Sorry no liveblog for a weekday game. Not sure how many could participate. Too many people would be popping on to ask the score, as they scramble to find info from work. And just too many little factors that make it better suited for an open thread. If Pitt advances, then there will be liveblogs for the evening games.
Some links to pass on before the game.
As usual the debate on how much a team should care about the conference tournament is a pointless one. I side with guys like Jim Calhoun and Coach Jamie Dixon in wanting to win it.
Damn right Pitt should go all out to win, starting at noon today against Connecticut. There’s no other way to play, really. Why worry about the NCAA tournament? That’s next week. “I don’t know how you’re supposed to pull back and then turn it on again,” Pitt coach Jamie Dixon said. “I’ve never understood that thinking.”
The effort at the Garden is worth it. We’re talking about the best conference tournament in the country. I’ve never bought the argument that it’s a Big East money grab, a made-for-television event between the regular season and the NCAAs. I’ve been to too many not to realize how important it is to the players and the coaches. The competition is incredibly fierce. The banner is that valuable.
Now I don’t buy Bob Knight’s hyperbolic statement about winning the Big East Tournament being tougher than winning the NCAA Tournament. And I won’t be reading too much into things if Pitt doesn’t win the BET.
I also don’t think Pitt will be too tired or drained from the BET for NCAA Tourney games on either Thursday or Friday. I just think it’s great to win it, and hate seeing Pitt do anything but win.
Coach Dixon actually should feel good. Pitt gets to play without much thought for seeding.
Sure, Dixon would love to win the Big East Tournament after winning the regular season championship outright and entering as the No. 1 seed, but he believes Pitt’s seeding in the big dance is all but locked up.
“I think we’re in a pretty good spot,” Dixon said. “I think in general, if you win the best league in the country that probably puts you in a good position to get a No. 1 seed. I can’t foresee what’s going to happen in the next week, but I would say that we’re in a pretty good position to be in, that’s for sure.”
I happen to believe he is right. I don’t see Pitt falling off the #1 seed line at this point. Yes beating UConn would essentially clinch it, but I’m not really sweating it.
UConn has plowed through their first couple foes in the BET and their players aren’t the least bit concerned about getting tired.
“Right now we just want to win basketball games,” junior Kemba Walker said. “We’re in a good situation. We’re playing the best team in our league, so at this point we can’t let fatigue get to us.”
The Huskies (23-9) looked energized throughout Wednesday’s 79-62 win over No. 8 Georgetown in the second round.
Yes, they looked good so far. That said, it was DePaul — without even Cleveland Melvin — and a Chris Wright-free Georgetown team that they crushed on consecutive games. At the very least the rest of the season and crushing these weak teams gives them some (over) confidence.
“When we first played them, that was the most physical team that we played,” sophomore Jamal Coombs-McDaniel said. “Throughout the year we got better and matured. We’re definitely ready for Pitt now.”
Well, that’s what we’ll see. Pitt is once more going to focus on Kemba Walker. And definitely unlike the first two teams in the BET, UConn will have to face a frontcourt with size and strength.
Calhoun said Oriakhi will be a key player in the matchup today when he goes against Pitt’s frontline of Gary McGhee and Nasir Robinson.
“This is a big game for him,” Calhoun said. “They’re so physical underneath that we have to be able to handle them.”
Calhoun’s freshmen have to play better than they did in the first meeting, too. Jeremy Lamb and Shabazz Napier were named to the Big East all-rookie team, but they were a bit overwhelmed in the opener against the Panthers. Lamb was 3 for 8 from the field, and Napier was 2 for 8 off the bench. Fellow freshman Roscoe Smith, the starting small forward, was 0 for 5 from the field and only managed two points.
“I want to see our reaction against Pittsburgh because our reaction the first time was that we were young,” Calhoun said. “We can’t have young reactions [today] because we can’t beat them if we do that. We have to man up a little bit.”
They will have more confidence, I believe that. They have had the two days to play on the court. They also will want to jump out early. If there is any fatigue, it will happen in the second half, so they want to play ahead.
Bonus item. A feature on Ashton Gibbs. How he learned to shoot the way he did, and the amount of work it took. Clearly it is too late for me.
BUT SO WHAT?
This team is not built to make a four to six game run against good opponents. PERIOD.
Again, maybe we get lucky, and God I hope we do. But I will not be betting on it.
as a 1 seed, the first two rounds are locks…. then the third round Pitt will play a 4 seed which is definitely doable… St. Johns and Louisville are projected 4 seeds and both are only good teams at home and Pitt would beat on a neutral court…. then you get to the elite 8 against a 2 seed like say Texas. Pitt could never beat Texas… and then you are in the Final Four with beating one good team another very good team.
