It really felt like Pitt was going to pull out a win tonight with Harangody being out. I have to say, I didn't see this coming. I expected a win (perhaps a close one), but certainly didn't expect to get blown out. Pitt doesn't get blown out to anyone - especially middle-of-the-road teams playing without their best player.
We usually laud Pitt for their effort and toughness. But if we do that, it's only fair to call a spade a spade and crush them when they put forth bad efforts.
Usually, if Pitt is behind, they shrink the lead and at least make the game competitive at some point. Not so tonight. If you take a look at the game flow chart, you see that it got much worse after halftime and Pitt never got close.
I have to say, I got a little nervous when I read the PG article today about Notre Dame shooting threes. Little did I know how correct that would be - ND shot 10-18 from 3-point land. They also dropped 50% of their shots. Tough to beat anyone that shoots like that, but if Pitt was able to connect on more threes (only made 4-18) and get to the line a bit more (only seven FTs), it might have at least been closer.
A few guys played fairly well, but Pitt got virtually nothing from its PFs Gil Brown and Nasir Robinson (a combined 3 points and 4 rebounds). Ouch.
Gil continued his famed Mount Everest/Death Valley routine. Over the past nine games, his point totals are 9, 25, 0, 23, 6, 16, 5, 16, 3. That's, honestly, one of the most amazing things I've ever seen. I'd settle for a solid 12 a game if only for the fact it'd be nice to know what you're going to get from him.
Best thing to remember is that this is only one game. But this proves as a painful reminder of how tournament time can become so cruel if you're off your game and run into a team that's shooting lights out. I understand that Notre Dame was desperate for a big win, but ultimately, you've got to be more competitive.
They have to win the final 3 and at least 1 game in the BE tourney to get a #4 seed or higher.
ReplyDeleteLast night was a poor defensive effort and a very bad loss!
I would probably agree with you on the seeding. Based on having three top five wins, I could see them possibly getting a 3-seed if they win their last three regular season games and then lose their first Big East tourney game. I don't know if any other team has three wins over top five teams.
ReplyDeleteBut last night was a bad loss. Not so much because they lost, but they were blown out by a team without their best player. Couple that with the Indiana loss and there are two bad ones.