There are mysteries that remain. Such as why Gilbert Brown is literally up-and-down from one game to the next.
There might not be another player in the country that has been as inconsistent as Brown this season. His scoring has fluctuated like the Dow Jones Industrial Average.
Since returning from an academic suspension that had him miss the first 11 games of the season, Brown has been Pitt’s leading scorer five times. He also has been held scoreless three times.
Some players get hot for stretches and then go cold for a period. What makes Brown’s inconsistency so strange is that you can set your watch by him. He plays well every other game.
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It has gone on like that all season. Most recently, Brown was shut out by Providence Thursday night. So, of course, in the regular-season finale against Rutgers, he scored a team-high 19 points.
“I don’t know what it is,” Brown said. “I’ve been trying to figure it out. I swear it’s coincidence, but it’s not. It’s not pressure, me thinking about it, ‘OK I had a good game now I have to put another one together.’ It just happens. We have other players step up and play so well. Like against Providence, Brad [Wanamaker] and Ashton [Gibbs] put the bookbag on and carried the whole team on their backs. [Saturday night against Rutgers] was a different night when everyone got involved.”
With only 5 losses since Brown has come back, it is hard to truly say that how Brown goes, Pitt goes. In two losses (at USF and Georgetown) Brown was the leading scorer. In three losses (at Seton Hall, at WVU, and at Notre Dame) he scored a total of 10 points — including scoreless at WVU.
Don’t jump to the conclusion quite yet about the road being the difference. If you look at Brown’s numbers since he got back — 20 games — it is inconclusive. Using scoring and shooting percentage as the base metrics it is very bland.
I counted 6 good games at home, 4 bad games at home. On the road it was an even split of 4 good and 4 bad games. Two additional games — DePaul and at Syracuse were neither good or bad. Just there.
I wish I had a good answer. Is it simply psychological? I doubt it. It doesn’t appear to be match-up based since he against the three teams Pitt has played twice — WVU, St. John’s and Seton Hall — he has had good and bad games against each.
Anyone with a good theory that could actually be tested, broken down or analyzed?


