Some editor at ESPN really needed to look closer at the graphics component.

PapaJohns.com Bowl Preview

Best/most painful comment underneath:  “Maybe it’s because all of the Rutgers clips were from the Pitt game.”

Not much that still needs to be said about Pitt dealing with Siena. Pitt could turn it on at spurts and like they have most of the season to date, came out in the second half and put the game out of reach. A final hard push by Siena made the score a respectable 13 point loss but it really wasn’t. It could be argued, though, that the good thing about Siena’s final push — it reminds the players that they can’t lay back until the clock is at 0:00.

Pitt started the second half with a 16-3 run to lead by as many 22 points, but Siena battled back and trailed by 10, 71-61, with 1:21 remaining.

“This was good for us because I think we learned something,” said Pitt coach Jamie Dixon, who admitted that the Panthers didn’t play their best game. “We saw a team that just kept battling, battling, battling and fighting and cut down a 22-point lead to 10 at the end, so give them credit.

“It seemed like that last seven minutes was an eternity.”

Still there was the fact that Blair was a completely dominating beast. There was a concerted effort by Pitt to work the ball inside rather than just take the outside shots — like against UMBC. Blair responded with another double-double.

Plus, despite the late Siena run, Pitt had some numbers that as Coach Dixon said, “teams would die to have.”  Only 7 turnovers, 25 assists on 30 field goals, +11 on rebounds.

This was the first ESPN telecast, and featuring Doug Gottlieb as an analyst. Which makes no one happy. I have found that for the most part, I don’t hear him anymore. Just a harmless buzzing. What is amusing, is that a guy who makes his living on ESPN as being the hateable one, is so stock as an analyst.

The 6-7 Blair is commonly portrayed as a round mound of rebound but in truth that’s just part of his arsenal. He shoots often and effectively, making 64 percent of his twos thus far, albeit against uneven competition. Most strikingly, he plays the 5 yet records steals at a higher rate than any of his teammates. Blair stands out, and that’s not easy to do on a team with featured-scorer Sam Young and assist-hoarding point guard Levance Fields. This is an outstanding offense, one that ranked among the top three in the Big East last year and looks just as efficient this year.

So please explain to me why so many people, most especially last night’s announcers, still insist on viewing Pitt as an all-defense no-offense team? (”Sometimes it seems like they expend so much effort on defense they have trouble scoring.”) One of the things about sports that really interests me is the incorrigibly durable power of branding seen within its precincts. Highly-paid MBAs would kill for their companies’ detergents or razors to possess the same kind of talismanic hold on perceptions that college basketball teams exhibit.

Take Pitt. I don’t mean the team I’ve just described, necessarily. I mean “Pitt,” the brand. What comes to mind? Rugged, physical teams, players from NYC, Carl Krauser, grind it out, tough D, annual success in the Big East tournament, etc.

Make no mistake, that perception was earned, not fabricated. As it happens, however, it no longer accords with reality….

Pitt’s defense has been very good this year, make no mistake. But the offense has actually been better.

I’m pretty sure that I can explain it simply. Pitt is a very efficient offensive team. They aren’t, however, a up-and-down the court team. They don’t run it down the court and take it right to the basket. They move the ball and look to get it for an open look or get it inside. They get back on defense and make an opposing team move and pass for the score. There aren’t many quick, one pass and score possessions against Pitt or by Pitt. That helps keep the pace slower. In too many lazy analysts’ minds, a slow-tempo team means defensive minded team that has deficiencies on offense.

Amusing article on Tyrell Biggs being Pitt’s best 3-point shooter by % to date. I’m not sold on a sample size of 8-15 over 11 games. I’m just happy that the sample size is that small. It also gets into the rest of Biggs’ game and his development.

Biggs, a big question mark for the team before the season started, has developed into a solid all-around player. He is the team’s fourth-leading scorer (8.5 points per game) and third in rebounds (5.1 per game).

For someone his size, Biggs always has leaned toward being more of a finesse player than a power player. That was not lost on Dixon, who implored him to focus on improving his rebounding skills and tenacity before the season.

“He’s gotten better at it,” Dixon said.

“His numbers are a little better, but defensively he is a far better player than he was last year. I just think he’s playing with confidence, and he’s giving confidence to other players on the team. I think that’s the biggest thing. His leadership has been tremendous for us.”

The perception of Biggs is rather hardened from his first three years. It will take a while for perception to start to change.

As for Blair, he hasn’t changed the perception that he is a force under the basket. It’s just that he’s even better at it this year. As Pitt moved to #5 in Luke Winn’s power rankings.

Some DeJuan Blair numbers for you to ponder: Pitt’s sophomore big man is rebounding at a superhuman rate thus far, pulling down 25.8 percent of available offensive boards (ranking first in the country) and 29.2 percent of defensive boards (ranking eighth). Offensive rebounding is regarded as more of an “effort” stat that defensive rebounding, and no other major-conference player was even close to Blair through Sunday’s games…

He’s also improved other parts of his game.

That play reminded Dixon of another 6-foot-7 frontcourt force who was known for averaging double-digit rebounds and whipping crisp passes.

“We really talked to him at the start of this year about Wes Unseld, a player he never heard of and what a great outlet passer he was,” Dixon said. “I thought DeJuan could be that.

“I think that’s the biggest improvement he’s made this year, in his outlet passing. He had a tendency to be somewhat not as protective of the ball and didn’t use his passing skills and his strength to get a good outlet to get us going.

“Now, he is.”

Never heard of Wes Unseld. Thanks. I needed to feel older.