Before I go all gushy about this win, just a small question. How come Pitt can’t beat these guys at home?
I mean, Pitt beat them in Louisville and now 3 straight times at MSG. The two times Pitt has lost to the Cards since they came to the Big East have been at the Pete. Eff it, like the free throws in OT, Pitt makes them when they count.
I’m so juiced right now. That was a fantastic game. Louisville and Pitt just battled. Neither team played a perfect game, but Pitt did more and to go all cliche, showed more heart than Louisville.
Pitt was the undermanned team. Pitt was the team with more players in foul trouble. Pitt was the team with the match-up problems. Pitt was the team with the less heralded recruits. Pitt was the team with the less accomplished coach. Pitt was the team that won.
…and as for Devine, it was only a matter of time.
HERE WE GO PITT, HERE WE GO!!
let’s bring the heat 🙂
ps) at least we got to practice breaking the press like 15 zillion times tonight!! Thank you Cards!
With Higgins reffing, i predict 50+ fouls.
What? Dixon brought both Fields and Benjamin back into the game in the first half. Benjamin committed his second foul barely 4 minutes into the 1st half. Fields 6 1/2 minutes in. They had to sit for a while.
Both players were brought back into the game in the first half. Dixon actually managed them very well through most of the 1st half. Putting them in and out to avoid foul issues as best as possible.
Benjamin, though, picked up a 3d foul in the first half, then picked up a 4th within the first minute of the second half. That’s part of why Benjamin barely had any minutes. That and Gilbert Brown played really well in the second half that Benjamin wasn’t back much.
Fields ended up playing 35 minutes out of 45 possible.
That criticism is off-base in this game.
With Higgins as the ref though, we’re going to get buried with foul calls again tomorrow. We’re really going to need a miracle…
I hardly heard any cheering for Louisville, but everytime Pitt did something the place went nuts!
And the Zoo was in full effect too!
Marquettes nemisis seems to be John Cahill…he was a ref in 4 of their 8 losses this year…he only reffed 5 of their games, they were 1-4 when he was reffing (the only win was a 8 point win against Depaul at home). He reffed the the GU game yesterday, so he’s one of the 6 likely refs for our game.
Who knows if it’ll have any effect on our game. But maybe how he calls the game has some effect on how they play. One of the games he reffed was the blowout loss at SU. I’d like to take my chances with him as the ref tomorrow, so if it make a difference…the way these games have been called is absurd.
Jimbo- Pitt always has a large contingent of fans at the BE tourney, we travel well.
On the ref note, it is a sad state when we know these guys by name. They are supposed to take a back seat to the teams and it seems all to often they are trying to be part of the story.
Let’s go Pitt!!
Neil, not looking too good on the predictions today. Please tell us you think pitt is going to lose…
Comment by Stuart 03.13.08 @ 5:51 pm
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Stuart:
It is agreed, those were piss-poor pre-game picks churned out very quickly yesterday morning — if I were a betting man, we’d have lost the tractor outright — maybe a dog or two, even (solid collateral in Bangkok; $10 USD per).
So had I got back to the blather in time, yes, I’d have publicly reversed whatever the potential for jinx caused by hasty words and misinformed prediction. (the one saving grace here, I am certain, is that I truly thought we’d lose a squeaker to the Cards and henceforward, therefore, by virtue of my doubt in itself-alone, there was born impetus enough for victory. (C’mon, like I’m stupid or something?)
I nevertheless hear you, though — someone else mightn’t recognize the doubtless reversal of fortune inherent to predictions qualified on the sole basis of hometown-team bias. And however obvious to me (and you), I aim to please. Thus to prove my understanding and concern, I will make an example of myself — so that others may learn, too — and hereby swear no further risk of curse or jinx or whatever potential damages may come about by predicting a Panther win. Therefore, today, I will not predict a win over Marquette. Instead, for the record (and of course for the team, and because Stuart’s twisting my arm here, and because there’s times when I believe in this sort of thing and think it a good idea (except that I don’t think it’s a good idea for tonight), I respectfully and without offense to those easily offended, pick Marquette to win tonight’s game in a very lopsided contest. Throughout, I will cheer and flatter Crean whose full name, as I understand it, is Thomas Aaron “Tomâ€â€¦ just call me “Tom†&^Co*ckSuck*r@100%^ (typo, excuse notepad)
You are wrong, 60 plus fouls!
