A Few Observations Going into the Big Game
February 21st, 2008 | by The Prowler |There isn’t much new to say regarding the Pitt Notre Dame game tonight at the Joyce Center. Pitt Blather has covered the final pre-game points. The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette and Pittsburgh Tribune-Review have articles covering the game and its importance. I just wanted to add my last second analysis and observations before tip-off.
One of the biggest issues being made in this game revolves around win streaks. Notre Dame hasn’t lost at the Joyce Center in 34 games (15 Big East). Pitt has won 5 straight games against the Irish. In my opinion, these are two of the least relevant stats involved in the game. Pitt and Notre Dame haven’t played since January 2006. That means that virtually none of the current Panthers have ever played against Notre Dame, making the 5 game win streak against them meaningless. It isn’t like the Panthers are going in trying to build on their own accomplishments. They are just playing a game that, if they win, adds another game to a streak they weren’t a part of.
The same goes for Notre Dame’s win streak. In 34 straight home wins, none have been against Pitt. The players on either side aren’t coming in trying to exact revenge for the past since they haven’t played in two years. The intimidation of the win streak for the Irish is lessened by the fact that Pitt doesn’t need to go in and prove that they can overcome the home court advantage that they were unable to overcome in the past. In other words, these are just two teams who happen to have streaks going that really have virtually nothing to do with each other.
Don’t get me wrong, the coaches will use these streaks as motivation, much like the media has. Also, I am not diminishing the importance of a 34 game home win streak. But much like the Washington game (Pitt had nothing to do with their home win streak either, diminishing its effectiveness as well), the added psychological advantage of the Joyce Center being somewhere that Pitt has recently lost just isn’t there. For all intents and purposes, this could be the Pitt-Washington game, given how unfamiliar these teams will be with each other.
Unlike the Washington game, however, against the Irish, Pitt is the underdog. They aren’t the underdog because of the home win streak. They aren’t the underdog because of injuries. They are the underdog because right now Notre Dame is the better team. That isn’t a situation Pitt finds itself in often. And I assume it isn’t a position they particularly relish. There is hope, though, as their record in games where they are truly the underdog is 2-0 this season. The only two teams that Pitt played that were, and still are better teams than them Duke and Georgetown. And I don’t need to remind anyone what the outcome of those games were. Maybe it is the motivation of needing to step up their game. Maybe it is the realization that against a truly superior team you have to bring your A game. Whatever it is, lets hope Pitt brings it tonight.