even let Xavier get a shot off.  Pitt held Xavier to under 25% shooting in the second half (7-29).  They didn’t even let the Musketeers score until 6 minutes had passed in the second half.

What a game.  As a Pitt fan, it is unbleiveable to see them finally get past the Sweet 16.  This is a team and a season to be proud of.

Only three more to go.

Posted in Basketball, DeJuan Blair, Jamie Dixon, Levance Fields, NCAA Tournament, Sam Young | 2 Comments »

Pitt-Xavier: Judgment Day

We have all heard it a million times now.  This is the year that Pitt HAS to get past the Sweet 16 to prove that they have taken the next step; that the program has reached the next level.  It is about more than just whether or not the program can reach the next level, but whether or not Jamie Dixon can get a very talented and superior team to the Elite 8 and beyond.  In years past, as much as we have wanted them to be, Pitt wasn’t an “elite” team talent wise.  They have overachieved because inferior talent (ie no McDonald’s All Americans, no NBA lottery picks, no All Americans) was able to play together as a team and achieve beyond their individual skills.

This year Pitt has the talent.  They have two certain NBA picks.  DeJuan Blair has been picked to every All American team you can find.  They have marquee wins over No. 1 teams.  This year Pitt can’t hide behind their overachiever status.  Now it is time to make good.

Today is Judgment Day.

And that is unfortunate really.  It is kind of sad that Pitt has put themselves in such a position.  They have had regular season and BET success but lackluster NCAA tournament play the last several years.  Now they have to perform in the NCAA tournament or find themselves questioned about whether or not this program even can reach the next level.

If Pitt loses today, we are going to begin hearing the claims that Jamie Dixon is basketball’s version of Walt Harris.  If Pitt loses today, we are going to hear that Dixon is taking off for Arizona (and depending on the fallout, that may just be the case).  If Pitt loses today, we are going to hear that they just can’t; aren’t capable of reaching the next level.  And much like Peyton Manning faced in football, the longer Pitt goes without breaking the Sweet 16 barrier, the louder the claims will be that they simply can’t win a real big game.  They will find themselves questioned more and more harshly every year until they break-through with a surprise national championship or something before that will get quieted down.

All is not lost.  I know I paint a gloomy picture.  Despite the reality of Pitt needing to win tonight, the Panthers find themselves the favorite in the game.  I haven’t seen or heard a single ESPN analyst pick Pitt to lose tonight.  In fact, despite their struggles in the first weekend of this tournament, most still have Pitt as a Final Four team.

Most surprisingly in Pitt’s corner is Doug Gottlieb.  In the following video he picks Pitt to win tonight against Xavier.

Likewise, he filled in for Mike Golic this morning on Mike and Mike in the Morning, where he picked Pitt as not only a Final Four team, but as his favorite for the national championship.  It makes one wonder.  This is the same guy who, all season long, said that Pitt was overrated and that sooner or later they would lose and become irrelevant.  I guess two wins over UConn in addition to wins over Syracuse, Marquette, and [two wins over] WVU shows that Pitt is actually a good team.

Likewise Jay Bilas has Pitt in the Final Four, while saying that UConn is now the most impressive 1 seed (based on how they have played thus far) and UNC being the most vulnerable.

This ‘love’ for Pitt means relatively little in terms of what happens tonight.  Analysts aren’t exactly scientists who can predict accurately what will happen every game.  After all, these same analysts who have UConn as the strongest 1 seed now, many of whom have Memphis losing to Missouri, are the same who had UConn listed as the first 1 seed going out of the tourney, with it coming at the hands of Memphis.

So the respect is nice.  It is nice to hear that our team isn’t expected to lose every game.  It is also nice being in a position where every matchup looks like a game that Pitt can [and should] win; unlike last year when Bobby Knight had them winning it all despite every matchup looking like Pitt would have to play above themsleves to win.

What is most important tonight is that Pitt simply asserts itself as the better team.  As Gottlieb says in the above video, Pitt has superior point guard play as well as an advantage with Blair and Sam Young.  Many are talking about the height of Xavier’s frontcourt.  Height isn’t talent.  Height isn’t going to win it.  Blair embarassed Hasheem Thabeet.  Height doesn’t scare him.  Pitt has two of the best players in the country in their frontcourt.

If Pitt comes in and plays their game and if they dictate the pace and style, then their superior talent will be enough to win this game.

The outcome of Judgment Day for this team and this entire program falls squarely on the shoulders of this team.  They control their own destiny.  They control their own legacy.  All they need to do is play their game and they win.  No naps.  No day off for anyone.  Just show up (all the players) and seize the future.  Or be prepared for the inevitable judgment that will follow.

