MVN - Most Valuable Network

Notre Dame polishes off Panthers

I said before this game that Pitt would lose. I knew it was going to happen. I was prepared all week for it. Despite this fact, I am nearly devastated after the loss tonight. That’s the funny thing about being a sports fan–no matter what you expect, whatever happens is still hard to accept if it is bad for your team. Tonight, I am deeply troubled by the team’s effort.

The 82-70 score would make one think that Notre Dame was in control in this game. Many people who watched will note that this is not the case. Pitt led for the majority of the contest; the margin was 51-40 at one point. Yet the missed opportunities and ridiculous shooting by the Irish guards quickly turned that lead into a slight deficit. After Notre Dame hit 4 threes in from the seven minute mark to the four minute mark, it appeared the game might be over to the casual fan.

It was.

This game, much like many other losses this season, involved a major run by the opposing team that was never answered by Pitt. At first, I thought this may be a coincidence. After tonight, I am convinced that the problem is a lack of intensity. I think it is very appropriate to question the focus and, as ashamed as I am to say it, effort of this basketball team. One run by the opposition, and Pitt seems to fold.

Enough for one night. I am going to try to forget about this one and look to the Penguins’ win to cheer me up.

Looking down the stretch

Here we are– only six games remain in the regular season. I am honestly unsure if Panther fans should be pleased right now or disappointed. A 7-5 record in this conference is not ridiculous, but certainly Pitt has higher standards than most. Mediocrity is not acceptable anymore around here. Yet given the circumstances, it is hard to complain too much about sixth place in the standings and a 19-6 overall record. Here is my position– winning half of the final six would be satisfactory. Two victories would not do, but it should be enough to get the team into the NCAA Tournament. One win, or a season-closing seven game losing streak likely would force Pitt to work some miracles at the Garden in early March. How it should shake out:

Losses: @ Notre Dame, @ Syracuse, Louisville

Notre Dame and Louisville are simply better than the Panthers right now. I think it would be foolish to expect a win at the Joyce Center tomorrow, where ND hasn’t lost in 30 odd games. Louisville is peaking, and they are deeper and probably more talented than anyone in the conference. Assuming Pitt at least gives ND a game, I would expect the Pete to be rocking for that game. The home advantage will be the only thing stopping the Cardinals from a blowout win. I know we will lose either at ‘Cuse or at WVU. Judging from the Mountaineers performance against Villanova this evening, I would say Syracuse scares me more.

Wins: Cincinnati, @ WVU, Depaul

I would hope Pitt can beat Cincy at home, using the crowd to prevent a run like they one they allowed on the road against the Bearcats. WVU is always tough to beat, but I honestly believe they are not a good basketball team. Depaul is probably only slightly less dangerous than all of these teams. Still, the Pete is always a big help for the Panthers.

One last note– watch for the effort tomorrow from Pitt. If ND is getting anywhere near the number of layups and open shots Marquette did, then us fans better start worrying. The defensive intensity from the opening tip will be an excellent gauge of how serious the Panthers are about winning tomorrow.

Panthers Hold Serve at Home

To start with, I would like to apologize for the long break between posts. The injuries, Dayton loss, and winter break threw a wrench into my mental state the past few weeks, and I neglected to write about the Panthers. Now that I am back on campus, I will resume my regular posting.

Pitt played a very solid game this afternoon, knocking off the Seton Hall Pirates, 84-70 at the Pete. Led by Sam Young’s 28 points, the Panthers shot well and assisted on 22 of their 28 field goals. The first half was close throughout, and the Pirates’ Brian Laing was dominant at times, scoring fifteen points, most of which came in the last five minutes of the opening stanza. Yet the halftime score of 33-30 was encouraging in that the combined scoring total of Pitt’s guards was a meager 5 points. It was evident that would change, and the Panthers came out strong in the first 10 minutes of the second half, opening up leads as great as 13. With 3:41 to play, Pitt led by 17 points. The next 2 minutes were a bit stressful, as sloppy ball-handling and free throw shooting cut that margin to 8. Ronald Ramon hit an important 3 to insure the lead with about 1:20 to go, and the game went final at 84-70.

This was a very encouraging sign that Pitt can survive until Levance Fields’ return. While the convincing win at South Florida was impressive, I was a bit skeptical that the Panthers would consistently shoot as well as they did that game (53% FGs, 11 of 20 from the three point line). Today at least partially proved that performance was no fluke. Pitt went 8 of 16 on 3-point attempts and shot 49% overall. As I said before, Benjamin and Ramon did most of their damage after halftime, and each made big shots whenever the team needed them. I also was skeptical that the Panthers could consistently keep a low turnover count with Fields out. USF and Seton Hall both employed presses, albeit not often enough in my opinion, and yet Pitt only had a combined total of 23 turnovers in those games, just one more than the 22 they suffered in the Villanova loss. I realize that Pitt has not beaten tremendous teams the past two games, but both are capable of beating good teams (SHU nearly knocked off Marquette and has beaten Virginia, while USF defeated Florida State and destroyed Rutgers).

