I’ve been shoveling snow all day, so tonight’s liveblog from the comfort of my very warm house will be nice to say the least. The biggest pre-game story for tonight’s game is that Levance Fields will not be returning tonight. It’s probably better that we don’t see him tonight anyways. I don’t think we’ll have too much of a problem with Providence and I’m scared he’ll maybe end up setting himself back (and risk further injury) by playing a regular season game. I’d rather have him completely and fully healthy for later this month and in March.

7:41 pm: Mike Jarvis is a much worse TV analyst than he was a head coach (364-201 overall record). We get the pleasure of hearing him all night. Plenty of empty seats at the Pete tonight; likely a mixture of horrible weather and a poor opponent. Providence hits two early treys but Pitt is going to be the more physically dominant team.

Jarvis says Fields wanted to return in time for Valentine’s day and asked, “I wonder who his sweetie is?” The answer is Pitt women’s hoops player Marcedes Walker.

And PC just hit another three pointer. That’s three 3’s in four minutes — please don’t tell me this is one of those times where a below average team shoots lights out against us.

7:46 pm: Sam Young is not a ball handler, as evidenced by his turnover. We’re not in good shape if he’s hurtling down the court with the ball on a fast break.

7:50 pm: Sam Young nearly not hitting the rim on an ugly three point shot: embarrassing. Geoff McDermott missing a dunk: much more embarrassing.

7:58 pm: Sloppy defense left a Providence shooter wide open to nail a three. If we’re going to let them have the open shots, it looks like they’ll be hitting them tonight. Defense needs to be tightened up a bit.

Ramon hits his second three of the night. Compared to the days after coughing up the ball at the end of the Villanova game, he has to have so much confidence right now after the shot to beat WVU.

8:05 pm: A nice alley-oop finished by Young finally gets the crowd into the game and then McDermott comes right back down an nails a three very long two.

8:07 pm: Pitt has 24 points in the paint compared to PC’s 12 and yet the Friars have managed to keep the game close. They’re hitting shots, plain and simple. It’s gotta stop at some point, right?

8:14 pm: The wisdom of Mike Jarvis: “Shooting 33% from the three point line is equivalent to shooting 50% from the two point line.” I wonder…where is this mysterious two point line?

Also, DeJuan Blair has had a very quiet 7 points so far. I don’t recall a game this year when I’ve almost completely forgot he was even on the floor.

8:23 pm: Pitt leads 42-37 at the half. Can’t say I was expecting this many points, and usually when games reach such high numbers, we’re probably not going to win. The Panthers “thing” for years now has been tough, low scoring games. I’m sure we’ll be fine in the second half though — Providence is going to start missing their deeper shots (hopefully) and don’t count out the halftime adjustments Jamie Dixon is known to make. He hasn’t disappointed us out of halftime yet.

The official count on the number of times we’ve seen the Russel Stover “Get your woman a box of chocolates for Valentine’s Day or she’ll divorce your sorry ass” commercial: six and counting.

8:34 pm: Already I see we came out looking much more pumped up and ready to go. Aggressiveness and physicality on defense are going to be huge. Didn’t see much in the 1st half but it’s picking up now.

8:43 pm: Providence is playing the 2-3 zone but Pitt has been passing well enough to beat it and get solid looks. Remember: passes beat zones, dribbling usually doesn’t.

8:49 pm: Tim Welsh calls a timeout after Pitt once again passes the Providence zone into confusion ending with a Ronald Ramon three pointer. He’s 4-6 from deep and just added an assist to his stat line with a nice pass to Benjamin. Pitt is up 20 now — PC is struuugggggling.

8:59 pm: With a 20 point lead, Pitt is just going to play safely and keep the cushion as it is. From the start of the second half until now, this is the Pitt team we wanted to see.

9:13 pm: Whoa, a minor computer crash. Since about 8 minutes to go, this game has been a snooze fest. Two minutes and we’re done.

9:34 pm: The beginning was a little closer than we’d have liked but the Panthers came out with a spark in the second half and put it away. Were we looking ahead to the big game at Marquette on Friday night? In the post game interview, Dixon hinted that maybe, just maybe, they were. I’ll admit I definitely was (as if it matters what a blogger is looking forward to). Kudos to Ronald Ramon for defending Jeff Xavier well. Xavier made three early treys but was kept pretty quiet for the remainder of the game.

