Five or six hours of Pitt kicks off at 11 am with Pitt-Rutgers on ESPN2.
Last year, the team put forth what was probably their worst effort under Jamie Dixon. Something best not mentioned. Forgotten? No. Discussed? No.
Like Pitt, Rutgers is looking for their first win in conference play. They have already had a strange season. Their head coach has been suspended for several games by the school for his antics on the sideline and in practices. Being so out of control at times that his behavior has the school considering his future. To the point where the rumors are that anything short of making the NCAA Tournament could mean his job.
Pitt meanwhile is looking for their own answers. Starting with the inability to shoot.
Not only did the No. 24 Panthers produce their worst 3-point shooting showing in school history, but paired it with a poor performance at the free-throw line.
Pitt went 0 for 10 from beyond the arc and made 15 of 25 free throws in the 70-61 loss to the Bearcats on New Year‘s Eve.
“You‘ve got to make some, and you can‘t get beat from the free-throw line and make no 3s,” Dixon said. “That‘s not a recipe for success.”
Then there is the lack of production from the frontcourt — outside of Talib Zanna. Some of that help has to come from Steven Adams.
I’m hoping that Pitt comes out angry after the loss. It will also be their first real road game. Granted at an odd time, and kids still coming back from their winter break.
Lets go Pitt!
Teams coming off such a dismantaling can be dangerous, and the game will be played at the RAC. Pitt needs to get a fast start and demoralize the Knights early in the game. Guard their guards who are the scorers. Dominate the boards. And get our inside game working as it should. I want to see us score off 3-pointers, and see Adams score well in this Pitt road win. Let’s do it, Panthers!
Big big big trouble.
2-2 FG’s for 4 pts.
Mack didn’t do crap against Cuse, 0 points.
Figures
No defense. Robinson struggling against better competition. Patterson and Zanna need to wake up.
Rutgers needs to cool down.
Woody keeps launching, now 2-8, 2-7 from 3
Jamie better light a fire at half time.
BUT why ALL THE 3′S 4/15 27% ????
Have never seen that ratio before even when we had Gibbs
This is embarrassing, losing to Buttgers and it’s not even close.
This team is going no where in 13.
Speak for yourself.
Going to be a very long year in BBall.
Sans Gibb’s soph & junior years.
Next….Football with Sir Tino…lmao
What’s next…..Boyd to PSU?
It ended….
And
Adams actually scored today !
Durand Durand might need to play more !
Ole Miss has had a month to study all his inadequacies. Oy Vey
I said it last year and I’ll say it again this year. IMHO Jaime Dixon needs to change the way this team plays. They play for half court offense and end up running the clock down with nothing to show. They don’t convert around the rim, they don’t own the offensive glass, and they don’t knock down shots. They have the athletic talent and depth to play a more up tempo, pressing style. That plays to their strength.
See you on the other side
Onward ^^^^^^^^^
s utter futility. At least we can all celebrate Tino’s last game. Over and out.
Pitt shot 32 percent, making only 4 of 14 from 3-point range.
but we only lost the game by 5 on the road, when being down as much as 15, if there is a positive, i guess thats it. If Pitt shoots better and Rutgers isnt lights out from deep in the beginning of the game its a different outcome.
They played a much better second half, but it was just too big of a hole when they struggle to hit shots.
Patterson has just been awful. he has to be better.
With all that being said i wouldnt be shocked if PITT comes out and beats GT tuesday haha
4/14 that was the halftime stat.
they were like 8/29 i think for the game.
When’s the last time Pitt took 29 3′s.
Has Dixon flipped his lid.
Or that means he realizes we have very little inside offense. I could have told him that a month ago. 
You can point to any stat and you will be right. If we did this or if we did that. Sure. Always works that way. Hit 3 more 3′s..blah, Blah blah
This team is not the least bit prepared..not the least.
Adams is not a one and done: He is an 84 inch softie: a puss and his foes know it.
Dixon is a good, not great coach.