Posted in Basketball, DeJuan Blair, Jamie Dixon, Levance Fields, NCAA Tournament, Sam Young | No Comments »

Only Going to Get Tougher Now

Pitt’s win over Oklahoma St. today was one of those games where I should know better ahead of time than to drink a Red Bull.  I had jitters all game with such a close game and so much on the line, I thought I was going to pass out a few times.

First of all, great job Pitt.  They played against an OSU team that has been playing very well recently.  It was a matchup against a good 8 seed.  And it was a matchup that didn’t favor Pitt because Pitt is notorioulsy bad defending guard oriented teams that shoot a lot of 3s.  But Pitt did play solid D for a good part of the second half to curb the insane shooting of the Cowboys after a 63% first half.

Like I said a few days ago, one of the issues in the first round game was that Pitt didn’t hustle on the boards.  That wasn’t an issue this game, just as I had predicted.  Pitt won’t get out hustled on the boards too many times.  And today it was as if Sam Young and DeJuan Blair were insistent that OSU wasn’t getting any rebounds.  Pitt had 18 offensive rebounds to the Cowboys’ 5, and 39 total to 21.  That is where this game was won (and where it was almost lost on Friday).

Now for the scariest moment of the game.  “Checking in for the Panthers, no. 52 Gary McGhee.”

Pitt didn’t do as good of a job protecting the ball as I would have liked to see, though OSU is a guard oriented team who created a lot of the turnovers (7 steals).  Fields did have a very nice game with 9 assists and only 2 turnovers.  He looked a lot better today.

Who else is excited about Ashton Gibbs?  3-4 on the deep ball.  He is going to be good.  Unfortunately, Jamie Dixon put him in some bad situations in the second half today.  He has been playing very well but is still a true freshman.  Pitt was in control of the game and then Dixon put Blair and Fields on the bench and let Gibbs run the show.  Gibbs got rattled and showed an inability to handle the pressure [of a situation he shouldn't have been put in], and that was the turning point that saw OSU start to claw back into it.

Young had a great game.  It was as if he wasn’t going to let there be any doubt this game that he is better than the opposing players.  There was nothing they could do to stop him.  It was also nice that he came up big because it wasn’t uncommon for Blair to have anywhere from 3-5 guys on him once he got the ball.

Along those lines, I would have liked to see Blair kick it out when he has 5 guys collapse on him.  Fortunately, he is such a beast that he can take it to 5 guys and still make the shot.

The next round should be a good matchup.  I will have to review Xavier a bit more, having not seen any of their games this season.  But the storyline alone of Pitt versus one of Pitt’s all time best-  that is the kind of storyline that makes March Madness so exciting.

By the way, did you know that Sam Young is a poet and has a blind brother who an all state wrestler, judo champion, and Chuck Norris’ mentor?

I also just learned that Jermaine Dixon has a brother, Juan, who apparently played for Maryland and won a national championship.  According to my research, Juan is more of a pure scorer, whereas Jermaine is a better defender.

And in case you didn’t know, DeJuan Blair had a big smile on his face.  But it is the smile he always has on his face because he just loves to play.  It is just his demeanor.

One actual new stat that I learned is that apparently Pitt lost to Notre Dame by 33 back in January and hasn’t lost a game since.

Hopefully we have to hear all those stories (except the one about losing to ND by 33) four more times.

Hail to Pitt!!

Posted in Ashton Gibbs, Basketball, DeJuan Blair, Jamie Dixon, Jermaine Dixon, Levance Fields, NCAA Tournament, Sam Young | No Comments »

Worth Noting

While Pitt struggled as a team yesterday, DeJuan Blair took this team on his back.  If you look at the stat sheet, several things jump out about Blair’s play.  While his FT shooing was barely over 50%, he shot 10-17 from the floor.  He had 16 rebounds, including 7 offensive rebounds.  He had 3 assists, 2 steals, and only 3 fouls (including an incredibly questionable tech for hanging on the rim).  Most importantly though, and this is the stat that stands out, he was the only Panther who played (other than Nasir Robinson who logged 1 minute) who had 0 turnovers.  He protected the ball, got it off the glass, got it in the hoop, took it from the other team, and distributed it to his own team.  And he was also the one who played with intensity, thus his technical foul.

Ashton Gibbs was the only other Panther to not have multiple turnovers.  He only had 1.  In addition, he was 2-2 shooting, both of them being three pointers.  And he provided a great boost for this team when Levance Fields didn’t seem to be doing much.

Posted in Ashton Gibbs, Basketball, DeJuan Blair, NCAA Tournament | No Comments »

Not Exactly Time to Panic

So for those who are unaware, Pitt didn’t play its best game ever yesterday.

Much of the media has now written Pitt off as even having a shot at advancing past the Sweet 16, let alone making a Final Four.  See Pitt Blather for a roundup of what the media has to say.

One of the main arguments being made is that if ETSU could make any shots, Pitt would have lost big.  True enough.  But hardly ground breaking.  Can’t we say the same for many games?  If the losing team made more shots they would have won.  If the losing team had scored more points, they would have won.  Wow, I think these guys have just cracked the Da Vinci code.

