So, UNC has size and rebounds well.
North Carolina leads the ACC in offensive rebounds (15.1 per game), defensive rebounds (27.7 per game) and total rebounds (42.8 per game). North Carolina also is first in rebounding margin (plus-9.7).
It’s no coincidence that the Tar Heels will be one of the tallest teams the Panthers will play this season, featuring six players 6 feet 8 or taller.
Dixon said there is no secret to what he has emphasized in practices leading up to this game. He said if the Panthers don’t rebound well, they will not win.
“We have made it very clear to our players that this is a strength of theirs,” Dixon said. “They are a very good rebounding team, and we are coming off a game in which we got outrebounded. We did a lot of drills at practice that we normally do when we don’t get it done on the glass.
“We have talked about it, and we have made it very clear that we need to match their size and their intensity in going up and getting rebounds.”
Oh, and a top 3-point shooters in the country.
They also have to limit point guard Marcus Paige, North Carolina’s leading scorer.
Paige is one of the top 3-point shooters in the ACC — seventh in 3-point shooting percentage and sixth in made 3-pointers per game — but is streaky. Even when he misses, though, North Carolina’s rebounding ability allows the Tar Heels to turn his missed shots into second-chance scoring opportunities.
What could go wrong?
Oh, yeah. The lack of defense by Pitt.
“You must have been in our meeting,” Dixon said when a reporter pointed out five of the past six Pitt opponents have shot at least 50 percent from the field. “I started it with that, and I ended it with that.”
He also mentioned it in practice and during games.
Pitt had another five-game stretch early in the season when Indiana, San Diego State, Division II Chaminade and Hawaii shot 51 percent or better.
Here’s the problem: In the 10 games in which the other team made at least half of its shots, Pitt has allowed 67 or more points. That reduces the margin of error for a team that scores an average of 68.
Pitt defeated Syracuse and Notre Dame under those circumstances, but scrambling for a victory while playing poor defense is not something that appeals to Dixon.
“It just doesn’t get noticed (in victories),” he said. “Now that we lost a game, it has to get changed.”
…
“We have to play post defense, have to guard the dribble better and we can’t give up second shots,” he said.“We know what our weakness is. It’s pretty obvious, especially when you compare it to other teams in the past here.”
The players swear they know what they should be doing and they do it in practice. But…
“In practice, we’re physical with each other, we beat each other up, we talk trash to each other,” said [Sheldon] Jeter, who started his first game with the Panthers when senior Cameron Wright didn’t play because of a sprained left ankle. “Then we get out here, and it’s like we don’t want to hurt them (opponent). But in practice, we try to kill each other.
“What we do in practice has to translate to the game, or we’re going to keep having disappointing results.”
No rush guys, I’m sure it will come together soon.
Okay, back to the game today. It’s a nooner at the Pete. Lots of affiliates carrying this ACC game, or ESPN3.com if you want to watch on your computer.
We went through some ice cold shooting through the first half of the season, even when we won. There were plenty of open shots missed. Today was incredible, but away games are almost always more difficult. Hopefully we have the confidence to take the good shooting on the road.
Good starts are also important, especially on the road. Today’s start was as good as it gets and a real confidence booster.
Other than the 22-2 run at Louisville, Pitt has been able to eliminate the long droughts in scoring that we have experienced all year.
If shooting earlier in the clock is the reason, then keep doing it. But like Milo said, it has certainly been fun to watch, even more-so, because it was so unexpected. A good shooting Pitt team, go figure. I hope it is not just the law of averages balancing out and that we have really found our stroke.
I went to the game with my buddy who is a UNC fan. He commented at one point that the Heels had 3 McDonald’s all-American’s on the floor, yet Pitt looked like the more talented team.
It seems the national narrative (at least on ESPN) is not that Pitt is on the rise, but that UNC is in free fall. Not doubt I’m biased, but why do I feel like Pitt never gets credit when credit is due?
A win Monday might change that. Virginia is vulnerable right now. They have been squeaking by their last several games. Still, they are not #2 by accident.
The only thing more exciting than the game today was my drive home. Worst road conditions Ive seen in several years. Ended up walking the last 1/2 mile in shin deep snow. I love Pittsburgh, but not for weather days like today.