Programming note: On FSN Pittsburgh at 10:00 pm tonight, Under The Lights: Pitt Road Trip will be shown. The previews for it look entertaining as they follow the Panthers trip to New York for the game against St. John’s.

Watch it or DVR after the Providence game tonight. Liveblog/open thread on the way…

The one thing most people are going to say about this game is the possible return of Levance Fields. He’s been practicing with the team after he was cleared by doctors, and he could possible see a few minutes tonight.

“It will be his decision,” Dixon told reporters on Saturday. “It’s going to be day-to-day. There are going to be some ups and downs as it goes, as you would expect when he hasn’t done anything for six weeks.”

Following Ramon’s winning three over WVU, Fields ran faster off the bench faster than any other Pitt player. And just as Pitt starts to get a starter back, Providence is realizing how many players they are starting to lose. Sharaud Curry is out for the year while Jeff Xavier and Geoff McDermott are playing through pain. Ray Hall has been suspended and Weiyinmi Efejuku has simply played poorly. Also working for Pitt’s favor, the Friars have not won in the Petersen Events Center.

Providence AD Bob Driscoll is hearing from fans about the underachieving Friars team.

“My reaction is I’m disappointed we haven’t been better,” Driscoll said. “There are lots of reasons you can point to. We’ve had injuries and a few other issues but, at the end of the day, we’re judged on our record. It’s not what I wanted it to be.”

Head coach Tim Welsh’s seat is getting hotter. A win over Pitt would undoubtedly be huge for Welsh and the whole team, so they’ll be coming out ready to play. Don’t count out Pitt though. The Big East goal continues to be winning the Big East championship, even without Mike Cook and with Fields missing a chunk of time.

“Every game is huge from here on out,” said Benjamin, who’s averaging 12.6 points as a starter. “The Big East is a crazy league, and you never know when you’re out of it. We’re playing well on defense and once we get back to playing like I know we can on offense, we’re going to be a tough team to beat.”

Tip at 7:30 on ESPN Full Court and FSN Pittsburgh locally.

Suddenly the reports are that Fields might be ready by the middle of the month.

Junior point guard Levance Fields is expected to return to practice today when the Panthers begin preparations for the Providence game Tuesday night at the Petersen Events Center. Fields was cleared by team doctors Thursday afternoon to resume basketball activities.

Well, practice turned out to be delayed a day, but Fields did take part in shooting drills. He’s definitely not going to be playing on Tuesday. That just strikes me as Dixon refusing to put any timetable — moved up or back.

The win moved Pitt up to 5th in the Big East and WVU slid to 9th. So, naturally that means it’s time to worry about the NCAA Tournaments and conferences getting enough of their teams into the show.

What really matters, is how does Pitt look as the selection time is a month away?

“Look around the country and try to find me a team that doesn’t have a bad loss,” Parrish said. “They are almost nonexistent. Tennessee, the No. 1 RPI, lost to Kentucky (11-9). North Carolina lost to Maryland at home. UCLA lost to USC (at home). And those are the No. 1 or 2 seeds. Those losses aren’t as bad as Rutgers. But those are the elite teams.”

“At this point, Pitt isn’t going to be a one- or a two-seed anyway, so only one bad loss on your resume (Rutgers) is going to be fine. … I would suspect on Selection Sunday that Pitt will get a better number than most people would think. The committee is not going to forget about Levance.”

All of this assumes, of course, that Pitt qualifies for the NCAA Tournament for the seventh consecutive season.

The Panthers seem to be a good bet, provided they go .500 or better over their final eight games. That would give them 10 conference wins.

Does 10-8 in the Big East make Pitt a lock? Yes.

Yippee.  Of course that means going at least 4-4 with games that have a rather rough stretch looming. After Providence it is at ND, at Marquette, Louisville, at Syracuse (unpredictable) and at WVU before finishing with DePaul. The

It was officially announced that Bryan Bossard was hired as the WR coach.

Bossard coached the Terps receivers for the past three seasons and prior to that he coached receivers at Delaware from 2002-04. He has previously worked under Wannstedt — as a summer intern with the Chicago Bears in 1996 and 1997 — and he was a standout defensive back at Delaware from 1985-88.

This had been known for a while, but was just made official. Bossard was fired from his gig at Maryland shortly after losing the Emerald Bowl. In the game, several passes were dropped by receivers.

“Surprised? Probably not,” Bossard said yesterday.

