Baskeball Notes 7/13

The Panthers are excited and gearing up for their trip to Ireland.  J.J. Richardson sees big things for Pitt and credits the Summer League and this trip as reasons for his optimism:

 “Not many teams get the chance to have an organized practice during the summertime,” he said. “This is helping us get closer. Last year, we were all still getting used to each other because we were young. This year, with us in the summer league and going over to Ireland, we’re going to be real good.”

I think he's got a point.  Not only does the Greentree Summer League allow them to practice with some teammates, they're also going against other D-1 players.  Now, with the opportunity to go overseas and play others will give them some good game experience. 

Speaking of that Summer League, Ashton Gibbs led the way during Monday's games with 30 points / 7 rebounds / 6 assists.  Dante Taylor continued his strong play going for 19/13 and J.J. Moore keeps scoring (22).  Taylor's consistency has been pretty good.  He's got to be close to a 20/10 average during these games.  As of my last analysis in the beginning of July, he was at 15.5 and 8.5.

A few more quick hitters:

The NCAA Tournament format including the four newly added teams has been released.

Chris Dokish has a little more on New Zealand recruit Steven Adams.

And Chas over at Pitt Blather has some stuff on DeJuan Blair.

Pitt Left Out

Pitt's NCAA tournament hopes ended when the bracket was revealed. Pitt was only able to win one game in the Big East tournament before being ousted.

Still, a pretty successful year for a program that hasn't typically done very well. Hopefully they can use this year as well as their new facilities to build upon.

Also, two Pitt players, Corey Brownstein and former football player Kevan Smith, made the All-Big East Tournament team.

Bye-Bye to the Double Bye

This was rumored for a while, but apparently, Big East basketball coaches have abandoned the idea of the double bye. There were a lot of complaints about this after some first-round upsets.

Personally, I think you're going to have upsets no matter what. Some of the higher seeds won't have as much to play for while a lower-seeded team may be scrapping just to get into the NCAAs. To me, the whole idea of all 16 teams getting in is a bit much. A team that flops throughout the regular season should have no shot at postseason play. In weaker conferences where only one team gets into the NCAA tournament, I could at least listen to the argument of including everyone. But conferences like the Big East that get numerous bids don't need to reward every single team with a conference tournament berth.

Only college basketball coaches could complain about getting too many automatic byes.

Heading into the Big East Tournament

Pitt baseball is headed into the Big East tournament as a three-seed and will get Rutgers in the first round. After a hot start, they ended with losing five of their last eight.

Jeremy Mills, Big East blogger at ESPN.com, thinks Pitt will still land in the NCAA tournament.

The Art of Scheduling

I guess you could say it all started with the beginning of the 'New' Golden Era of Pitt basketball, back in the early part of the decade. In 2001-02, the first year of this new era, Pitt went 25-4 and was disrespected with a 3-seed. They went 26-4 the next season, winning the Big East Championship, and still only ended up with a 2-seed. And by the time 2003-04 rolled around when they were 29-4 and a 3-seed, one level lower than UCONN who had six losses, something had to be done.

Enter, the scheduling change. Out with the cupcakes and in with legitimate non-conference foes, many of whom make the NCAA tournament.

It took a few years to get it exactly right, but Pitt has been reaping the benefits. Heck, in retrospect, Pitt may have been slightly overseeded this year, though I felt at the time they deserved the 3-seed. But that's what happens when you schedule the right way.

Jamie Dixon makes no secret of what his goal is each year when it comes to scheduling:

"Our ultimate goal is to attempt to get the toughest schedule in the country," Dixon says.

All you've got to do is look back at the past few years of non-conference scheduling:

2009-10: Texas, Robert Morris, and Wofford were NCAA tournament teams. Wichita State (25-10), Eastern Kentucky, Kent State, and Ohio were all good teams - several making the NIT.

2008-09: Siena, Florida State, Akron, and Robert Morris were all NCAA tournament teams and Belmont, Vermont, and Duquesne were quality teams.