Newkirk seems to be the current odd man out, not counting Luther. Since Jeter has emerged it seems to have pushed both of them down the line. As long as Robinson keeps making his 3’s and Jones keeps playing well don’t see this changing. But you never know, Newkirk needs to be ready like Jeter when his time comes.
Points in wins vs.
ND—–76
SYR—83
UNC—89
hmmmmmm???? Not 57, 51 or 54???
Play ball against UVA!!!
Could be one of Dixon’s best coaching jobs. Actually, it will be his best coaching job if we make the tourney.
@wbb, lol, I find some of the comments from both extremes hilarious!!
Not the initial comments, but their comments saying “I told all of you”!! LOL
There are only a couple, “fire Dixon now!”, and a couple “Dixon is one of the 10 best coaches in the world!l. LOL
I think most of us are right on with a lot of comments.
We’re fans!!
You lose to Hawaii and get beat up by Va. Tech, you’re have people disappointed.
You beat ND, Syracuse and UNC, people are fired up!!
Upset UVA, or even lose to them and win the other games left and get into the tourney, Pitt fans are gonna be pumped up!!
Unexpectedly lose to BC and/or Wake Forest, people
will be upset!!
The life of a sports fan!!
H2P!
We all know HCJD is a bit anal and controlling on the offensive side of the ball, so him being able to recognize that this team needs to score more to win shows he’s willing to change up whatever he needs to win
I hope he continues to show his willingness to play to the teams strengths and I can have confidence in him
The article is two years old and contains the following quote from Tray Woodall:
“Honestly, I think we’ll stick with our stuff,” Woodall said. “I think [Dixon] saw we were stagnant. I watched the game [Wednesday] night, so I know exactly why he went to our motion offense and let us play basketball. We were all standing around. Guys weren’t moving enough. He just wanted us to move around in open areas and get a feel for the game.
“That was a perfect time to do that, and it was successful for us. We’ll probably do it again at some point down the line, but it was definitely successful [Wednesday] night.”
After watching his team fall behind the last-place Bulls early in the second half, Dixon stopped calling set plays from the bench and told his players to ‘play basketball’ or ‘just play’ for the final 16 minutes.”
So the point was that Dixon adapted to the game, not that the players were necessarily complaining. Dixon has adapted over the years. If your bitch is that he will never radically change, then I have another two-part question for you. What coach has and how successful have they been? Huggins went back to pressing this year, but his team is about to fall out of the Top 25 and is about four more losses (entirely possible in their schedule) from the bubble.
Dixon’s team just hammered HoF coach Roy Williams’ UNC which is loaded with, another favorite bitch of Blatherites, 4-5 star McDonald’s All Americas.
Woodall was a low 40% shooter for his career. People on this board, perhaps even you, consistently complained of him being a turnover machine.
Mike Young was a true freshman last year who shot 41% from the field. That’s with Zanna working down low. Maybe Dixon should have been helping Young learn the game instead of letting him jack shots when it felt right.
Street ball can be fun to watch if nobody is playing defense and players are knocking down shots. Otherwise it’s only occasionally more interesting than Emel’s slogball and rarely leads to more wins.
But basketball, the modern version, is expected to be offensive. All modern sports are gravitating towards more offense and making the rules favor the offense.
Its not Defense winning games these days in any sport. Its the offense making sure the other team doesnt catch up.
The best defense is a good offense. Score when you need to score and outscore the other team. I’m not discounting the value of defense but its over-rated these days.
This group of players for the most part are not … especially his sophomore group who make up the heart of this team.
If you read towards the end of that article I posted, JR was quoted that they were being allowed break away from their motion offense and allowed to create on their own …. something they normally weren’t allowed to do.
This justifies my argument from last night that JD was ‘allowing’ his players now to look for their 1st chance of creating as opposed of going through their perimeter game that consumes over half of the possession play clock. That has happened few and far between this millennium.
The good news is that this sophomore group which seems to be the best offensive group that JD ever had, will also improve on defense next 2 years. And if that happens, it may well be the best balanced team we’ve seen here in some time.