“It’s part of the business. Whenever things don’t go as planned, someone’s always got to take the fall. I think we made plays, too. I would hope it’s not just off of one game. But again, who knows? You’re asking the wrong person why this happened.”

Bossard said Friedgen started scrutinizing the wide receiving corps during a three-game slide during this season.

Meantime, injuries took their toll. Danny Oquendo and LaQuan Williams suffered injuries that knocked them out of action toward the end of the season, forcing the team to use younger players such as redshirt freshman Emani Lee-Odai.

No strong feelings one way or the other on this. He’s a Delaware grad and I’m amused that his two sons are named Xen and Xyon. The hope is that he will help with inroads into Maryland and Virginia for recruiting.

There was also the hiring of a couple graduate assistants.

Wannstedt also announced the additional of graduate assistants Scott Turner and Greg Williams. Turner, the son of San Diego Chargers coach Norv Turnrer, will focus on the offense, while Williams works with the defense.

The bigger news is that Pitt had yet another assistant leave for a new job.

Pitt special teams coordinator Charlie Partridge has resigned to become the defensive line coach and will work with specialists at Wisconsin. Partridge has been with the Panthers since the 2003 season in various capacities.

“Charlie is an excellent young coach and I am very appreciative of the contributions he made to our program,” Pitt coach Dave Wannstedt said. “We certainly wish him and his family the very best in his new opportunity.”

He is the fifth Pitt assistant to leave Wannstedt’s staff since the end of the season.

You would think Pitt had played in a BCS bowl the way the staff has been picked apart this off-season.

Partridge was offered the job a couple years ago when Bret Bielema took over as head coach at Wisconsin.

Partridge came to Pitt under Walt Harris in 2003 and was retained when Wannstedt took over before the 2005 season. That’s why Partridge didn’t feel comfortable leaving a year later to join Bielema’s first staff.

“Essentially, I was out of a job,” Partridge said after Harris left for Stanford. “Coach Wannstedt came in, to make a long story short, he had the trust and faith to keep me on staff. I built a good relationship with him, but I couldn’t leave Pitt after one year, do that to him.”

Partridge’s wife’s family lives only a couple hours from Madison and Partridge was a college roommate of Wisconsin’s Defensive Coordinator, Dave Doeren. It is expected that Partridge will take over a lot of Florida recruiting from Doerento allow him to focus more on coordinator duties.

As for who Pitt will hire to take the job, there are a couple of internal possibilities. Sam Clancy is being mentioned — he came back to Pittsburgh a couple years ago to finish his degree and help as a volunteer assistant coach with the D-line. Bob Junko might be brought out of administrative duties to handle special teams. Gattuso might move to coach linebackers from the D-line.

I have to believe Pitt has to hire someone, though. The loss of Partridge and Hill means there are no assistant coaches with ties or connections to Florida. Pitt may not have focused too hard on Florida this past recruiting season, but it is too vital a state with too much talent to ignore.

As for the loss of Partridge, well, you hate to lose a top recruiter. That was his best quality as a coach. He was considered one of Pitt’s best recruiters on the staff.

The coaching acumen, I’m not exactly sure Pitt is losing too much. Pitt’s special teams haven’t been too impressive (think about the USF fake punts), and Pitt actually uses some starters on special teams. D-lien wasn’t exactly a strength when he was working with them. The linebacking corp that he and the departed Rhoads worked, didn’t exactly develop beyond MLB Scott McKillop.

Pitt has announced its new ticket prices for season and single game tickets. The result, lower ticket prices and more access to parking passes.

Reduced prices: Season tickets, which go on sale today, are less expensive. Student tickets are $25 (down from $49); Upper end zone seats are $72 (down from $99); Lower level end zone seats and some seats in the upper deck are $99 (down from $199); The lower level sideline and upper level sidelines between the 20-yard lines are $144 (down from $199); and Club seats are $270. The club seats and some of the sideline seats will again require a donation to the Panther Club.

“If you look, 33 percent of our season tickets cost less than $100,” Pitt ticket manager Reed Patterson said. “That’s a tremendous value.”

Parking: For the first time since the Panthers moved to Heinz Field, every season ticket holder will have the opportunity to buy a season parking pass for $60, which breaks down to $10 per game.

“We’re selling the spaces at the same cost we pay for them,” Pederson said. “But we needed to make sure that if you buy season tickets you can buy a parking pass.”

The mandatory donations start at $50.