Pitt is 1-9 in it’s last 10 conference road games. Much more of this and you can replace “good” with “average”.
Pitt will not win more than 1 road game this year.
I would say road “conference” game but that would be redundant.
Pitt is failing. Quote stats if you want. Here is a clue, the team that loses always loses the scoring stats.
This team is soft and getting softer.
Maybe LaRoche has an opening on their schedule in February, we could play them; but not in the North Hills, we don’t play road games to prepare us.
Here is a clue Jamie: this is 2013, not 2008.
He was not the one responsible for making lemonade out of lemons as much as some of his former assistants who are now long gone.
What a poorly coached team.
good bye dixon it is miller time.
Thank God they make 100 proof Vodka.
Miller might be the answer Frankie, since not only is a good coach (see Xavier), can recruit (see Xavier & Arizona) but he knows the ACC, has some contacts down there after a stint at NC State.
Seems like both Dixon & Howland and the same system they’re running are wearing thin at their various locales. Howland being on a shorter lease since much more is expected at UCLA than Pitt. However we have invested over $300 million in this program since 2001 and it is unfortunately trending downward.
Coach didn’t take my advise last year and bring in an asst. coach who could teach something to benefit this team. (Press defense, zone defense, 1-3-1 trap defense, free throw shooting, transition offense, new offensive sets, etc., etc.) Just as last year, the asst’s are all nothing but “yes” men.
In the corporate world with nothing but “yes” men it invariably leads to stagnation, and a downward trend leading to a downward spiral.
And no NHL this year either….
But I know that this not Jamie Dixon’s fault. I know the horrendous defense is not his fault either. As is the pathetic offense. It is all because of malcontents, family ties, loss of top quality assistant coaches, and the alignment of the planets. It used to be because of an injury to Woodall, but apparently that is not the case now. Hell, it is probably even my fault. But certainly not Dixon’s.
The negativity surrounding this program is palpable. Uninspired play. 4 transfers in less than one year. We are now at the point where we cannot even beat DePaul, Rutgers, and South Florida.
So how many more games does Dixon get to drag this program further down? We asked the same question about Wannstedt, and the answer there was “too many.” I fear the same answer regarding Dixon. We are joining the ACC next year, I cannot see a single program, football or basketball, we are better than in that conference. The amazing thing is that I have far more confidence in the football program turning around than basketball.
I have had enough of this sh**, and it starts from the top. A change has to be made there, first. Paul Chryst deserves a few years. But if Sean Miller would ever consider returning to Pitt, and this three ring circus athletic department, we should hire him right after we finish this season, repeating as CBI tournament champions and proudly declaring ourselves the 98th best college basketball team in America. Or even Tim Herrion. Or even Mike Rice. Not to mention a host of other talented coaches who might think it a great opportunity to coach in the ACC, like, perhaps, Brad Stevens. Ben Howland may be run out of UCLA, and I shed no tears about that. But I would even take him back over what we have now.
With the Steelers out, no hockey season, and the approaching terror that grips every Pirate fan thinking about the onset of a new baseball season, I am planning on swearing off sports forever, and taking up classical music to pass the time. Anyone have any suggestions? Bach? Beethoven? Stravinsky? The Strawberry Alarm Clock?
Pederson’s incompetence allowed an influential alum to award the job to Chryst. Despite the wishful thinking expressed by the perpetual optimists who love to blog here, the overall picture of Pitt football is murky. The guy Pederson wanted for the job, Cristobal, formerly of FIU, was terminated. So we dodged a bullet??
Jamie Dixon is connected at the hip to Pederson. He’s not going anywhere. As long as he keeps his players out of jail and season ticket sales up, Nordenberg and Pederson really won’t care. With the ACC slate of teams coming into the events center, it seems likely tickets sales will be good.
If Pederson cared at all about Pitt fans, he would make the symbolic gesture of allowing the Pitt script uni for one or two games. You see, he won’t even do that.
