You know, I think I would have preferred to have played UConn in about 2 weeks. After they’ve been playing with a 7-8 man team for a while. They actually have their starters playing more minutes than Pitt in the last 3 games. There are 200 minutes available in any game, UConn has played their starters for 169, 169 and 173 minutes since the suspension of Dyson. Wiggins won’t be that big of an impact on the minutes of the starters. Calhoun is either going to have to give other guys more minutes, or this team will be burned out by the Big East Tournament.
I didn’t have a big problem with the officiating. Maybe 2 or 3 calls went UConn’s way more than Pitt had go theirs. Big deal. It’s a road game. That’s not atypical in my view for the home court to sway a couple extra. Did they piss me off when they happened? You bet. That wasn’t the reason for the loss, though. Have to give credit to UConn for beating Pitt. They played great defense.
This game convinced me, though, that Hasheem Thabeet is off to the NBA after this season. He nearly left last year when he didn’t know how to do much more than stand with his arms straight up. He’s got a ways to go, but he is far better than he was last year. He’s even learned to make free throws.
Thabeet became a complete intimidator to Young and Blair. They really were bothered and frustrated. Thabeet only had 5 blocks, but his presence altered so many others. There’s a reason that UConn is the #1 team in 2-pt FG defense. Like Louisville, Pitt had poor 3-point shooting and lost. Providence won, and they shot ridiculously high on 3-point shots. UConn may be one of the most susceptible teams to being bombed on a random night.
I’m trying to figure out if Keith Benjamin is really bothered by the stitches on his hand or if it is simply that he was hot for a while on his 3-point shooting and is now going back to equilibrium. 2-3, 3-6, 1-4 and 1-6. That is what he has shot from the perimeter in the each of the past 4 games. I’m leaning towards streaky, not injured hand.
Sadly, Sam Young’s 0-5 on 3s is also not particularly atypical lately. Since his 4-4 on 3s against Seton Hall, he’s shot 5-25 (with 3 coming versus St. John’s) in the next six games
I was shocked that UConn actually made a brief attempt early in the game to go to a 2-3 zone. Gilbert Brown dropped a short jumper right in the middle of it, and they never tried that again. The Huskies are less comfortable in the zone than Pitt.
Heck, this was a game that cried out for the lost art of the mid-range jumper to beat UConn. The Huskies played the perimeter and packed it inside. Young and Brown, noticeably, had success with the short and mid-range shots. Oddly, the only guy UConn seemed prepared to defend that way was Tyrell Biggs. Guess they watched a fair amount of tape in the game plan.
I have to say that Bradley Wanamaker played pretty well. I think he was under orders not to shoot, and that helped a bit. He really got after it on defense — and only whistled for one foul. Yes he had that painful turnover near the end of the half, but at least he shut down UConn before they could get a shot off the other way.
On Pitt’s first 8 baskets, there were 7 assists. Pitt had 3 more assists the rest of the game.
Defensively, Blair did more than hold his own inside against Thabeet, Adrien and Robinson. Blair had another double-double but with 9 offensive rebounds he really struggled. 5-14 shooting. It also means that he wasn’t getting that many touches in this game except from rebounds. That was a shame because while he was 1-6 in the first half, but did improve to 4-9 in the second half (when he had 6 offensive boards). He was figuring it out inside offensively, which is good for the future.
Hard to believe that when Stanley Robinson came into UConn last year, some thought he might only last a year. At this rate, he’s going to be there for the full four years. Just a completely inconsistent player.
Not once yesterday did Uconn do something athletically superior. They had more height with Adrien and Thabeet, but everyone has that problem with Uconn.
Pitt played well defensively yesterday, but just couldn’t get the perimeter shots to fall. If Fields is out there I have to believe he makes a few triples and at least limits AJ Price a little bit. Price was the difference. He kept them in the game in the first half and made a few big plays down the stretch. He is a good player.
Pitt will be fine. I think Uconn is the best team in the conference and they are on fire right now. Pitt was right there with them on the road and could have stolen that win. The defensive effort was very encouraging, as that was an area where we were struggling. The offense will get an immediate boost when Mr. Fields returns.
I think this Pitt team has what it takes to get past the sweet 16. It depends on the matchups, however I really like our chances. We need to finish the month strong and get on a role to secure a decent seed. This game should keep the team confident. They were right there and even had a chance to blow Uconn out.
points. Until they fix that problem (see Georgetown)it will be a tough road, especially late in games with a short bench.
Great and much needed 5 days off until WVU, a must win.
Even saturday when Ramon seemed to have a good look early in the possession, he seemed hesitant, like he was surprised to get it.