Other things in the works include lots more pregame festivities and activities. They also listened to the complaints about the stating time and if there is no TV coverage, the games will be starting at 3:30 or later.

As for the later start time, that will probably only apply to a couple non-con games. Given the expectations for Pitt this coming season, even if not on ESPN or ABC, you can expect that the Big East will be showing a few more of the Pitt games on the ESPN Regional.

Ramon’s game winning 3 has apparently been logged in as one of the best gamewinners in Pitt’s history. So they turned to Larry Harris to find out what he thought.

While watching the Pitt-West Virginia basketball game, Larry Harris spilled his soda and popcorn when Ronald Ramon swished a 3-pointer from the left corner as time expired to give the Panthers a 55-54 victory.

“I had a little flash of Cincinnati,” Harris said. “It was exciting.”

Harris made one of the most memorable shots in Pitt history when he sank a 15-foot jumper from the right corner at the buzzer for a 65-64 victory over the No. 12 Bearcats on Feb. 2, 1977, at Fitzgerald Field House.

…

“They always talk about that one,” said Harris, now an assistant coach at North Carolina State. “Somewhere along the line, if the conversation is long enough, that always comes up. It’s one of those things you always remember.

“For us, our school and our fans, that was a special moment for us. I wish it was against West Virginia, though.”

Harris is an assistant coach for Sidney Lowe at NC State. What sticks out for me is that he was watching Pitt. At the same time, there was a Clemson-Virginia game being played. The Wolfpack have a game with Clemson in a week, yet he was still watching his alma mater play.

That’s the great thing about the college game. You never forget your school. Even if you are wearing other colors in the employ of another, you think of your school as “us.”

Bradley Wanamaker has taken a lot of criticism in his limited minutes. I suppose it’s because there were more expectations for him.

Q: I have been very disappointed in the play of Brad Wanamaker thus far. I thought he was a heralded point guard. I find his play to be quite sloppy and his shooting to be atrocious, especially at the foul line. He has shown minimal improvement. For next year, how do the incoming guards look to back up Levance, and who would be the shooting guard?

FITTIPALDO: Wanamaker was a shooting guard in high school. Pitt coach Jamie Dixon tried to make him into a point guard in the early part of the season, but Wanamaker struggled and that experiment was aborted.

If Wanamaker finds a niche at Pitt, it will be at shooting guard. Wanamaker and incoming freshman Nasir Robinson (Chester, Pa.) will likely battle for the starting job at shooting guard next season. Another incoming freshman, Travon Woodall (St. Anthony’s, N.J.), is likely the backup point guard.

Sometimes, the light goes on later rather than sooner for players. Wanamaker has struggled this season, but he came to Pitt as a top 100 player. I’m sure the coaching staff is hoping that his freshman year is an aberration because the Panthers have a big hole to fill at shooting guard next season with the departure of Keith Benjamin and Ronald Ramon.

First impressions last. I’ve mentioned the Antonio Graves comparisons. Not in terms of talent. I’m talking about development and I might as well throw in perception. Some never forgot Graves as a raw, nervous freshman forced to play because of no depth at the guard spots. Wanamaker will be up against that as well.

I did expect more from him, but I also see flashes and hints of what could be. It’s just not going to be this year.

Of course, he is going to face competition from Nasir Robinson who gets the usual positive reviews that include “tough” and/or “gritty” every time he competes in something. This from the “Primetime Shootout” in Philly.

Nasir Robinson is headed to Pittsburgh next year to play for Jamie Dixon. Nasir has a motor that never stops. He plays hard every time he hits the floor and is an undersized combo forward. Nasir brings that Philly toughness to the floor every night. He dominates on the inside grabbing up everything around the rim. Nasir has a nice feel for the game not only does he play strong on the inside, he sees the floor and makes the big play when needed.

Eric Hall at the Beaver County Times hits a rare daily double with two pieces in a week that state the obvious, even if the answer isn’t: Pitt needs to make free throws and shoot better. Throw in Ron Cook’s piece about Pitt needing to score more points, along with the shooting slump story. The problem is, that there isn’t a good answer. I’m reasonably certain that the coaches and players are aware of the issue, and would like to provide a solution.

Think Pitt and Coach Dixon will get to escape silly coaching carousel speculation this year? Think again.

