You know those coincidental illnesses that fell many of us right around the start of the NCAA Tournament? Yeah, I actually did get sick and it timed out horribly. It’s not a deathly illness. It’s a sinus infection that I tend to get around this time of year. If that was it, it would be annoying but tolerable as the antibiotics kick it out. It’s the sleep deprivation from continually waking up from the coughing and continual drainage issues. Just been trying to get through work.
This is by no means a gimme first round game. Not simply because this is an 8-9 match-up. Personally, I think Pitt is seeded a bit low and WSU a bit high. But a 6-11/7-10 meeting is not exactly an uncommon upset. And superficially, some similarities on the resume.
Pitt went 4-7 against RPI teams in the top 50 and 5-0 against teams ranked 51-100. Its best wins came at second-seeded Georgetown (73-45) and against fourth-seeded Syracuse (65-55).
WSU, No. 37 in the RPI, went 3-2 against the top 50 and 5-3 against teams ranked 51-100.
The teams played three common opponents, all victories. Pitt defeated Howard (70-46), Detroit (74-61) and DePaul (93-55 and 81-66). WSU defeated Howard (69-50), Detroit (94-79) and DePaul (75-62).
The Shockers best wins came at VCU (53-51) and versus Creighton (67-64) who they also lost to twice.
This year’s Wichita team is somewhat reminiscent in their story line as the 2009 Pitt teams. They had a strong, veteran team the year before. Had a great year, but found disappointment in the NCAA Tournament. This was supposed to be their rebuilding year, plus had to deal with injuries in the season. Still, they kept scraping out wins, exceeded expectations and made the NCAA Tournament.
Replacing five starters was the least of Marshall’s worries. Three of the five new starters went down with injuries at various points in the season. One of them, Evan Wessel, the top 3-point shooter when he was injured, is out for the season with a broken finger. Two others missed significant portions of the season with other injuries.
Starter Carl Hall, the top rebounder and second-leading scorer, missed seven games with a broken thumb. Ron Baker, a 6-3 freshman guard, missed 21 games with a stress fracture in his foot but returned for the Missouri Valley Conference tournament and scored 29 points in three games.
“We kept finding ways to win,” Marshall said. “We kept finding new guys. Our 11th man would become our eighth man. Finding ways to win is very gratifying for a coach.”
Both teams stress rebounding, defense and offensive efficiency. The punditry from the national to the local are expecting a grinder game.
The Shockers did not draw a patsy, or a pansy, when it comes to the Panthers. WSU, the No. 9 seed in the West Regional, and eighth-seeded Pitt are a lot of like.
Both teams stress defense. Pitt has held its opponents to 55.4 points. To score against the Panthers, you almost need to ask permission.
The Shockers have one of their best defensive teams and have held foes to 60.7 points.
Pittsburgh’s field-goal percentage defense (39.3 percent) ranks 32nd in the country. WSU is 49th, limiting opponents to 40-percent shooting.
First to 50 points wins?
It’s as if WSU coach Gregg Marshall and Pitt head man Jamie Dixon are the same guy. I don’t believe, however, that they are, despite evidence that would indicate it’s a possibility.
Marshall loves a deep bench. So does Dixon. They would slip a band member into the game if they thought it would help the team.
As for the differences. Overall, Pitt shoots the ball better from inside and out, but Wichita shots free throws better. None of the numbers though, are especially glaring separation.
—————- Shockers ——- Panthers
FG% ———— 44.3% ——– 47.5%
3FG% ———- 33.7% ——— 36.0%
2FG% ——— 50.1% ———- 51.6%
eFG% ———- 50.2% ———- 52.2%
FT% ———- 68.8% ———– 66.4%
RPG ———— 38 —————- 35
APG ———— 14 —————– 17
TO/G ———– 13 —————- 11
The biggest difference is with regards to the assists to turnovers. Really that’s about it. Pitt takes a little better care of the ball and distributes a bit more.
That’s just the average stuff. The difference, offensively is where they get their production. The Shockers leading scorers are in their front court. A pair of 6-8 forwards in Cleanthony Early and Carl Hall. Early is a lot like USF’s Victor Rudd in that, despite his size, he will shoot from outside with frequency. Over 1/3 of his attempts are 3s (31.2 % on threes).
It suggests that Hall and Early get a number of buckets on offensive rebounds. How Pitt’s frontcourt contains them and battles for rebounds will go a long way towards determining what kind of game it will be.
