A glimpse of the athleticism JJ Moore is bringing to Pitt next year. Check out the 4:10 mark of the clip on you tube. That’s when Moore’s highlights start. link to youtube.com

Obviously a very poor effort tonight but not that unexpected. A young team coming off three tight games, emotional games, playing a team missing their best player on the road – the recipe was there for a letdown. There was also the sudden talk of “can we get a 2 seed if we run the table?” and stuff like that. Same thing happened when Pitt started 5-0 and people started talking about getting a #1 seed in the NCAA’s. Fans (and perhaps players) were getting ahead of themselves.

I think tonight was a little more than a letdown based on the effort, but with ND throwing in absolutely anything for the first 30 minutes of this game, it was really just one of those nights. I am not too upset – actually I think this game could be beneficial in the longer run. This reminds them that they cannot expect to win unless they play hard tough defense and rebound. They don’t have the talent to play half-assed and still gets wins.

After the Nova game, I figured they would lose one of the two road games and end up 3-1, and I still bet that’s what they do. I actually didn’t want them running the table into the BET because I think it would have set them up for failure.

The only thing I worry about is that they still don’t shoot the ball well at all. In the tourney, I don’t know how many games Pitt can win shooting under 35%.

Every team I’ve coached and every team I’ve followed has one of these games each year. This was the perfect storm of events. We all should be worried about Pitt’s scoring ability, that’s why they have to always play outstanding D. Forget about it and move on!

@Dan – agree with you about moving on. But that’s three routs this year (WVU, Texas, ND).
Simply didn’t take it to the rim. Settled for too many jumpers. That game is a lot closer if we get to the line like we have been and stop the clock. I’m surprised we had so much trouble against a less athletic ND team. They packed it in, dared us to shoot the perimeter jumper and dominated their defensive glass.
No doubt we were gassed and they were rested, but the result was surprising nonetheless.
Credit to ND, though. They shot lights out and executed their game plan despite the absence of Harangody.
None of these final games are gimmees. Need the same focus and execution against SJU, Rutgers and Providence that we showed against SU, WVU and Nova. Lesson learned. Hopefully…

Dave, I wouldn’t count Texas as a rout really. No Jermain Dixon, no Gilbert Brown, and Pitt is hanging tough with Texas until the 10min mark in the 2nd half before being worn down. (Texas was also playing much better basketball at this point in the season.)

Good comments by all, but you could see this coming. We were coming off a couple of must-win games followed by three emotionally charged games with not much rest between. Prime for a letdown. That’s why I kept calling this a trap game.

A butt kicking like this can actually do them some good.
Jamie should be able to get them refocused quicker than if
they’d lost a squeaker. How would you like to be Harangody?ND actually seems to be playing better without him.

Good points on the shooting and importance of playing good D. Many times I’ve thought of how much this team reminded me of Jamie’s first team with Brown, Page et al. They too had to rely on strong D and if they got suckered into playing a perimeter offensive game, they were toast. It’s might be one of the reasons he likes these guys so much.

Like Dan said, they need to learn from this one and move on.

First half we looked like villanova playing us ( last second threes, mulitple offensive rebounds, outhustling, etc.)..second half, we came out initially flat, and credit to nd’s D (which most people felt going into the game was non-exisitent)–they boxed up the middle and made us shoot long range jumpers, and when we drove, they collapsed and either blocked shots or the lane…they flat out beat us….and yes, Jamie will remind them, that there are no gimmes, and every game requires total effort.

Hail to PITT!
-al-

Frustrating on so many levels, but as good a 3 shooting team as ND may be, they’re not as dangerous as Nova or Marquette, both of whom Pitt largely neutralized. Even on the rare good defensive stand, they’d get garbage shots to fall or a long rebound. ND did nothing to convince me that their better than their 81 RPI. I guarantee Georgetown will maul this team Sat.

Gotta disagree with the criticism of outside shooting. ND played to take away penetration and allow shots from some players. Gibbs didn’t get a lot of open looks, but Woodall, Brown and Dixon all did, and none of them hurt ND for the calculated risk. Woodall had a ton of easy looks and just seemed hesitant to pull the trigger.

The only good outcome was playing til the final whistle. Dixon didn’t let up on his players (or the refs) and sent a message to ND in case of rematch. It would have been easy to bow out late and clear the bench, but the full court press and timeouts after baskets was the most life they showed all night.