No more John Brady at LSU means LSU needs a new coach, and the first place the school will look is Southern California’s Tim Floyd. It’s no secret LSU has always been Floyd’s dream job because he’s from the area. But living in Los Angeles — and coaching in the new Galen Center — is kinda dreamy too, and the early word out of Baton Rouge is the school might not be willing to pay the type of money it would take to lure Floyd from the sweet situation he’s enjoying.

If LSU won’t pay, Floyd probably won’t move — in which case some obvious targets are Virginia Commonwealth’s Anthony Grant, Ole Miss’ Andy Kennedy and Washington State’s Tony Bennett. But for the sake of argument, let’s pretend Floyd does move to LSU because that’s when things could get really silly.

Would Pittsburgh’s Jamie Dixon then take the Southern California job?

(Perhaps. But I’m not sure he’d want to battle UCLA’s Ben Howland).

Would Xavier’s Sean Miller then move to Pittsburgh?

(Definitely. He would move to Pitt in like 1.2 seconds)

So yeah, the speculation is endless and head-spinning and tiresome.

Sigh.

Mostly just the quick and dirty link round-up. I’m doing better, but the 10-month old has the dreaded ear infection — clinginess and things no one wants to read.

Two big talking points in the stories: Ronald Ramon’s game-winning 3 (obviously) and the free throw reversal.

The 3-pointer by Ramon was also a way to contrast what happened at Villanova last month.

The victory set off a wild celebration at sold-out Petersen Events Center, which had never witnessed a Pitt buzzer-beater, and ended a string of near-miss, last-second losses for the Panthers this season.

Among them was a one-point loss at Villanova in which Ramon turned the ball over on the team’s final possession.

“That Villanova game was a bad feeling,” Ramon said.

This time, Ramon, a senior and one of the campus’ most well-liked athletes, was the hero.

As for the  free throw reversal.

During the timeout, the officials reviewed the foul and took Alexander’s two points off the scoreboard. They then made freshman Cam Thoroughman go to the line for the one-and-one opportunity.

It turned out to be a four-point swing in favor of Pitt. Thoroughman missed the front end, and Pitt rebounded. Brad Wanamaker made a jumper for a 50-45 lead.

“The assistant coaches saw it from the very beginning,” Dixon said. “They told me it was the wrong guy. I was very surprised that they checked it after they were made. But we were saying it the entire time.”

The officials were able to review the play because Huggins called a timeout. If one second had ticked off the clock they would not have been allowed to make the review.

The writers at the game, never saw the replay or telecast. So they didn’t really learn that Blair was the one being held by Thoroughman as Alexander went over his back — which is why there is no mention of that in the stories. That’s probably why Huginns and Thoroughman after the game did admit that Alexander shouldn’t have been shooting free throws.
Interesting version of Huggins feelings after the game.

“I think it’s pretty apparent that we can beat anybody, we’ve got to suck it up and go play,” West Virginia coach Bob Huggins said. “The reality is we’re depending on people we shouldn’t depend on. We just don’t score. We’re supposed to be a good shooting team, at least that’s what I was told.”

During the game, Huggins vented frustrations on junior forward Joe Alexander, arguably the team’s best athlete. Alexander finished with five points on 2-for-22 shooting.

After the game, Huggins continued to criticize Alexander.

“Pitt’s a good defensive team but I don’t think they’re so good that Joe can’t hit the rim on his first three or four shots,” Huggins said.

He also had hard words for Smith, who left Ramon open on the game-winner.

“We had four guys switch and one guy decide he was going to push up. Wellington thought he needed to go help and (Ramon) hit a big shot,” Huggins added. “That was one guy we talked about that we couldn’t let beat us – him and Sam Young.”

Huggins, in his first year at West Virginia and coaching players recruited by current Michigan coach John Beilein, looked anxious to get his own talent in after this loss, the Mountaineers’ third in four games.

“I need to play guys that will listen,” Huggins said.

I’m not totally surprised that WV media and some WVU players are saying that they lost the game more than Pitt won it.

“Pitt didn’t beat us. We beat ourselves,” said sophomore guard Joe Mazzulla, whose best scoring game at WVU went for naught. “That’s not to take anything away from them or to say they didn’t play well. They did. But it was just out mistakes that beat us, mental and physical both.”

After all, if Pitt had been the one to miss over 50% of the free throws on top of the lousy shooting from most of the team, how many of we Pitt fans would be saying the same thing?

I read Vingle’s semi-hatchet effort on Pitt was more about pointing out how badly WVU blew an opportunity. I would counter only that with the way both teams shot, it would be a highly frustrating loss for either side.