As fans who are not mega-donors, we are inconsequential. All Nordy and Stevie care about is an infusion of cash from the ACC. Screw the rest of us.
Historically, the odious pair fits right in. Pitt administrations have always equivocated athletic success with academic demise, save for a few decades at the beginning of the 20th century and one golden era 30+ years ago.
1. Lack of Experience
This is an extremely young team that is learning how to play together. Woodall, Taylor, and Zanna were just bit players or not even part of the program during Pitt’s great seasons. Lack of experience shows up the most during conference play and especially on the road.
2. Lack of Confidence
Young players lose their confidence quickly when they do not have success immediately. It is very difficult, nearly impossible, for a coach to help them get their confidence back in the middle of a game. Woodall has a great deal of confidence, clearly, but he tries to do too much when things aren’t going well. He forces shots, forces the dribble and that leads to greater frustration. He’s a better player when he does less and let’s the game come to him. The same is true with Patterson. Last year’s disaster of a season is still a scab; it’s fresh in their minds. Adversity becomes a “here we go again” mentality. Success breeds confidence, and if you haven’t had much success, confidence is harder to come by.
3. Coaching
WE HAVE A GREAT COACH. That was visible yesterday, despite the slow start and despite the loss. Mike Tyson said that everyone has a plan until they get punched in the mouth. That’s what happened yesterday. The plan was to get the ball inside to Adams and Zanna. On the first offensive possession they did that, and Adams got a layup. Rutgers’ guards played Pitt’s guards so aggressively, playing them well above the three point line, entry passes were made that much more difficult. When they couldn’t get the ball inside, they panicked, took poor shots, and turned the ball over. Rutgers was then able to get easy baskets in transition, giving them supreme confidence on offense. At the beginning of the second half, though, Pitt adjusted and took what the defense was giving them. Robinson, Patterson, and Woodall began to drive to the basket, drawing help defenders, and creating easy layups for Zanna and Adams. That was GREAT coaching. Rutgers was on the ropes for the entire second half. Pitt, unfortunately, just ran out of time. Dixon got his team calmed down and seemed to emphasize taking what the defense gave them, and it worked. They got more confident, and as a result, played with greater energy, which translated to better defense, too.
The tone on here is overwhelmingly negative, but I came out of yesterday’s game feeling better about them. We are all watching a team that is learning how to win. All young teams go through this; it is a process. Not only that, they are learning what kind of team they have to be in order to win. Against Michigan and Cincinnati, they started well but finished poorly, which is why they lost. Yesterday, they finished strong. All is not lost, a little patience is needed, but they are getting better.
Thanks for staying with me. H2P.
He did change things yesterday in the second half. They are a good team, just young and lacking confidence. Let them learn.
Last year Patterson helped at the end of the season, probably the best passer on the team. He also needs to step up. So far, the opposing guards have finished, ours have not.
If they figure it out we will be ok if not….
That link might not work, but we need some more comments on there it’s pretty lame, like only 12 comments.
Next pending disaster is Tuesday at 9pm
@Georgetown. Probably is on National TV.
Coach has got to figure out who can play and who can’t. No player seems to show much consistency at all from game to game. It’s like a team full of Gilbert Browns.
Oy Vey !
Read your post it all seem quite rational & logical. Any very calming. However……
Btw we’re 12-3….we’re going to need as many w’s as possible if we want to return to the CBI.
I disagree about our youthfulness. Other than Robinson & Adams, the other players are ALL seasoned veterans. Woodie has been playing for 4 years now, Robinson & Moore for 3, Zanna 2 or 3.
Taylor for 4. Zeigler is 3rd year player after starting for 2 yrs at Central Michigan. Up to this point Durand Durand hasn’t played much, but could be playing more since he might be one of our better outside shooter.
But to say this team is young, it is not.
What it isn’t is, it hasn’t improved, nor has it shown any of the traditional PITT toughness under the boards.
