Let The Beatdowns Begin

Pitt basketball began its Ireland trip with a 99-54 drubbing of the Irish national team.

Not sure how big the building was, but only 1,650 attended.  Judging by photos on the website, it looks to be a pretty small gym.  Tickets were fairly cheap at around $9 (7 Euro) for adults.  Gil Brown led Pitt with 22 points including 4-6 from three-point range.  Ashton Gibbs contributed 15 and Brad Wanamaker had 12 points and 10 assists.

At first glance, it would appear that he big men, Gary McGhee and Dante Taylor (combining for 13 points and 12 rebounds) had quiet games.  But one important thing to note is that all 11 players received equal playing time.  Talib Zanna and J.J. Richardson likely saw minutes that McGhee and Taylor would have, so no need to worry about those numbers.

Here's the full box score.

It was mostly good for Pitt, who shot 56% from the field, 50% from three-point range, and forced 22 turnovers.  But the team did turn the ball over 16 times.  Though, in a scrimmage game, in an unfamiliar environment and with lots of travel and hoopla surrounding the trip, that's kind of to be expected.

The freshman, J.J. Moore, Cameron Wright, and Aron Nwankwo, were not eligible to play due to NCAA rules, but should suit up for today's (Sunday's) game. 

I'm mildly confused as the schedule listed on Pitt's website says the game with the National Team was to take place today with the team playing the Southern Regional All-Stars Saturday night.  Maybe the games have been flip-flopped.