2007-08: Duke was a high NCAA Tournament seed and Dayton, Duquesne, Oklahoma State, and Washington were all solid.

I've made this point before, but it's easy for a casual fan to look at some of these names and think nothing of them. But many of the smaller teams like Wofford, Siena, Vermont, et al, have been league champions and are very good. Sometimes I gripe about making the schedule TOO tough because of the league they're in. But the fact is that in some of those early years, the Big East was very good and Pitt was getting shorted on the seeding. So it's clear that they're doing things the right way.

Just for Fun

ESPN takes a shot at a 96-team Bracketology version for next season. As in Joe Lunardi's preseason Bracketology in the 64-team version, Pitt is still a 3-seed.

Ah, lovely - rewarding mediocrity to ensure that a 16-14 team makes it into the big dance.

Rooting For WVU

The more interaction I have with others, the more I'm trying to decide where I stand on this whole West Virginia thing. Do I think Pitt fans are somewhat bitter about having a great program for nearly a decade and having no Final Fours to show for it, while WVU reached one this year? A little. I know I am.

There are plenty of good reasons for both sides. On one hand, there's the whole 'root for the conference' thing going on. The Big East has struggled and it feels somewhat good to have at least one conference rep in the Final four. Then there are the folks who will root for WVU because of their proximity to Pitt. Along that same line, I think you've got casual fans in the area who aren't huge fans of either school, but always will root for both to do well.

On the other hand, you've got the contingent that won't root for WVU no matter what. Too big a rival for Pitt and when you mix in the fact that Bob Huggins is despised by a number of people, it's easy to root against them. Further, since Pitt hasn't been there themselves, there's even more disdain for the Mountaineers.

I was listening to a radio show today and someone mentioned that WVU making it to the Final Four will actually help PITT'S recruiting. The thought being that Jamie Dixon will be able to tell recruits that they can play against the NCAA Champion if WVU would happen to win the title. I think that's a bit of a reach. Recruits already get to play in the Big East, which has had numerous Final Four teams in recent memory and three NCAA Championship teams in Syracuse and UCONN in the past 11 years. I don't think adding one more team will make that much of a difference. The Big East is already widely seen as the best league in the country.

At the end of the day, I can't bring myself to root for WVU. I don't like the team, don't like the coach, and find it increasingly difficult to find even one reason other than the whole conference thing to hope they win a title. And about that whole conference thing - I find it much easier to root for other Big East football teams than I do Big East basketball teams. Big East basketball is already renowned nationwide. The football conference is still trying to gain respect and it's much easier to root for the football side to do well.

Sorry, can't do it.

Dusting off Women's Basketball

After a really down season, which saw the women's team go 16-15 with a first-round NIT loss, things have been gotten a bit strange. Not so much with losing as assistant head coach in Jeff Williams, who took the head job at LaSalle. Things like that happen all the time.

But three players have now left the team since the end of the season, leaving Pitt with only eight players on their current roster. Further, six of those eight are going to be seniors next year, leaving them with only two current players that will still be around in the 2011 season.

All three that left (Pepper Wilson, Kate Popovec, and Sarah Ogoke) were sophomores and they were head coach Agnus Berenato's entire 2008 recruiting class. You have to wonder what the circumstances were and as of now, I've not seen any reasons given for the departures. The student newspaper, The Pitt news tried to reach Coach Berenato, with no luck.

Pitt started off 12-2 to begin the season, but then closed it out with a 5-13 stretch.

Not to mention, all this is on the heels of Pitt reporting that money was lost from hosting NCAA Tournament games this year.

Jamie Dixon News

To start, no, I don't mean the long-shot rumors of him going to Oregon, DePaul, or any other job. In my opinion, I don't think Dixon is looking at jobs such as Oregon, DePaul, and anywhere else that's been mentioned this year. Those are lateral (or worse) moves and unless we're talking boatloads of money (like, say, triple what he's making now), I don't think there's any chance of this happening. Even if another school offered significantly more, I have a hard time believing Pitt would not offer another extension and up his pay.

