It was close for a few minutes. No really. It was only a 4-2 game nearly five minutes in. I’m sure no one was panicking, though. As for my expectation of poor shooting in the beginning. Eh, not so much.
Pitt needed only six minutes to take a double-digit lead and just 13 to push the lead to 20 en route to an easy 76-53 win at the Barclays Center in a Progressive Legend’s Classic semifinals.
The Panthers advanced to the championship game at 9:30 p.m. today and will play Stanford or Houston.
Pitt (5-0) got off to another fast start shooting as it was 6 of 14 from the 3-point in the first half (43 percent) and led at halftime, 41-18.
Leading that barrage was senior Lamar Patterson, who hit three 3-pointers in the first half and finished with a career-high 23 points and a career-high five steals.
Cameron Wright added 12 points, and the Panthers finished 25 of 53 from the field (47.2 percent) and 10 for 24 from the 3-point line (42 percent).
Texas Tech never seemed to know what hit them. They were unable on defense to handle the ball movement by Pitt. And on defense, Pitt dominated them.
I think what has surprised me the most about the team defensively. It’s not playing zone, or even playing it well. It is how seamlessly Pitt has been able to shift from man to zone and back. There isn’t the initial confusion and missed assignments that often happen when switching defenses in-game. The defense was exceptionally sharp.
The talent level at Pittsburgh might not be as high-profile as some of its ACC rivals (yes, that still sounds weird to me too) – but the Panthers are going to be a threat in the league this season.
The top of the ACC has caught a bad rap in the early part of the season for bad losses and poor performances. Syracuse and Duke have barely escaped against mid-major teams, while North Carolina lost to Belmont. Notre Dame dropped one to Indiana State, and even Virginia lost at home to a VCU team that might not be as good as expected.
But Pittsburgh could potentially fill a void if one of those teams struggles in league play – and make a push for a top-four finish in the conference.
It’s not all that different a Pitt team than in past season. They defend, they’re physical, they rebound, they share the ball, and they’re well coached by Jamie Dixon. Moreover, they’re experienced. Patterson and Talib Zanna are both fifth-year seniors, Cameron Wright is a fourth-year junior – and although James Robinson is only a sophomore, he started as a freshman.
“We’re an unselfish team,” Patterson said. “We all stick together, we grow together. When you people who have chemistry, it translates to the court.”
Yet, it is a different team. Are they strong and physical? Yes. But not in the bruising way of past Big East seasons. The team defense is doing something surprising. Not fouling. They are smart with positioning on defense, they are staying in front of their man, and they have been exceptionally active with the hands. Not putting them on the opposing player or hand-checking or anything that would be called a foul. But disrupting the vision. Obscuring passing lanes. Taking smart swipes at the ball. The defense has not only been more active, but more harassing.
Why, it’s almost as if Coach Dixon taught and coached his team over the summer in anticipation of how the rules enforcement were changing and adapted to it. You know, rather than whine about it later.
Tonight it is Stanford. Yes, it matters for Pitt. Very important game since the non-con will only give Pitt one more shot a quality win.
Just as important for Stanford, however, as they have already missed on shot at a quality win when they lost to BYU earlier. They haven’t made the NCAA Tournament in five years so they need to show something as well.
“I think it’s big for us,” [Anthony] Brown said of facing the Panthers. “Pitt has such a great tradition and is so well respected. We’re anxious for the opportunity.”
Pitt will be the one with the target on the chest tonight. The favorite, and expected to win.
A few observations:
– Patterson seems to becoming the player we were hoping for last year. A good all around player on all facets. He may not be the passer that Wannamker is, but is a better shooter.
– there is a lot of leadership in the backcourt. Both starting guards are showing maturity which bodes very well for the team’s success.
– Freshman Young, Artis and Newkirk show much potential .. and none of them will be considered the primary go-to people, but instead, will supply great support.
While Pitt is not as talented as Duke, UK, KU, etc, it looks like classic JD teams of a few years ago where they play above their talent level. Symmetry 1 + 1 = 3
Now of course, we really haven’t played anyone yet but it is not possible to be anything but optimistic so far
We may learn a little more tonight and again against Cinci, but we really won’t know until we go on the road in the ACC.
So far so good, but these seniors have not had a lot of success in the big games, it is their turn and they have to learn how to win their share of the nail-biters. I like Robinson and Wright to help them rise to the occasion, but only time will tell.
Glad we won, I think we have an interesting group here that should do really well going into the season.
Yes, Texas Tech is not a very good team, but you can’t deny that this team looked very good last night. Crisp passing, good shot selection, crashing the boards, active defense.
The offense, in particular, impressed me. It really flowed. Not plodding and stale like the past few seasons. That is the Patterson I’ve been waiting to see. Hopefully we see that aggressive, confident Patterson the rest of the season. If so, that will make a huge difference, because I think the other players really were feeding off of his game.