Here are the final paragraphs from the above-linked articles which was written2 years ago:
It was less than two weeks ago that Pitt managed only 42 points in a home loss to Notre Dame. The 42 points were the second-fewest points the Panthers have scored in a game in Dixon’s tenure as head coach.
The offense has looked bad in other games as well. The Panthers shot 37 percent in games against Rutgers and Villanova and 35 percent against Seton Hall. Still, the Panthers won the Seton Hall and Villanova games and only lost at Rutgers by five.
If the Panthers struggle like that again they’ll have the option and, more important, the confidence to go to the motion.
“It was different,” freshman point guard James Robinson said. “If he does call a play we have the option to break the play off and make the best basketball play. We got into a rhythm. We went out there and had fun.”
————————————–
Now to my memory, that team did not go back to that style that year … (I may be wrong.) But more importantly … this team with EASILY the BEST GROUP of shooters I’ve ever seen at Pitt, is now being allowed to play that way.
The team needs to use the VTech loss and Hawaii losses as motivation not to let up. If they mature and handle their business, voila, they will get in. If they stay inconsistent, than voila, welcome to the NIT.
We get some help next year and our recruiting classes will hopefully balance out. Let’s get one of those Our Savior guys pronto. When is LOI day for those guys?
My guess is that, at a minimum, they have a chance with a .500 or better league record with the emphasis on the ‘or better’.
However, if we can’t do it on the road it will all be a mute point. A win at #2 Virginia will put us in if we don’t collapse down the stretch.
However, no matter what, our guys can hold their heads up high for the turn a round and it certainly bodes well for next year. Maybe Diallo will take notice of the opportunity he has make a major difference and take this team to the next level.
You can’t make this stuff up – hilarious!
Even if pitt loses to VA tomorrow, if they win 4 of 5 after that (which they should) then that puts pitt at 21-11 and 10-8 in the acc. I have to think that gets pitt in. And pitt is definitely capable of 1 or 2 wins in the acc tourney.
The Hawaii and V Tech losses are killers. Hope I’m wrong…
Seattle’s offense lost the Super Bowl. Nothing special on NE’s part. That was a gift. And NE’s offense scored when it had to in the 4th to complete the comeback.
Thinking defense wins championships is as outdated as the running game in Pro football today.
If you outscore the other team, how do you lose? Build the offense first. Then build a defense around guys that can produce points and not just slow the other team down.
Rules favor the offense today and the passing game.
This is as good a time to catch UVA as there has been all year. Now to get the road monkey off our back! H2P!
them, cause it would have been pretty loud and ugly if we didn’t.
I can’t imagine Duke, Carolina, Louisville or any successful program with that much Mustard and Blue throughout the House. What a crappy fan base. Good thing we have the zoo.
I guess since they didn’t have anything to cheer about, they went unnoticed
For any Bucco fans out there, pitchers and catchers report to Bradenton this Wednesday.
I like to see them at Football games, we have plenty of seats available, good for revenue and good for the city, but it shouldn’t be so easy at the Pete. There was a good contingent of Syracuse fans, easy to see the orange in a blackout. Probably similar with ND except their colors are the same as ours so they stand out as much.
Be interesting to know how many of these fans travel here vs live here.
Good defense travels well. Virginia, a good defensive team, is 9-0 on the road. Bad defensive teams get blown out on the road. Pitt is still a bad defensive team.
Pitt will be lucky to get one more road win and they need at least two to have any shot at the tourney.
I don’t see that. We’ve had generally poor shooting teams and that fact alone gives your statement a chance, but…
I see Artis as the best of an at best streaky lot. If DJ was there AND he built on last year’s growth, then maybe you have something. Anyone including Cam, JR, Newk, CJ, and even Jeter in their list of good shooters, is still high from this HOME win.
Let’s see how Monday’s game goes against a team that plays defense.
Nuke is in a slump this year but there isn’t one member of the sophomore group who can’t shoot. And even JR has been shooting well lately.
This takes into account all shooters so if you can somehow separate the DeJuan Blair’s and Zanna’s from the Gibbs and Patterson’s, then you’ve got something. Again, I don’t see it at all.
That just began 2 weeks ago
And I can’t say that about any other group