Tempo wise, they are in the lower part of the country with 64.8 possessions per 40 minutes (254th) while Pitt is among the absolute slowest at 60.9 (335th). Again, not huge differences so no significant advantage.
In that respect, both teams won’t have to make any significant adjustments to the way they practice or preparation for the opponent.
I’m afraid you and I might be the last two who remember Kaufmanns clock as the place to pucker up do to speak!
Otherwise I think Wright is the best for the job. Best defender and a better offensive threat than Zeigler (not hard to do.).
But I would not be surprised to see Josh Newkirk and Chris JOnes get a shot. But I won’t jupm on their bandwagon until they actually play D-1 ball. But I really sense the Dixon loves the extra ball handling this year with Woodall and Robinson at the same time.
And I can’t see Bond coming here after he was shown the door once already. According to Dokish his handlers may have wanted him out of here anyway.
From spiritofsection22 to FRANKCAN.
He’s the only one that brought up anything physical.
Even if only talk on a blog, there is no place for that behavior on here.
and as far as being neg.
i only post stuff i read except once and then zeise
posted the same thing that i had said weeks ago
ask EMel he read what zeise posted and it was the same as what i said and i posted what dockish said and got raked over the coals for that
what would this site be if we all talked drivel
and held hands and said how great the coachs are never point out things that go wrong never post what is in the paper or what the talking heads say
you would be bored to death.
do you remmber even chas thought the hire of house was a bad deal for dc but who got racked over the coals for saying it me.
and Wbb said if dixon or miller were to come here as a new coach he would hire miller.
but who catchs hell me come on man
Penn Monroe huh…I installed their air cleaners years ago and used to service them…good food. It’s Ed Bouchette’s hang out….anyway, can’t wait until tomorrow…should be real interesting….it’ll be either a real good time or Miller time…lol
spiritfaection 22 i will not post abought any thing you say and you dont post abought what i say.
i dont exist for for you dont exist for me DAN IS THAT FAIR.
IT SAY.
We are all allowed to post opinions, and my opinion happens to be that you are all idiots.
😀
kidding, but seriously, I believe (as do a bunch of stat nerds like Peter Keating for ESPN) Pitt’s gonna run Wich ST outta the gym and Dixon will then finally beat a higher seed. We’ll see. HTP
And can you really be a Pitt Fan if you have not been admonished/asked to leave by your wife/sig other/ girlfriend (or all of them together) for yelling at the TV during a Pitt game.
We need some magic! NOW!
who are you yelling at stop it .
is my wife saying turn it off if you cant stand it but i cant do that can you.
Not only that, I can almost pinpoint when it took a different tone.
The thread during, and/or right after the Notre Dame fiasco.
Many came on rantly, rightly so, how could you not after that mess??
Several people came on and starting questioning posters loyalty, negativeness (blah, blah, blah), and why they would even bother coming on.
Other than todays posts, I would be one of the ones you’re talking about.
My comments have gone down severely since.
I know some people can get called out for being negative, but that night and after, it was like you could hardly even bring up a question, without being lambasted as some “hater” or “negative” person.
Funny, because most would tell you I’m pro Chryst and pro Dixon and pretty upbeat about the athletic program and where it’s heading.
Still, it’s a sports blog, it should be like sitting around a bar with friends, you don’t slam down others opinions and thoughts.
It’s definitely devolved the past month.
It’s childish we’re even discussing this issue.
Certainly banter back and forth, absolutely, but the vile tone????
I know this sounds really, really crazy and off the wall. I mean this thought is really out of left field and ridiculous but…………..
if you don’t like someones post or don’t agree………………….
I know, it’s wacko…………..
scroll past it and move on!!!!!!!!
+1 Dan
Win this first one for my liver!
Win the next three for all of us…GOD knows we deserve it after all these years.
Coach Ditka, there is a March Madness app that has every game and I think the games are streaming on ncaa.com/marchmadness
Emel, Good point on the coaches and I’ll give you Sutherland…though I was sticking to examples I actually witness first hand…(but he actually was a disciple of Pop Warner and carried on what Warner started…and Warner was not a Pitt man…so maybe that cancel those two out.) I still stick to my guns that for any coach hire the fact that the candidate is Pitt Man should have Zero factor into the hire.
Go Pitt..If Pitt plays their game they’ll win this one.
I’m forced to find another place to “hide”. May have to have an “outside” appointment. Any other creative folks out there?
Shocker Coach Greg Marshall says rebounding will be the difference.