Marquette 65
You heard it here first. Unfortunately we’ll be on a freakin’ plane to Florida at 9 pm. Stupid #%&*@# kids and their spring break demands!!!!!!!!
That was the dumbest post ever. I agree with Dixon sitting players with 2 fouls in the first half. Why risk them getting the third? He did put both Fields and Benj back into the game because they were needed. The way the officials were calling fouls on both teams last night in the first half was ridiculous. Was it me or did the officials let the boyz play a little more in the second half?
When I talk about the coaches in my posts, I’m usually bashing Dixon for his lack of game preparation regarding attacking the other team. But I will give him all of the credit he deserves. We finally went after a player in double teaming Padgett. He sees them all the time but there was something that flustered him and made him make bad decisions.
I’m anxious to see what we do to contain McNeal tonight.
LETS GO PITT
Opening line is MU -1.5…not as big as i expected. I’d take MU.
That Cardinal = Stunned. Sam Young is playing out of his mind right now and locks up a place on the all-tourney team with another solid game tonight. In the long run, the emergence of Gil Brown could be the bigger story. Get ’em boys and Hail to Pitt!
-that was bad i know
I’ll give Dixon credit for doubling Padgett, but I don’t think that’s exactly rocket science coaching. He did do a good job with leaving Brown in, because I think he needed Brown’s athleticism against L-ville.
My other comment from watching the game in person — if I were Sam Young and Fields kept ignoring me during crunch-time situations and I were first team Big East but my PG didn’t want to get me the rock when it counted — well, I’d do a couple back flips on his ass.
You are entitled to a differing opinion, but please have, um, facts.
Sadly the BET doesn’t offer the good play-by-play stats that Pitt has in the season — including the ever useful substitution info.
Their livestats function isn’t working particularly well for me to check the substitution info.
link to bigeast.org
The ESPN.com play-by-play
link to sports.espn.go.com
lacks substitution info but you will note that at 6:37 Fields missed a lay-up. This coincides with my own notes that read “How many lay-ups has Fields left short since he got back from injury?”
Beyond that, Fields played 35 out of 45 possible minutes. Even assuming he played all 25 minutes without rest (and he didn’t), that would leave 10 minutes. Take out the first 6:37 of the game that he played before the 2nd foul. That leaves about 3:23 unaccounted. Fields did sit for a period before Dixon started reinserting him into the game. From at least the 7-8 minute mark left in the half, he began putting Fields and Benjamin in and out of the line-up.
Don’t get in the way of a perfectly good smear job. I love that when Dixon does win, its “well, ANY coach would have done that…he’s nothing special.”
So, when Dixon loses, its his fault, but when he wins – he has no hand in that, or anyone would have won that, etc, etc, etc. You people can’t even be happy with a win over the second best team in the big east.
These people won’t be happy until Calipari brings his criminals up here or Miller brings his win record against the A10 to the big east. I just wish they’d all shut the fuck up if they don’t really have any clue. Do you people even watch the games?
If we win tonight, is it cause Marquette quit, or any coach would have won? Please tell us now, save the shitty posts later.
It’s because I want Pitt to win that I want to see Dixon coach as well as he can and Fields play PG as well as he can.
Facts aren’t for pussies and mine are correct……he was out for a few straight mins exactly when they were really struggling offensively toward the end of the first half and then he was re-inserted with less than a minute left. I was there at the game watching the clock and I wasn’t the only fan screaming for Dixon to get him back in. My guess is that was between the 4 min mark and the 1 minute mark…..I am sure that he didn’t come back in until there were about 40 secs left, because the crowd around us was cracking up because everyone was wondering why bother putting him now and risking another foul after you’ve kept him out for this long?
I’m happy with Dixon and want him to get better. And I do want Fields to get Young the ball in crunch time……. and I doubt I’m alone in wanting to see that.
Also This:
link to sports.espn.go.com
Stay Classy WVU