Pitt Beats the ‘Ville for Third Straight Year in BET
March 13th, 2008 | by The Prowler |
Despite the criticism this Pitt team has faced in recent weeks, even from its own “fans”, somehow they have found a way to regain their early season swagger and bring some magic to MSG for the second night in a row. Defense has been the major concern. Last night Pitt held Cincinnati to around 36% shooting and tonight they held Louisville to 37.5% shooting. The last two games this team has played that suffocating Pitt defense that they have come to be known for. Against Cincinnati it was easy to say that they were playing a mediocre team. No such excuse can be made for Louisville. They suffocated a team that has been one of the hottest in the country the last month.
Among the bright spots tonight was DeJuan Blair who showed that he wasn’t going to be silenced two nights in a row. Blair finished with 16 points on 5-6 shooting and 6-8 from the free throw line. Of concern is the fact that his two missed free throws were at the end when he could have iced the game, but overall his effort was positive and should give fans a lot to be excited about tomorrow and in the NCAA tournament. Add the 8 rebounds and Blair showed that he can continue to have his biggest games when Pitt needs it most.
Sam Young finished with 21 points, 12 rebounds, 4 assists, 3 steals, and 2 blocked shots. For those who have been critical of Young this season, was tonight enough? Young continues to be Pitt’s consistent go-to guy. It is great to see him stepping up on defense and contributing that way. Overall he played a very balanced and inspired game.
Fields had another 6 assist to 1 turnover game, showing that he is indeed one of the best point guards around. His shooting woes haven’t gone away (3-12 from the floor), but he was clutch making 6-7 free throws and he is good at creating off the dribble. We have never needed Fields to score our points. We just need an effective floor general which he has proven to be time and time again.
Worth noting also is that Gilbert Brown had a solid night off the bench. He only scored 8 points, but he added 8 rebounds, 2 assists, a steal, and a block. His size allowed him to match up well with Louisville and he was a solid part of this win with 36 minutes. The better Brown plays, the better this team does. If he can play like this throughout the rest of the Big East Tourney and into the NCAA’s, then Pitt will have a nice boost off the bench that will give them a solid edge. If nothing else, games like this for Brown give us a glimpse of what kind of player he will be once he grows into his enormous talent and potential.
Pitt narrowly edged Louisville in rebounding, winning the battle on the boards 39-37. The downside of that, and what kept the game close despite the good defense was the fact that Pitt allowed Louisville to get 17 offensive rebounds. Even a team shooting 10% can score enough to win if you let them get second, third, and fourth chances on the offensive side.
The bottom line, though, is that Pitt played a good game. They found a way to play solid defense for the second game in a row. They are scoring points. And they are playing like they truly believe they can beat anybody. As long as they believe it, the rest of us can too.
2 Responses to “Pitt Beats the ‘Ville for Third Straight Year in BET”
By Pitt84 on Mar 14, 2008 | Reply
The beauty of the game was just how unspectacular it looked. A night where every player played within themselves. I think it bodes well for down the road.
By The Prowler on Mar 14, 2008 | Reply
All of a sudden ESPN is calling Pitt a Sweet 16 team again. I think that may be a little optimistic unless they plan on Pitt getting a better seed than we currently think they will get. But I agree that the best part was each player doing their job. No one tried to do it all but everyone contributed. That is Pitt basketball.
The analysts for the BET are showing just how little they have paid attention to Pitt all season (surprising given the number of nationally televised ESPN games they had) when they are talking about how strong Pitt’s D is and how they beat you on defense as much or moreso than on offense. While that has been the case these last two games and it is usually Pitt’s MO, the last month of the season Pitt’s D was simply not good. So when they make those comments it tells me that they don’t even have analysts who watch Big East games covering the BET.