Pitt had a long trip back from Storrs, Connecticut. The team ended up taking a charter bus to Philly, before eventually getting back to the ‘Burgh around 11:30 Sunday night. This included a 3 hour wait on the runway. On the bright side, they didn’t have to watch the Steelers. All that time together, travelling. Sounds like the perfect time to break out some cliches about how they drew closer together as a team. But, no. Nothing like that. Of course, I bet that spin would have been made if they had lost. Of course, that long confined together after 2 straight losses could have been ugly.

The other piece highlights the contributions in the UConn game from Kendall and Gray.

Two players, in particular, who made their presence felt in the UConn upset were 6-foot-9 forward Levon Kendall and 7-foot center Aaron Gray. That duo had been averaging 6 and 2 minutes, respectively, in the previous four Big East games, but Kendall played 20 minutes and Gray 12 against the Huskies.

“You always have to be ready,” Gray said.

Summoned from the bench early, Gray appeared to be right at home among the tall and talented frontline of Connecticut, considered the best in the nation. He finished with seven points on 3-of-4 shooting from the field, to go with three rebounds and a turnover.
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For the second game in a row, Kendall showed he is fearless regardless of the situation. He managed only three points and two rebounds vs. the Huskies, but had two of the biggest defensive plays of the night.

The first was so impressive that it was highlighted by SportsCenter. With 4:01 remaining and the Panthers ahead by only a point, Kendall caught up to UConn’s Denham Brown, who appeared to have an easy layup opportunity, and swatted his shot into the Husky bench. The hostile crowd at Gampel Pavilion went silent on that one.

Then, a little more than a minute later, Kendall blocked Villanueva from behind, preserving a three-point lead with the clock running down.

Finding minutes for everyone, including giving DeGroat and Benjamin some time is still an issue. Still, I’m heartened to see Dixon willing to start pulling players who aren’t helping. Starting to try and see what the others can do. I just wish, he could have been doing more of it during the non-con, rather than scrambling now.