WVU partisans see the missed looks by Alexander and Butler. Pitt fans see the numerous open lay-ups by Blair, the missed 3s by Benjamin and Ramon. WVU had the amazing number of missed FTs — though that was balanced out by Mazzulla having a career game.

So, yeah, it seems like whining and not wanting to give Pitt the due for winning. It’s just that I’ve been guilty of it enough times and will be plenty more times.

Video podcasts. They’re apparently all the rage. The P-G and Paul Zeise have one that combines with Dave Wannstedt’s announcement of the recruiting class. Then there’s the Dave Wannstedt interview on CSTV. Good that they have these podcasts. I totally skipped the CSTV signing special because of the creepiness factor of Tom Lemming — though they did give Pitt the highest recruiting ranking of all lists to date at #19.

ESPN.com/Scouts, Inc. rates Pitt’s recruiting class as a “B-” on a national scale.

During his three-year tenure, head coach Dave Wannstedt has a losing record and has yet to take the Panthers to a bowl game. Despite that, he has recruited very well, especially in western Pennsylvania. He landed four ESPN 150 prospects, including No. 8-rated wide receiver Jonathan Baldwin (Aliquippa, Pa.). Pitt may have finished near the bottom of the Big East standings, but it is the only program in the conference with a top-25 recruiting class.

Silly grading, as they give Cinci and WVU “C”s, USF, Rutgers, Louisville and Syracuse get “C-” and UConn a “D+”.

The local newspaper stories summarize the recruiting success and highlight some of the big gets, throw in some quotes from Coach Wannstedt’s press conference announcing the class, and point out the  successful local recruiting. The usual.

Paul Zeise did a couple Q&As around signing day. Seems like John Brown isn’t doing well in recovery.

Q: With Pitt now standing at 20 scholarships, and the word a month or so ago was that the number could be 17 or 18 with a few defections from the current team, where are the extra scholarships coming from? Will we see more gray shirts like Taglianetti, or are there players whose illnesses will keep them from returning?

ZEISE: Well there are a couple of guys, like a John Brown, who have chronic injuries and are candidates for medical hardship which would mean, he’s not physically able to finish his career but he keeps his scholarship to finish school. Those kinds of players don’t count towards your 85 and Pitt has at least three of them possible. Also, a couple of players who are fourth-year juniors will likely graduate in April and not use their fifth season. I don’t see any other gray shirts other than Taglianetti but frankly, if you take a look at what happened with Wayne Jones last year, it is possible there could be enough scholarships free’d up that he could start in September with the rest of the class.

I think he’s probably right that this class won’t have an immediate impact.

Q: Now that signing day has come and gone, how many of these incoming freshman do you actually see having an impact on the team THIS year? They don’t have to lead the league in their category, but anyone you think will fight for a starting position?

ZEISE: Great question – I think the best way to answer it is to use some common sense and look at the depth chart. Obviously Rob Houser (a JC kid, not a freshman but an incoming player nonetheless) was brought in to fill a void at center. And as I said, Cross will be a part of it in some capacity as well. Beyond those two — and perhaps Lucas Nix (the tackle from Thomas Jefferson) who is at a position of need so he might be thrust into action if he can prove he is ready – there really isn’t a NEED for any of these guys to play, which shows the progress Wannstedt has made in acquiring talent and building depth. That doesn’t mean some of them couldn’t beat out older guys or earn playing time – or a player like Cameron Saddler won’t step in as a returner because he is simply too talented to not play – but for the first time in the Wannstedt era the coaches have the luxury of bringing along their recruiting class at their own pace and won’t be forced to rush guys on to the field in order to fill a gaping hole. That’s a good thing.

We’ve already seen that even when there is a crying need, Coach Wannstedt has held off as long as he could. I think over half the class from last year ended up with redshirts.

Rivalry games. You gotta love ’em.

— Especially when Pitt wins. That makes it 4 in a row in hoops over WVU.

Just some assorted notes.

The look of anguish on Wellington Smith when Ramon hit that game winning 3 was a delicious topping. Smith was the Hoopie who came to help on Benjamin and left Ramon to plant in the corner.

Did someone forget to tell DeJuan Blair that Hasheem Thabeet was not guarding him any longer? He was 3-13 with the only baskets coming when there was no one in front of him. Everything else he shot looked like he was trying to aim it around people. He was altering his own shot. The early bad/cheap/questionable offensive foul he picked up versus Smalligan very early may have gotten in his head.