Newkirk looked more comfortable last night. Think he can bring a different dimension into the game at times, but we’ll see.
The bad losses are gonna come, but I was really impressed last night. Hopefully they can keep it going this evening.
Quick question: Does anybody miss JJ Moore in the least?
I think you hit it on the head. Defensively they are much better at keeping men in front of them. Even then, they help much better on screens or when a man is beaten off the dribble.
They have played very well in the zone and are able to rebound within it. In my mind the rebounding angle has killed them playing zone in prior years. They also were forced to play zone in recent years because defenders couldn’t defend off the dribble.
Offensively the ball is infrequently “stuck” and they rarely find themselves deep in the shot clock requiring a desperate play.
It will be interesting to see this team against ACC competition.
Heck foul shooting even looks good this year. There is no Gray, Blair, McGhee or Taylor on the team for an opponent to intentionally foul. Zanna might be the weakest shooter and even he has become a 70% guy.
At this point there there is a lot to like about this team.
I think we have more scoring depth this year, with Johnson and Wright. Also Young and Artis have shots.
I am also hoping that Patterson has reached a new level and will produce as needed.
With the addition of the zone it appears that the defense is back up to Jamie’s high standards.
Robinson is definitely the glue. Hasn’t taken many shots this year, but based on a few key ones last year, he can make the big one when needed.
Zanna still the mystery man. He will have some big games, just hope he is more consistent.
JJ who?
Very crisp passing, and not the plodding i’ve seen especially the past two years.
More energy on the team, more whipping the ball around as opposed to dribbling, stopping and thinking for a couple seconds “where do I pass to next?”.
It’s early, but looks like a fun team to watch, and a team that could have a real good year.
I also like the style. I used to dislike the slow, plodding, “pass to the left, pass back, pass to the right, pass back” style. I think the new style will be more attractive to recruits, and certainly is great for the fans. Hopefully the wins accrue in the new style like they did in the old style.
One word, confidence. Just hope it holds up against more talented teams.
spirit, I think Cam Wright has taken his defensive game to the next level. This should pay big dividends in the ACC vs. their better guards.
The biggest challenge right now for Pitt (other than winning games obviously) is going to be getting any respect from the media. ESPN et al. are very negative about our OOC schedule so it’s gonna be tough to get any traction on the national stage before ACC play.
As for football, Pitt not the only team banged up heading into Friday’s game.
It’s in the BAG!
I guess Price is done too, will he be back next year?
Do know that Hollins played well enough to take the possibility of Dorian Johnson starting totally off the table.
Now, last week, I predicted an “UNLIKELY” win for Pitt against Syracuse. Not exactly a “Chryst Revival” like Notre Dame. But more like a “Chryst Survival.”
Considering the last second timeout Chryst called that probably saved the game, I think that’s a pretty accurate description of how things ended up falling into place.
Now, I was WRONG about one thing. I also predicted James Conner would have his “BIGGEST” game of his young career against the Orange.
Obviously that didn’t happen.
But it will on Friday against Miami!
One week off. My BAD.
link to sbrforum.com
This year’s team looks different, plays different. Guys taking shots 10 seconds into a possession? Craziness. Confident, natural, it almost looks like they are having fun, which is the opposite of the reputation of playing at Pitt. Adding that dimension to the natural Dixon penchant for being unselfish and this team has some decent potential. It’s not even Thanksgiving and these guys look like they’ve been playing with each other for a couple years.
Someone pour me another glass of Koolaid please. Lol.
Book has it at Pitt -5 1/2
I’ve seen nothing but positive stuff about Pitt hoops so far this year.
Saw nothing but positive stuff about Pitt football after the Notre Dame game.
Funny how that works, when the teams look good and are winning, lot’s of positive stuff.
When they don’t look so hot or are losing, lot’s of negative stuff.
I wonder if that just isn’t the same everywhere??
LOL
I know everyone is still hesitant given how we haven’t seen this team in a real contest… but frankly, Stanford just isn’t that great of a team this year, and from what I saw last night… we are.
The offense may be the “same”, but the parameters on what’s expected and acceptable/allowed (and able to be accomplished by the talent) have changed significantly, IMHO.
Whether it is “crazy” is certainly up for debate, but whatever it is, I like it.
Think we win in a rout. Stanford has played no one anywhere close to as good a defensive team PITT is.
PITT is #7 in the country in scoring defense(54.8ppg).
Nobody has scored more than 58 points. And these were all games where PITT played soft, with many subs in the 2nd half.
Meanwhile the Tree’s are #201 in Scoring defense.
(73.2)
Offensively not much difference in the team’s ppg.
Stanford is averaging 82.5 ppg and PITT is averaging exactly 80 ppg.
This will be a rout !
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PITT: -250
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u: -110
PITT: -265
STAN: +225
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u: -110
PITT: -245
STAN: +205
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+6 STAN: -110