All in all, though, I’ll take a game over .500 until Fields comes back–hopefully then we’ll pull out a few of these games when it really matters.
Additionally, did anyone go crazy over the egregious no call on Robinson’s fast break that ended in a Thabeet dunk. That was the most blatant carry I have ever seen. I watched the replay 10 times and it is ridiculous. He had his hand completely under the ball, hesitated and then dribbled. That was the worst call of the game. It got the crowd back into it and gave Uconn some momentum.
I’ve watched the Huskies 3 games prior to this. Brown played good D against him, but believe me when I say that Robinson is showing little predictability in what kind of game he has each time.
I do think that the difference was the intimidation inside and the plays Price made toward the end of both halves. I liked the fact that Brown was on Price for the big drive near the end (because he’s a tough on-ball defender)until he got beat so badly.
However, I think this will change, Dixon is a very down to earth coach who really cares about his players. Expect great things in the years to come, Pitt has a solid basketball program, it is too bad the injuries piled up this season because they were on a roll.
“This is a stupid observation.”
Omar – It’s certainly okay to disagree and I think you bring a lot to the discussion, but I’m not sure these kinds of statements help your argument or endear you to any of this blog’s writers or readers. Let’s show others that Pitt fans are a classy, intelligent group of fans.
PS – Mr. Paterno – You’re not helping matters much.
Sam Young isn’t a big man, no matter what position he’s played for Pitt.
Give Dixon credit for landing a player who grew up a few hundred yds from the Pete, especially when Blair’s recruiting profile didn’t really explode until late in his HS career? By that time, Dixon had him locked up, and we are all incredibly fortunate for that.
Years of bringing in no power are dangerous to a program. You can get by one or two years, but much longer than that and you’re at risk. Making judgments about players like Hudson, Wallace and Biggs is exactly what Dixon is paid to do……..(by the way, I will admit that Biggs has contributed much more this year than I expected, but he’s still a disappointment.)
I’d still be all over Dixon for this power gap, no matter what they did this year. It made everything depend on Blair, which is a risky proposition.
I agree that Blair needs to be developed more and doesn’t take the best shots all the time. But consider the following: 1. He looks better as a freshman than Gray did as a senior. 2. He has gone against guys like Hibbert, a likely lottery pick, and won the battle. 3. This is the biggest point to me, he looks at the basket first, and then passes if it isn’t open (or sometimes takes bad shots, but hey, he’s a freshman). The biggest weakness to the inside game in the past few years was that Gray looked to pass first. He never seemed to really want to shoot. I love that Blair looks to the hoop first, showing that he wants to be the scorer.
Dixon has done a good job with big men. Dixon was Howland’s primary recruiter, and I remember two guys, Troutman and Taft, who were studs. Taft was a monster, and would have been a big difference maker if he didn’t become a head case, believing that he was going to be the next great NBA big man or something.
Of all the things that have been an issue for Pitt, while under-performing big men was an issue maybe last year and the year before, the number one issue they haven’t addressed that has KILLED them is piss-poor free throw shooting. Fix that and they make it past the sweet 16 on a regular basis, and go more than 1-5 in Big East Championship games.
Well, maybe being unranked will put a fire under some asses…we have the talent – even our backups are better than a lot of the guys we used to win with. Its all about effort, finishing…and not getting fuct by the refs.
4 games in 10 days and the minutes these guys are playing. Play a major role in our poor offensive out point. Esp. and I hate this term “fading down the strecth”. They are losing there legs which hurts there shooting. These guys are spent…..
Nobody on this team has logged this many minutes in there career. Playing in the Big East which is the most phys. conference in the NCAA has taken its toll. The effort has been there all year minus the RU game. Thes kids are playing hard. Also playing roles and minutes most weren’t expected to play. Give’um a freakin brake……..
“Prior to going to SMU in 2001, Bennett was a highly regarded defensive coordinator with experience coaching defensive backs and linebackers and a reputation as a strong recruiter. He spent three seasons at Kansas State, where his defenses ranked in the top five nationally each year, coached the secondary at Oklahoma and was defensive coordinator at TCU, Louisiana State, Purdue and Iowa State”
At least one of my teams won this weekend!!!
GO GIANTS 🙂
As you pointed out his 3 point scoring touch is sorely lacking.
I have not checked any stats but without Cook and Fields this team seems to have a hard time scoring. Hopefully Fields returns in 2 weeks and that changes, the loss of Fields really hurt this team. Fields is a true leader who can score and make sure the right guy gets the ball to score.
Dixon is doing a great job to hold this team together, the Big East is just too competitive a conference, you have to play your best every game or lose with a half ass effort.