We’re here now, relieving Chas for the night. I don’t expect this one to be too exciting anyways. The game is on ESPN Classic which you probably don’t get, so follow along here.

6:09 pm: Two baskets by way of Blair pounding in the middle and Keith Benjamin with a beautiful three point stroke. Rutgers answered right back with their own 3 though. The fingers continue to stay crossed that Blair stays out of foul trouble. He has one personal foul already.

6:12 pm: If you’re watching, prepare to see “Send it in, Jerome!” at least 5 times.

6:18 pm: Gary McGhee shot what was probably the ugliest foul shot ever. It barely made it 3/4 of the way to the hoop. Rutgers already has five turnovers and their best big man on the bench with two fouls and they only trail 14-12. Rutgers is already at five team fouls — hopefully we hit our foul shots…or at least get them to hit the rim.

6:25 pm: RU gets the Pitt lead down to a point and then goes to the 2-3 zone. Passing quickly and effectively will be important. The Scarlet Knight’s best chance is obviously to black the passing lanes and make Pitt spot up for threes. Blair still at 1 PF and 4 points.

6:27 pm: Tied 20-20. RU nailed a trey and Dixon was halfway on the court to call a timeout before it even fell. He’s not entirely pleased by what’s going on…

6:39 pm: Bill Raftery on the phone to talk about what else, the Jerome Lane dunk. Nice pickup by Keith Benjamin to take it coast-to-coast followed up with a volleyball type of hit by Blair to put it in. Benjamin drops another three and Rutgers answers with their own, yet again.

Benjamin’s stroke reminds me of a young Ronald Ramon — we’ll call it “Ramon Pre-2007”.

Usually a team like Rutgers playing against a ranked team (such as Pitt) is not able to continually answer with big shots. Once Pitt gets over that hump and breaks out the double-digit lead, we’ll just need to hope Rutgers stops the clutch shots.

The announcers mention something I’ve found to be true — other than the Zoo, the other fans at the Pete don’t usually get really into it. Panthers on an 8-0 run, the lead it 7.

6:51 pm: Pitt 39 Rutgers 32 — Halftime

The nice perimeter shooting (until the last few minutes of the half) is what’s keeping this game close. They have a poor inside game, so expect more defense on outside shots. In Dixon We Trust — he’s shown he’s one of the best halftime-adjusting coaches in the nation. Let’s come out very strong right after the half — it would destroy Rutgers’ waining hope and life.

7:04 pm: Panthoor in the comments: “Did Bucky Waters just say that when he coached at WVU, he loved playing against PITT because Pittsburgh was like Paris?”

Pittsburgh > Morgantown

7:12 pm: DeJuan Blair, this is the bench. Bench, this is Mr. Blair. Please sir, be kind to him, for he has three personals.

7:15 pm: Rutgers slowly but surely getting colder from the field. Gil Brown takes a few seconds to get up, and walks away limping. Super…

7:26 pm: We haven’t scored in 5 minutes. Tonight Pitt has either been at one of the extremes: hitting shots at a very good clip or else throwing up a bag of bricks. Tied at 49, 9 minutes left to play. Hand it to Rutgers, they haven’t lost their poise and composure yet.

7:35 pm: The Knights are confident, probably aided by the fact we’re shooting 25% on FGs in the second half. Gil Brown has 10 points, which is a nice sign, but he’s gone cold (like the rest of the team). Rutgers 58 Pitt 49. My finger moves closer to the Panic Button.

7:40 pm: We’re down 10 and forcing ugly shots. Crap.

7:45 pm: One field goal in our last 16 possessions. Barely any good looks, mostly by virtue of our horrible focus and hurried shots. Overheard in te comments: “Crap.” “Unbelievable.” “Holy cow.”

Benjamin has disappeared, no points yet in the 2nd half. As I write that, he makes a basket.

7:52 pm: Commence the intentional fouling. RU is in the double bonus. Let’s at least salvage this somewhat and keep it from turning into an embarrassing blowout. As if the loss wasn’t embarrassing enough.

7:56 pm: Game, set, and match. It’s a tough loss to take, but perspective needs to be kept. We’re playing without two starters and a shallow bench. Sometimes the shots just don’t fall — we’ll recover.

The game is on ESPN Classic.

I’m bouncing between the game, kid duty and other things around the house. Not quite a full liveblog, but not just an open thread. Spurtability will be the issue in the commentary.

6:04: Pitt down 5-2, and I’m tossing it to Dennis for the liveblog duties. Check for a new post.

It can be really easy to take a team like Rutgers lightly. The game is at the Pete, Rutgers stinks, they have no depth, and, well, they are Rutgers. Luckily, Ruters had a big upset over Villanova this week.

That should hold the team’s attention.

“Of course we’re going to get a little rowdy up in here and make it a tough place to play, but I’m sure they’re going to come in here with a little chip on their shoulder,” Pitt junior forward Sam Young said. “It’s a conference game, so we’ll be ready to play.

“A team like (Rutgers), their back’s against the wall. They have nothing to lose. They’re only goal is to put you down. You’re playing against a team like that, and they’re going to go all out and come smack at you.”

Rutgers promises to test Pitt’s perimeter defense, as it uses four players on the outside. Junior forward JR Inman is the leading scorer at 14.2 points a game, but guard Anthony Farmer and Mike Coburn are coming off career highs with 23 points apiece against Villanova.

Of course Rutgers isn’t going to be too confident about going to the Pete.

Pittsburgh is 75-8 in that building over the last four-and-a-half seasons and 11-0 this winter. Rutgers junior J.R. Inman never has played there, but he heard all about it from Pitt forward Tyrell Biggs, who is a good friend.

“I was speaking with him last night … he told me no one comes into the Zoo and wins,” Inman said on Thursday. “I’ve never been there, but I’ve seen it on TV and I’ve seen how loud it gets so we’re going to have to bring the same intensity, if not more, that we brought for Villanova. They’re a very physical and talented team, and they’re playing at home, so that’s pretty dangerous if you don’t bring your A-game.”

That sums up the task for Rutgers, which will look to carry the momentum from the 80-68 pasting of No. 18 Villanova. To a man, the Scarlet Knights have said getting that first Big East win after six straight losses was a weight removed from their shoulders.

The Scarlet Knights have shot a lot better the last couple games. Shooting nearly 60% against ‘Nova and over 60% against DePaul. Their problem — and you may have figured it out by the mention of their perimeter players testing Pitt’s defense — they have very little inside presence. Hamady N’Diaye is large inside at 6’11”, but as raw as they come. Even as a sophomore.

DeJuan Blair and Sam Young should be looking for and getting the ball a lot in this game. Young, especially since he has had such a breakout year.

“I want to silence all critics about my game,” Young said. “I work very hard. People don’t see what I do behind closed doors. It’s hard to say how a player is going to be in the future when you don’t know how his work ethic is.”

Young keeps his frustrating 2006-07 season close to him. He wrote an inspirational passage before the first game of the season that he keeps at his home. A copy is posted in his locker. He also has been known to post newspaper articles in his locker that were unflattering.

Such stories were published last season, when Young was having a hard time playing small forward. By late December, Pitt coach Jamie Dixon decided to play Young at power forward exclusively.

This season, Young began the season as Pitt’s starting power forward, but a season-ending injury to starting small forward Mike Cook forced lineup adjustments. Young is the starter at power forward, but he is beginning to see more and more time at small forward.

Hmm. I wonder if any of my posts from last year made it in there.

Not that anyone should be expecting him to go pro after this season.