Technically, Blair’s 3-13 was more than offset by Joe Alexander and Da’Sean Butler’s combined 3-20 and 3-8 on free throws for a grand total of 11 points. Not to mention Alex Ruoff only adding 5 points. That’s 16 points from WVU’s top 3 scorers.

Of course what kept WVU in the game was Darris Nichols 16 points and Joe Mazzulla going for 15 on 6-7 shooting (3-4 on 3s). Damn those streaky jump shooters. Nichols and Mazzulla were 12-22 for 31 points. The rest of the Hoopies were 7-31 with 23 points.

Benjamin came up with some big moments late in the game. The inbound slam when Blair slapped it right to him — sweet. Then there was the dribble penetration in the closing seconds that brought the other defender off Ramon freeing him for that beautiful, game-winning, open 3.

That said, Benjamin has no confidence in his perimeter shooting right now. He was 0-4 and became increasingly afraid to shoot it. WVU practically dared him a couple times in the second half, by staying off of him. You could see him literally freeze as he started to square-up for a 3 and change his mind.

I’m going to give Sam Young the benefit of the doubt on the issue of pouting. His facial expressions generally range from grim to sullen. He just doesn’t do a happy face real well. He was understandably frustrated by the early foul trouble and having to sit for 13 minutes. And if it was a little pouting, well his second half effort was 3-3 (2-2 on 3s) and 3 rebounds in 19 minutes.

Between Young’s early foul trouble and Gilbert Brown’s second half foul issues, Bradley Wanamaker played 23 minutes. Definitely showing more patience on offense, but his court awareness of defenders not directly in front of him is, um, lacking. I find myself holding my breath any time he brings the ball up court with any defenders trailing behind him. He doesn’t keep the ball particularly close to his body when he dribbles which makes him prone to those turnovers and steals. His defense, though, is his strength. At the very least, he looks to be a defensive specialist. Of course, he is only a freshman and raw. I can see him developing steadily in his career as Antonio Graves did.

As a team, I wasn’t thrilled with the rebounding. Pitt was only +4 on rebounds despite the volume of brick-work by WVU. I know part of that was the fact that WVU spread the court and took a lot of jump shots. That meant only Blair seemed to be around the basket, surrounded by those new jerseys of the Mountaineers. Still, it seemed that WVU players were getting after the ball a lot more. A definite hallmark of a Huggins coached team.

Show of hands of Pitt fans holding their breath or screaming in fear at the sight of Levance Fields charging off the bench in that walking boot when Ramon hit the game winner?

Question: Did Fields’ velour sweat suit (what color was that? Chocolate?) top or tie the sweat suit Aaron Gray busted out for the game last year at Seton Hall that he had to sit out with his bum ankle?

Wooooooooooooooooooooo!

[ESPN.com]

Delays, delays, delays.

First things quickly:

— If you haven’t heard or read about Kevin Hart, Google his name and read all about his story. Holy crap it’s amazing — he had a big event where he committed to Cal over Oregon. He wore the hat, people clapped for him, all was good. Until it was discovered he’s had no contact with either school, neither head coach knows who he is, and he basically made the whole thing up. Only in Nevada… (Part I, Part II)

— I think it’s great to see other Pitt blogs that offer more and more outlets for fans to look in to. Check out Pitt Panther Prowl, which is filled with intelligent posts and makes a good point about Wannstedt’s recruiting compared to Howland/Dixon.

Since Ben Howland took over at Pitt (Jamie Dixon being his primary recruiter), and on into Dixon’s tenure, name one McDonald’s All American who has signed with the basketball team. There is no doubt that there have been a few studs, such as Chris Taft and DeJuan Blair. But who are the top 10 recruits the basketball team has had? … But Dixon certainly took players that, as high schoolers, were believed to be inferior athletes, and he got them to play at an elite level. This is the trademark of Dixon’s teams. He takes players that have the skills to fit his system, and he squeezes every last ounce of talent out of most of them. His coaching has made up for the fact that he can’t get the same recruits that Duke, or even UConn can. And if he continues with the success he has had, the future will hold better and better recruits wanting to come play at Pitt.

When Wannstedt becomes a better game day coach (and I think he started to turn that corner near the end of this season), the recruits will be put into better situations to succeed. If not, we’re going to have very good players under a bad coach, and we’ll continue to see these 5-7 type seasons.