1. J. J. Richardson played 7 minutes, had 2 fouls, 0 rebounds, 0 everything else… not sure how you can play 7 minutes and be a ghost.
2. McGhee played 18 minutes, had 4 fouls, 2 rebounds and 1 point.
The seeds don’t matter as much this year due to the widespread parity–a one is not much better than a 2, just as an 8 is not much worse than a 7, 4 than a 3, etc. I’d rather take the closer location.
First 7 BE Wins:
Home Against UConn
at Providence – not an NCAA tourney team
Home against Marquette
at Georgetown
Home against Seton Hall – not an NCAA tourney team
Home against Syracuse
at DePaul – not an NCAA tourney team
Best I can count, that’s four wins in a row against good teams, with three of those games at the Pete. One of those teams (UConn) is greatly improved since January and we are not. You’re right, if the tourney was played in Oakland, IN JANUARY, we’d be well positioned to win four/six in a row.
Depending on the match up and how the games are called Pitt can make it to the sweet 16 but beyond that I have my doubts.
Let the madness begin….
You play 4 good teams in a row to win the title not 6. Pitt has been in every game they played this year and could have won every game this year. No other team can say that. Even OSU was blown out.
Four wins gets you to a final four.
To win the NCAA tourney, you have to win 6 games.
Pitt, with the double bye, would have had to win 3 games in a row to win the BE tourney.
I don’t have the Kenpom stats to back me up, but my eyeballs told me the team Pitt played today was MUCH better than the one they played in January. They didn’t rely nearly as much on Walker. Lamb and ORiakhi gave them MUCH more today. Napier was better. The one stat that matters, final score, would also back me up.
Wouldn’t you think the team that hadn’t played in a week would get off to a slow start?
UConn played well today and played better than they did in December. And they are clearly on a mini roll. But before the BE tournament they were struggling. A team being hot doesn’t mean they are necessarily improved.
The downfall of this blog’s success is that all of the dregs of the Pitt fanbase have gravitated here over time.
On a serious note– we really could have used Zanna today. Anyone know if he will be back in the rotation come the 18th?
With the exception of Tennessee, Pitt’s bested every team it’s faced, or played them close, so with a little luck an Elite Eight berth is certainly a possibility. At this point, though, I think a spot in the Sweet Sixteen represents a more realistic ceiling for this team.
What we saw this afternoon is likely a preview of the NCAA Tournament. With Zanna injured and McGhee lost to foul trouble, Pitt can’t control the glass and its greatest strength is rendered a weakness. Expect McGhee to be in foul trouble because the tourney will be called a lot tighter than today’s game when McGhee managed to pick up a quick two fouls in each half. If he has to sit long stretches against a quality opponent in the second round, (and there will be seven and eight seeds that are less accomplished, but more talented than Pitt, see: UCLA, Tennessee, Kansas St.) the Panthers could bow out before the Sweet 16.
Another Pitt weakness, a relative lack of skilled ball handlers, was on display today. It’s exacerbated by the lack of a consistent scorer on the blocks. Since the opponent’s perimeter defenders don’t have to worry about collapsing down to stop a low-post threat, they’re free to ballhawk and create turnovers with few worries about Pitt players (except Wannamaker) going by them into the lane, since Pitt lacks a consistent penetrator.
Conversely, UConn’s guards, Walker mostly, but also Napier were often able to get the corner and require help from Pitt’s big men, diminishing the team’s strength on the boards. I underestimated the impact of Zanna’s absence in this regard. The minutes when Patterson and Richardson played in his stead highlighted the contribution he makes.
Bottom line, if Pitt draws a team with a dynamic point guard who is a deft penetrator, they’ll be in big trouble, but that holds true for a lot of teams. At least you know they’ll be in the game and Gibbs and Wannamaker are good options for a clutch basket. Now about that Gilbert guy …
Hail to Pitt.
Look back at tourney time during our basketball renaissance — Troutman, Taft, Gray, Jaron Brown, Krauser on the reach-ins. Pitt is crucified for their gritty BigEast style of basketball come March. Hell, Zavaskas was so sure he’d be in foul trouble, he took of his shoes and sat at the end of the court (sorry if I opened up old wounds).
Pitt is a FANTASTIC regular season program and mildly successful tournament team, but we have a bit to go before we reach the proverbial ‘next level’. It starts with making yearly adjustments going into the NCAAs.
