Pitt Panther Prowl

Pitt Over Cinci, D Looks Solid

Many of us have talked about Pitt’s troubled D. We have talked about their rebounding woes. We have talked about Pitt looking like they lacked desire and pride. Tonight against Cincinnati in the first round of the Big East Tournament Pitt looked solid and appeared to have gotten back to some good defense.

Pitt won 70-64, but in truth, in the last five minutes of the game the only player for Cincinnati who did anything was Deonte Vaughan. He scored almost all of their points and took almost all of their shots down the stretch. For about two minutes it looked like that would be a problem for Pitt. But after hitting several three pointers in a row, he cooled off and it became clear that Vaughan didn’t trust anyone else on his team so he just dribbled in circles until he could find a shot and then he took it. Some of them went in, some didn’t. But it made the last five minutes predictable and had Pitt made its free throws down the stretch, it would have been more like a 10-12 point win that would better demonstrate the overall tone of the game.

One of the brightest parts of the game was Pitt’s defense, something that we haven’t been able to say much lately. Pitt held Cincinnati to 39% shooting, looking much more like the defensive teams that Pitt is known for. Sam Young, who is regularly criticized for his defense, finished the game with 4 blocks. Levance Fields and Ronald Ramon each had 2 steals. Pitt also finished with 21 defensive rebounds (34 overall), keeping Cincinnati to just 9 offensive boards. Overall, the defense played well and the performance should give them a boost in confidence as they prepare for a much more potent offense tomorrow when they play Louisville.

On the offensive side things were more of a mixed bag. Four Panthers scored in double figures and Young finished with 21 points 6 rebounds (5 offensive). Fields had 10 points and 6 assists compared to only 1 turnover. Ramon also finished with 12 points on 4-7 from behind the three point arc and added 4 assists and no turnovers. Again, this should give Pitt more confidence going into the Louisville game, especially Ramon who can be streaky. Also the 13 offensive rebounds were a plus because it showed a hustle that Pitt has been lacking lately.

But there was some negative on the offensive side as well. The team shot a respectable 43%. This is a respectable number, but 45% is usually a standard for a good shooting night. Most of the team shot well, but Fields was only 2-9 from the floor as he continues to struggle with his shot. Pitt turned the ball over 11 times, with 4 of those coming from Keith Benjamin and 3 from the virtually invisible DeJuan Blair. Blair finished the game with more turnovers than points. He was 0-1 from the field with 2 points and went 2-6 from the free throw line. Blair played 24 minutes and faced a lot of double and triple teams. This probably helped with opening up the shots for other guys, but 2 points out of Blair isn’t going to get it done against stiffer competition.

The worst part of Pitt’s game was their free throw shooting. At one point they were 14-18 from the line. They finished the game a dismal 18-29. That is a pathetic 4-11 down the stretch when free throws determine if you keep your lead or not.

Overall, this was a solid win for Pitt and we should be excited about tomorrow’s game. If they can play defense like they did tonight then the Louisville game will be a good one. Louisville is a much better and more balanced team than Cincinnati, though, so Pitt is going to have to be prepared and they are going to have to find a way to get Blair into the offense.