Now, to tonight’s game against West Virginia. You’re wondering about the “42 Weeks” thing, right? That’s how many consecutive weeks the Pitt basketball team has been ranked, reaching as high as #2. A loss tonight will certainly end that. WVU plays well against ranked teams:

Now, they get a visit from the Mountaineers (16-6, 5-4), who have performed well against the three ranked opponents they’ve faced. They’re just 1-2, but their losses came by a combined three points — 74-72 to No. 7 Tennessee on Nov. 24, and 58-57 to No. 9 Georgetown on Jan. 26 after a controversial non-call on a potential goaltending call at the buzzer.

Both teams are 5-4 in conference and the repercussions of this game could easily be felt when it comes to the seeding of the Big East Tournament. Also, beating a good team like this looks good on our NCAA Tournament resume (and so does Duke defeating UNC last night).

The hoops rivalry with West Virginia has never really seemed as intense as the football side, but WBGV still lays down the hate.

Things they hate about Pitt (full list on their site):

• That it’s located in Pittsburgh. Seriously, I’m for pollution as much as the next guy, but these guys are out of control. [Dennis says: Umm…you’re from the same University located in Morgantown, right?]
• Andrew Carnegie. He didn’t leave ANY money to his children. Or me. What a horrible parent. [Dennis says: Funny?]
• Oakland. The whole thing is confusing. Are you poor, roughneck, trashy Pittsburghians, or fruity west coasters? [Dennis says: We’re Pittsburghers, thanks.]
• Jamie Dixon. On the advise of my politically correct lawyer, I’m not making a hilarious joke here.
• The stache. [Dennis says: 13-9.]
• Pittsburgh Tuxedos = carpenter jeans, Timberland boots, and Ben Roethlisburger jersey. [Dennis says: Better than the required attire in Morgantown — camouflage.]

Today is their day for payback, revenge, retribution (and even murder).

Obviously, these are subject to lots of alterations, especially once Terrelle Pryor makes his decision. There are still kids out there who haven’t signed and might still make moves up and down the rankings. Even for Pitt as players like DeVoe Torrence and Dominick Britt are still out there.

Brief aside. Pryor is not going to Pitt. I wish otherwise, but I’m not going to rip on a high school kid simply because he won’t go to my school (until it becomes time for my kids to pick a college). I also think there is no reason for any kid to sign his NLI on the very first day. With a talent like Pryor, why should he sign at all? Think any school would stand on some principle if he told them, “Yes I’m coming but I won’t sign the NLI.” Hell, no. They’d hold the scholarship regardless.

It sounded good when Pryor told everyone at his high school and ESPN-U that he was waiting to take more time. Saying that he just hasn’t had the time to digest everything from all the schools with his HS work, the football and now basketball season. Sounded very mature, and everyone praised the maturity. Dismissing out of hand any thought that he was doing this to keep the attention on him. That said, isn’t it a little remarkable that he didn’t have time for really considering all of the schools, but has had no problem with every interview. Every publicity moment? Every extra appearance? Showing up on TV to say he hadn’t made up his mind? I mean, don’t you have to wonder a little if it isn’t a bit about milking extra attention?

Moving on.

The defections of A.J. Alexander and Zack Stoudt knocked Pitt out of the top-20 recruiting class in the major recruiting rankings.

Rivals.com has Pitt the lowest at #29

Scout.com puts Pitt at #25

ESPN/Scouts, Inc. the highest with #21

Good for Pitt, and bad for the Big East as a whole, though, that Pitt is the highest ranked Big East team in all of the national rankings:

Team —— Scout.com —– Rivals.com

WVU ——— 37 —————- 44
Rutgers ——– 44 ————– 46

USF ———- 46 ————— 56
Louisville —— 54 ————— 55
Syracuse —— 49 ————- 48
Cinci ———- 55 ————– 68
UConn ——– 70 ————– 72

ESPN.com only goes top-25.

USF and Cinci have the widest disparity in the rankings. Louisville is clearly the most disappointing. Arguably, UConn could be considered more disappointing, but recruiting for football in their geographic base is much like Pitt recruiting basketball in Western PA.

Syracuse, all things considered, didn’t do too badly. WVU could be considered a disappointment, given their season, but all the crap that happened after the Backyard Brawl makes it somewhat stunning how well they recovered.