The real story of today’s game was the dominance of Sam Young and Dejuan Blair. They combined for 48 points and 22 rebounds, and the two were consistently the focal point of the team’s offense. Young has really blossomed into a tremendous scorer. He is so long with his strides that many bigger defenders cannot stop him from driving to the hoop, and at 6′6″ he can (and loves to) shoot over smaller players. I think the sky is the limit for Sam–presently, he scores in bunches, and then disappears for long stretches of the game. If he could sustain his excellent play consistently, Young could be a premier player in the nation. Blair is similar in that his potential is just as unlimited as Young’s. He has plenty of room for improvement, especially in help defense and decision-making offensively. Yet after this fine-tuning, I believe the Young-Blair duo will be one of if not the strongest frontcourt in the nation. They may be a bit undersized, but both are tremendously long, athletic, and skilled.

Pitt faces Georgetown at home Monday. I would not expect a victory, but I sure am hoping for one. The Hoyas this year are a lot like last year’s team–a somewhat slow start that displayed chinks in their armor segued into a well-polished Final Four-quality squad. At this stage, they may be beatable. I will briefly preview this game tomorrow.

Pitt Knocks Off Duke in OT Thriller at MSG

Let’s just start by saying what a great night it was for Pittsburgh sports.  In addition to the great win by the Panthers over Duke, the Penguins beat the Boston Bruins in a shootout (although it never should have made it that far) and the Steelers all but wrapped up their playoff spot by defeating the St. Louis Rams, 41-24 (they, too, suffered a loss though with Willie Parker going down).  I did my best to see all the best parts of each, but it was nearly impossible.  That is why I taped the Pitt/Duke game, and watched it again this morning.

The first half was about as ugly as could be for Pitt fans.  The only thing that kept them in the game was the fact that Duke also had some trouble scoring.  The Panthers could not make a long range shot to save their lives, and went into the half down 34-22.  For how bad things seemed to have gone, being down 12 was not so bad.  Jamie Dixon and the rest of the staff made some great adjustments in the locker room.  The most significant of which was the change in their man-to-man defense.  Given that the size matchups were pretty much the same for many positions on the floor, the Panthers switched off of picks rather than driving through the screens.  Duke looked a little flustered by this change, and made some costly turnovers, one of which was a shot clock violation.  Sam Young once again somehow made some very tough shots along the baseline and in the lane.  Levance Fields came away with some big buckets in the transition game, and DeJuan Blair proved that he can hang with the elite by turning in a 15 point, 20 rebound game.  The only downside for Blair was that he made just 7 of 15 free throws.

Once down 31-15 late in the 1st half, Pitt rallied back by some nice runs in the 2nd half, and finally took the lead after a 12-0 run with the clock winding down.  The Dukies went over six and a half minutes without a field goal in that stretch.  Field goals went back and forth in the final two minutes with Kyle Singler’s 3 tying the game with just over a minute in regulation.  A baseline jumper by Young put Pitt ahead by a deuce, but Gerald Henderson tied it again with a tough turn-around shot with about 56 ticks left to go.  On the ensuing Pitt possession, Fields found a wide open Mike Cook in the corner, who missed a long 2.  Duke held for the last shot, which was missed by Henderson.  Singler nearly had his put-back go down, but it rimmed out to send the game to OT.  Both were great looks for Duke that they were unable to capitalize on.

The most significant play early in OT happened with just about a minute gone by as Mike Cook’s knee buckled as he drove to the basket and was called for a travel.  Anyone who saw the look on Cook’s face on the ground knew that it wasn’t just a leg cramp or a simple sprain.  I don’t want to jump the gun on this, but Cook may likely be out for the year, because it looked like a torn ACL or MCL in the knee.  He was on crutches after the game, and Dixon didn’t sound too optimistic when talking about it.  The Panthers continued to rally but were dealt another blow when DeJuan Blair fouled out with just over a minute to go.  The Panthers, down one, were forced to foul Singler with about 25 seconds left.  Singler made just the 2nd of the 2 shots to make it 64-62.  Dixon called for the “five” play which spread the court to allow Levance Fields to do his thing.  He could have penetrated and tried to pass, but his defender bit on a fake and Fields popped behind the line and drained a go-ahead three.  It was the kind of shot every kid dreams of.  With about 4.7 seconds to go, Duke could have gotten a better shot than they did, a long running 3 and last second shot off the rebound, which didn’t go in for Duke.

• Dixon called it the “most bittersweet night” in his coaching career, obviously referring to the great win but the loss of Mike Cook, possibly for quite some time.
• DeJuan Blair is becoming a household name throughout the country.  He is proving that 6′7″ does not matter, for his huges wing span and great strength really make up for it.
• It was an awful night for both teams from 3-land: Duke was 4-19 and Pitt was 3-19, but the last of those three was the biggest one.
• With Cook out, the depth will really be tested.  We will likely see larger roles for Keith Benjamin and Brad Wanamaker and could even see minutes from Cassin Diggs as well.  It remains to be seen…
• Field finished with 21, Young with 17, and Blair with 15.  Singler and Henderson each had 17 for the Blue Devils
• The Panthers receive a well-deserved break until Dec. 29 when they put their undefeated record on the line against a very tough team in Dayton.