HTscriptP
It doesn’t say that this is a homer blog, and frankly, being a homer is really obnoxious!!!
Now, preface, I love Jamie Dixon, and what he and Ben have done for Pitt. One of the top programs in the country, we really couln’t ask for more.
However, when you do so well, as Pitt has, the expectations rise. Human nature.
You can ask many who’ve seen my posts, and Chas himself, I am a defender to the death of Jamie Dixon. The coach and the man.
To that end, a little criticism or an observation does not suddenly mean, that you no longer like Pitt, you shouldn’t be a fan, or you want the coach fired.
To have a good discussion and banter, you need to be civil, respectful, and, you absolutely must not wear blinders!!!
Ok, don’t yell at me, did you read, I said I love Jamie Dixon!!!! Wouldn’t trade him for anyone, and I mean that, might be a few better game coaches, but his coaching, with what he has done for Pitt, and the type of guy he is, I don’t think we could do better. He is fantastic!!
There are a few observations I have, that, I’ve actually changed my opinion on the past two months.
1. I have never liked the argument that, “we can only go so far without the big time talent”.
I believe I’m changing my mind, that allthough getting guys and teaching them and coaching them to improvement is wonderful (always my argument) I’m starting to think, Jamie needs to get a few top tier guys to take the next step.
Hard working, gritty, “blue collar” is fantastic, but, I can now see, that I think we could use a couple big timers.
Not to say, that these guys aren’t great, they’re good ballplayers, love to watch them, they have given me a lot of entertainment.
When you step back, without the blue and gold colored glasses on, look at what you really have.
Gary McGhee, fantastic improvement, he should be proud of himself. But, he is not a big time center. A good defensive center, but, still clangs shots, and bobbles balls out of bounds.
Gilbert Brown, where do go with this dude?? One minute high flying NBA dunks, the next, front rimming a wide open 10 footer.
Brad Wannamaker-awesome, has come a long way, hard working and gritty, but, if you follow college hoops, I could find 10-15 other guards in the country I would take first. I know, it’s painful, he’s “our” guy, but, it’s the truth.
Ashton Gibbs. What can you say, one of the top shooters in the country. Top Tier player.
My opinions, are not based on todays game what so ever. It is a culmination of my thoughts the past few months.
Consistency, I think is the key. Say I’m nuts, I’ve really only seen one consistent player, Ashton Gibbs. That is not a disrespect to the others, but, at times, they play like they are not paying attention. The turnovers, you just don’t see that with other top 10 top 15 teams.
From game to game or even during the game, I see balls going through Browns legs, McGhee fumbling over the ball, and yes, as not as much as he used to but, Wannamaker making some poor decisions.
This is not like Wannstedt, Pitt has shown to be a power, always does Pitt proud on the tube, and winning the BE reg season this year was awesome, and something to really be proud of.
I hope we can find it within ourselves to come out smokin’ and do some damage in the tourney, I will be cheering as hard as anyone.
I do think a little recruiting tweeking may be in order though. Hard working and gritty is great, always good to have one or two of those guys on your team, but, I think to move ahead, we need 2 or 3 top tier players, to go along with them.
Khem Birch (sp) and the 7 footer from New Zealand sounds like me might be going after some top guys, I think that would be good.
By the way, to the guy that said, Notre Dame won’t go anywhere with that archaic offense, they’re embarassing a half decent Cincy team right now. Yes, I hate ND too, but, I also like to tell it how I see it.
IMHO!!
so dixon wanted nasir robinson guarding kemba walker on a switch at the end. really?????? that was the plan. you have to be kidding me.
Love Gibbs but he’s a pure shooter with some crummy fundamentals, doesn’t even follow his shot but he’s so good that’s part of the deal. He needs help when great guards pressure him and Brad isn’t enough.
Quotes this morning from the players are telling, Brown has excuses, Gibbs is burning mad. After Dixon re-watches I hope he grows from the 8-10 coaching mistakes he made.
This loss is still haunting me and this board is therapy. Thanks for the opportunity.
And yes, I am assuming Zanna will be back.
I saw Curly coaching Marquette last night???
I can’t remember their opponent, but that happened with UConn during the BE season. Walker did not give up the ball to a wide open man instead taking a really bad shot. UConn lost. The opposing coach said after the game, ‘We knew Kemba would not give up the ball, so we doubled him.’
Ultimately, a lot of things went into yesterday’s loss, but it’s painful watching Gary getting “his ankles broken” over and over and over.