There is a reason ETSU was a 16 seed.  Quite possibly it is the fact that they can’t shoot to save their lives.

There is another stat that hasn’t been mentioned, primarily because the media wants to focus on the potential of an upset more than what the favorite has done or can do.

If Pitt doesn’t let themselves give up 19 offensive rebounds, they win by 25+.  Oh sure, its a big “if” because they did give up 19 offensive rebounds.  They gave ETSU many, many second and third chances, which is why ETSU was able to keep the game close.  But saying that if Pitt controlled the defensive glass the game isn’t close is similar to saying if ETSU made shots they would have won.

The difference in the two statements: ETSU was a 16 seed that isn’t exactly a good shooting team, going against a 1 seed who plays sound defense and keeps opponents to low shooting percentages.  On the other hand, Pitt is a solid rebounding team who gave up 19 offensive rebounds to a team with everything to play for who played way above themselves.

On the one hand, ETSU probably couldn’t have made many more shots.  They aren’t that great of a team.  On the other hand, how often do you think Pitt will give up 19 offensive rebounds?  They didn’t even give up that many against UConn in two games.  In all likelihood, they will go back to being the force on the glass that they have been the last several years.

If they give up that many offensive rebounds to a team like OSU then they will probably lose.  If they give up that many offensive rebounds to UNC, they definitely will lose.  But they gave them up to ETSU, a team that shot 30.7% on the game and wasn’t likely to shoot much better.

While it is clear that Pitt can’t afford another mental lapse in this tournament and there is reason to be concerned that they just aren’t prepared; it is reasonable to believe that they will return to their solid rebounding ways.  They do still have DeJuan Blair, the monster of a rebounder that he is, and Sam Young.  They are still the 1 seed and the superior talent in their bracket.

It isn’t time to panic.  Your bracket isn’t busted yet just because Pitt didn’t play well yesterday.  The fact is, they won and they moved on.

While it isn’t time for us to panic, it is time for Jamie Dixon to get his team focused.  It is time for Levance Fields and Young to start playing like the All American candidates that they are.  Blair and Ashton Gibbs can’t carry this team on their own.

So everyone must put this game behind them, prepare for the next one, and come out ready to burn a path straight to the Final Four.

If Pitt plays this way against OSU, even if they win, then it will be time to panic.

Posted in Basketball, NCAA Tournament | No Comments »

A Hoopie Loss Makes it Easier

Switching immediately to the WVU game after Pitt eaked out a win over a 16 seed, I found great consolation in seeing that WVU lost to Dayton.  I actually have WVU in the sweet 16 on my bracket and was pulling for them as a Big East team.  But since their fans are likely to troll Pitt boards and laugh at Pitt barely winning, a WVU loss will probably curb that.  And if it doesn’t, at least we are still playing and WVU isn’t.

To give you an idea of how horrible of a person I must be, my wife, a WVU grad, had a knot in her stomach all game worried that Pitt would lose.  She was so happy when they won.  Then we turned to the WVU game and saw them losing and I cheered without hiding it.  She is a better person than I  and I don’t deny it.

Posted in Basketball, Hoopies, NCAA Tournament | 2 Comments »

Not an Impressive Game

Some thoughts about this terribly lackluster effort by our Pitt Panthers:

1. This falls, first and foremost, on Jamie Dixon.  In 6 seasons he has never prepared his team to play against the press.  That is unacceptable.  He also hasn’t taught them how to play against a zone.

2. Ashton Gibbs is a true freshmen and has made better decisions than any of our seniors, especially Levance Fields who made horrendous decision after horrendous decision.

3. There is no excuse for getting beat on the offensive boards by anyone, let alone ETSU.

4. There were some terrible calls against Pitt (technical on Blair on foul on Young when he never touched the guy and the ETSU trailer shouldered him out of the way).  But take away the few bad calls and it doesn’t help Pitt on the scoreboard, so it isn’t a reasonable excuse for anything.

5. Blair is the only starter who looked like he actually wanted to play basketball today.

6. If ETSU could shot free throws, we may well have lost.

7. If Ashton Gibbs didn’t play like an upperclassman, we would have lost.

8. Pitt deserves all the criticism it will get by the media and all the flaming on the various blogs and boards that it will get by opposing fans.

9. The final score isn’t indicative of the game

9a. The final score isn’t indicative of the game because Pitt was the better team and never lost control of the game despite letting ETSU hang around.

9b. The final score isn’t indicative of the game because Pitt extended the lead a few points because ETSU had to foul at the  end.

10. If Jamie Dixon, Fields, and Young don’t step up the leadership and focus, this Pitt team won’t be playing on the second weekend.

Posted in Basketball, NCAA Tournament | No Comments »