That being the case, Pitt SHOULD win… right?
I thought that this was a place where we could celebrate our unique university’s macro value proposition. I sense many of us have a loyalty to an institution that has impacted many of our families (my father attributed his time at Pitt, on the GI bill from WW2, after undergrad he was unable to gain admission to our medical school – minority quotas – was granted a chance to attend law school – back when it was located in the cathedral. any success he had was modest (essentially moving from a childhood in braddock to raise his family in the east end) but he attributed all of it to his time in Oakland. Being raised within earshot of Pitt Stadium, I am fortunate to have more memories than I can recollect of growing up virtually on campus (field house, stadium, 5th & Forbes & on). As an adult I moved back from FL to raise my family here. My appreciation for what Pitt (& CMU) does for the average IQ of our city continues to grow. Pitt’s inner city campus is unique. Its academic offerings top to bottom are well regarded throughout the country & our Medical programs (a field I know something about) bark with many big dogs. While our football program trades on glories that many of us cant believe is generations removed, we continue to graduate many of our FB student athletes to the “next level” at a modestly impressive rate & our history in the sport continues to prove so strong (after all much of the sport was controlled- during its inception, at the PAA – which is a long way away from the Penn Monroe) fact is we have absolutely nothing to be ashamed of. While there is a ton to say about our hoops program, it comes down to this: We were as successful in our conference as anyone (fact), we have the respect of everyone and have often won games just on reputation alone. When I think of our success in the Big East, I remember buying a bumper sticker in the bookstore celebrating our first season in the conference & I am proud of our accomplishments. Then I cant help but think of EVERYONE in our conference who represented (many multiple times) in the FINAL FOUR & I throw up in my mouth. Now that I am deep into many years as a FB & BB season ticket holder – which as we all know requires a TREMENDOUS PHILANTHROPIC ANNUAL INVESTMENT (particularly if you want to sit near the Zoo), I am forcing myself to be a pragmatist – HCJD knows his legacy is at stake, hes a bright man & he doesnt want to be known as a great tactician & defensive taskmaster that cant win in March. That does him no good. Further, this young crop of Panthers has nothing to do with the past. Their slate is clean – thats what we all (consciously or subconsciously) love about this sport. It just takes one time, one game at a time. This is a game we should win against the type of opponent that has historically caught us on the chin. We are all nervous, but for the love of our institution – can we try to keep it classy. H2P TCB FROM THE TIP!
Bring it home boys!
@FRANKCAN I’m sure you’ve heard the adage “those who live in glass houses …” On several occasions, you have asked people on this blog to overlook your propensity for misspelling words, using all caps, and generally butchering the English language. Please afford others the same courtesy by not making discussions personal. And there’s no way around it, unless your Jerry Sandusky, calling someone a ten-year old is an insult.
We’re all Pitt fans here — I think, so let’s stop bickering about insignificant personal pride.
I have not posted since late fall. I know everyone has an opinion but they need to be tempered with a slice of reality. All the ranting about coaches, players and sadly other posters is childish. Why, it don’t change a thing. Coaches are going to coach the way they want, players will be Jekyll and Hyde in there performances and there aint nothing ranting and raving can do about it.
There having said the above I feel much, much better! I am like many of you whom are very passionate about Pitt football/basketball. But I am aware it is only a game. Yes, you can ask my wife, there are rumbles of thunder coming from my office when I partake of some Panther sports. It is because of my passion for Pitt. BUT I come back to reality after the games are over. It is fruitless for me to angst over it because in the end there is nothing I personally can do about it and besides my wife would be barking my head off if did so.
Moral of my blatherite response is enjoy the games, be passionate, come back to reality and respect your brothers in Pitt arms. I cherish the thoughts of many posters here. Marietta Mike, the Doctor, Pitt fan in Atlanta, SFPitt, GC, Boubacar, Reed and others whom while being passionate are at the same time thoughtful, informative and tempered in their responses.
I know the barking back and forth are the reality of internet blogs but never forget at base we are all on the same page because we love Pitt and its teams. So be like me and ask your wife if you can have a beer for today’s game and rant/rave/rejoice and most of all relax after it is over…
of post before you blame me. plus read dans posts
that explains things .
and why are you sticking your nose in when you dont know what happened from the first post on to the last.
I still think the most likely scenario is Dixon gets a huge raise and is given complete control over basketball schedule and can schedule whoever he wants.
That kid can shoot and he’s not afraid to shoot.
Exactly what you need in a 2.