Personally, I would have come out with a man look and switched to the 2-3 zone the moment Walker got the ball in his hands. Take the switch to McGhee totally out of the equation, and add some confusion to Walker’s decision. He might still have hit that shot, but it would have been under more duress.
But as I’ve stated before, I think Jamie knows more about coaching than all of us put together, so it’s only an opinion, FWIW.
And did I just read Dante Taylor is terrible? Get serious. He’s the best offensive rebounder on the team. He’s been playing hurt. And if offensive rebounds were key in keeping pitt in the game last night. I think he had 6 points, 7 rebounds.
ND crushed Cincy… big deal. Cincy was the worst of the teams to play yesterday. ND barely beat UConn last Saturday.
A quick check of all the bracketology websites has Pitt still a number 1 seed. Only reason Pitt doesn’t get a 1 seed is because of ACC/Duke bias. Duke’s resume doesn’t come close to Pitt’s. And seeding is based on overall resume.
Because of the seeding, Pitt actually got the best team left yesterday, when they should have gotten the worst. UConn is playing up to it’s talent level – mostly 4-star players with two 5-stars (Walker and Oriakhi). If they don’t wear down because of the extra game, they could take yet another BE tourney. It wouldn’t surprise me at all. I just hope it’s vs. L’ville and not f’ing Notre Dame.
Back from the ledge everyone!
Agree Tampa, best case is for UCONN to win the BET over Louisville, might preserve #1 seed.
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Hbg, you say that as if the seeding matters. You cannot extrapolate and say “Pitt played worse than a 9-seed…” For starters, UConn is not a bad team–they were seeded 9 in the BE because we have a bunch of very good teams, and 1 loss to a team in front of you is all it takes to bump you downward, even if you otherwise have the same record.
Second, UConn will NOT be a #9 seed in the NCAA tournament; they will likely be in the Top 4 seeds. Projecting that Pitt may lose to a 9-seed, or that we’re no better than a 9-seed is insane.
If you make any projections at all from this loss, you have to also say that when Pitt “jumped into” the tournament, they jumped in at the Sweet Sixteen/Elite Eight level, which they earned from their previous record.
There’s far too much wrist-slitting going on here–Pitt knows what it needs to do to win games. The defense and ball handling were terrible yesterday, but there were some bright spots. We may have dropped to a #2 seed, but truthfully, that could be a blessing in disguise. Maybe we need to play with a chip on our shoulder, rather than with a sense of entitlement.
We just don’t have the raw talent. Jamie does a great job of coaching up what he gets, but by mid-season, it pretty much is what it is. Once you get past Gibbs and Wanny, it’s pretty marginal – good but not great. Not sure how a kid like McGhee even gets a sniff at a program like Pitt, yet he’s the best “big guy” we have. Think about that. One of the best recruits we’ve had (Taylor) has been, for the most part, disappointing. It’s a good thing he was a McDonald’s All American, because at this rate, he may need those connections for his next job.
It’s all down to the bracket matchup now. This team could easily be gone in the first round, or it could stick around to the Elite 8. I don’t see a Final Four happening, but I guess every now and then it snows in hell. Personally, I always account for the talent deficit in my brackets, and it has treated me pretty well over the years. YMMV, but in my experience it pays (financially) to be a realist.
One thing is certain; the next week or so will show everyone just what kind of coach Dixon is, but more important, what kind of team we really have. If he can manage to pull it together and get this team to the Elite 8, it’s over-achievment for the most part, and I’ll be surprised – happy, but surprised. And hey, once you get to the Elite 8, anything can happen, but I truly feel that we just don’t have the cards right now.
A word about seed line; who really cares at this point??? Pitt’s going to struggle to get to the field of 8 no matter where they land. Period. If they loose the 1-seed to Duke or NC, think about what those teams have accomplished over the last 20 years compared to Pitt. You can rattle off your homer-esque “body of work” statistics all you want but at the end of the day, programs like that have been putting butts in seats and drawing huge TV audiences for a long time. They’ve also managed to accomplish things well beyond what Pitt has been able to accomplish. It may not be fair, but it’s how the world works. If ND wins the BET, you almost have to give them a #1 in front of Pitt. Their conference record (combined) will be better at that point, and they beat us, plus they’re playing great ball. No shame, just facts.
We don’t suck. We’re not great. It’s March, and, as always, it will be interesting. One way or another, I’ll be drinking with friends and yelling. That’s all that really matters 🙂