All the big men are finesse players and are “soft”. So soft they were out rebounded by a bottom tier BigEast team 31-21.
So soft they had ZERO blocks, even though a 6-2 guard was consistently dribbling into the lane and launching shots. Even though Miles Mack is 5-9 and took 7 shots. NO BLOCKS.
We did make a run at the beginning of the 2nd half but that was more due to Buttgers turning the ball over on 6 of their first 7 possessions(wasn’t really due to any ball pressure) and even though they ONLY scored 6 points in the first 12 minutes of the 2nd half, WE STILL COULDN’T TAKE THE LEAD. 6 points in 12 minutes.
This was against a team who should have had their confidence at a low ebb since Syracuse had absolutely just destroyed them a couple days earlier. The game was over at halftime.
This was Buttgers, not Cincy, not Michigan, but Buttgers !!!
Yesterday:
St John’s 53
@ Cincy 52
Like I posted before this is a down year for the BigEast imo. Syracuse lost at home to Temple, Cincy now has lost at home to St. John’s and New Mexico who got trashed both before that game (by South Dakota State) and after the Cincy game( lost by 20 to St. Louis,another A-10 team).
Not like St.John’s is great or anything, they were 8-5 going into the Cincy game with losses to Murry State, San Francisco (?), NC-Asheville, and Villanova.
Georgetown lost as well yesterday to Marquette. At Milwaukee, so we’re going to catching them coming off a loss, just like the Cincy game and just like the Rutgers game. Yikes.
You learn how to win by winning, not by losing.
The reality us that the strategy of playing NAIA teams out if conference has not worked. Whether it is anyone’s “fault” is entirely beside the point: it hasn’t worked.
Taylor is a senior, Woodall a senior, Moore and Paterson juniors.
This team is young, but not so young as to lack experience.
We are 1-9 in our last 10 road conference games.
That is pathetic and we are about to go 1-10.
Results matter in NCAA hoops. Our results suck.
If this season goes south, I do think Dixon’s position needs to be reconsidered. He needs to develop the talent he has and he’s not doing it.
Thanks for correcting me on 12-3.
You are greatly overstating our “seasoned” veterans. Woodall is the only one in this program who has been a significant contributor on a winner. Taylor, Zanna, and Moore were bit players in 2010-2011. Robinson is a freshman. Nasir graduated last year. Zeigler was not part of a winning program at Central Michigan, either. His father got fired, which is how he ended up at Pitt. Also, Central Michigan isn’t exactly the Big East.
Also, don’t disrespect Rutgers like that. My wife and I were treated very well there yesterday, even with wearing all of our Pitt gear. It makes you sound like our neighbors to the south. Be better than that.
Thanks for the comments. Good discussion.
I am not seeing players develop. There are hints of it here and there. Patterson took a big step forward at the end of last season but has not carried that over, for the most part, to this season. Moore shows flashes and then gets 10 minutes of play the next game. Zanna has developed, but by his third year in the program he should be starting to do these things or shouldn’t be playing Div. 1 hoops. And going back to last year, Nasir Robinson spent 4 years on this team and NEVER learned how to shoot a jump shot! How is that possible?! How can a coach stand by and watch that?
The teams for the last 2-3 years have been largely passive on offense, insufficient on defense, and have lost their toughness. A good bit of that has to come back to the coach. He has got to the right the ship, and quickly.
Pitt‘s focus will be on stopping the Rutgers backcourt of sophomores Eli Carter and Myles Mack, who are averaging a combined 30.4 points a game, after allowing Cincinnati guards Cashmere Wright, Sean Kilpatrick and Jaquon Parker to combine for 47 in a 70-61 loss on Monday.
“Rutgers is guard-oriented. They‘re similar to Cincinnati in that regard,” Pitt coach Jamie Dixon said. “They really try to attack you off the dribble. They try to get Carter and Mack going. Their big guys are in there to get them shots, but they‘re athletic. As you see, the scoring is based on their two perimeter guys.”