However, it appears Dixon has found a way to the second weekend after all:

Dixon will provide commentary for the network beginning on Friday and running through Sunday. He will appear on Friday's broadcast between 7 p.m.-12:30 a.m., on Saturday from 6 p.m.-9:30 p.m. and Sunday between 1:30-4 p.m.

He joins Marquette's Buzz Williams, Virginia Tech's Seth Greenberg, UTEP's Tony Barbee, BYU's Dave Rose and former St. John's coach Norm Roberts as in-studio analysts. Adam Zucker, Tracy Wolfson and Tom Hart anchor the studio programming with CBS College Sports analysts Steve Lappas and Wally Szczerbiak.

Steve Lappas? Gee, thanks for giving me yet another reason not to watch.

So Much For Kansas State

Pitt may have been hard pressed to beat Kansas State, but I would have liked to see them try. I actually thought they could have had a decent chance against them, but so much for that.

Pitt again let another team that is probably slightly inferior to them, get the best of them. I think Pitt is a little better than Xavier, but they sure didn't look the part today. Got to give Xavier credit. Or more to the point, Jordan Crawford credit.. He didn't single-handedly beat Pitt, but he scored about 40% of his team's points. Ouch.

Our Panthers have had their shares of problems with teams that have a star guard. As much of a defensive stopper as Jermaine Dixon appears to be, not only didn't he stop Crawford, he couldn't even slow him down a little. Add in the fact that he was only 1-9 from the field and, well, he didn't do a very good job today. I like him as a player and think he shows a lot of heart, but in reality, what he is is just a fine player. He does okay and can occasionally have a very good game. But that's it.

I'm not going to blame it all on him, though. Gary McGhee did absolutely nothing (0 points, 4 rebounds, 2 turnovers) in nearly 20 minutes of action. Not to rehash an old argument, but if this is the Most Improved Player of the Year, than I might as well be.

Considering that Dixon and little-played reserve Chase Adams are the only players leaving, and Pitt should be a top 15 team coming into next year. Pitt will be a veteran team with five upperclassmen playing significant minutes. Unfortunately for Pitt, I don't know if any of those guys will be the much-needed 'go to' scorer they need. But that's discussion for another time.

Now the question - was this a disappointing year for Pitt? Well, I'll expound on this later, but yes, I think it was.

Previewing Xavier

Looking ahead to Xavier, I've got to be honest. If you look purely at their record and their schedule from this year, it's easy to come away unimpressed. Their best win is arguably at Florida, which barely made the tournament themselves. A closer look, though, reveals tight losses to good teams such as Baylor (5), at Wake Forest (4), at Temple (5), and Richmond (4). Tight losses isn't exactly what teams strive for, but they were able to hang around some decent teams. Playing against a top team in Kansas State they were soundly defeated by 15 on the road.

But you should have at least some fear in this game.

First, there's always the chance Pitt doesn't play its best. We've seen that numerous times this year - sometimes Pitt can come away with a win and others it cannot. Xavier averages about 10 more points than Pitt offensively, but also gives up about 7 more on defense.

Then there's the revenge factor. Most of the team was around for last year's loss to Pitt in the Sweet 16. But even the ones who didn't play were stung pretty hard:

A year ago, Jordan Crawford watched Xavier play Pittsburgh in the NCAA tournament from his dorm room in Cincinnati. Come Sunday, the Musketeers' junior will be the focal point in a second-round rematch between the two schools.

"It was just me, Mark [Lyons, who was red-shirting], and Dee Dee Jernigan from the women's team watching on TV," recalls Crawford. "That Pitt game hurt me when we lost."

Xavier also relies heavily on rebounding. They average a whopping 40 rebounds per game (three more per game than Pitt). And while we're on the subject, THIS scares me just a little bit:

But the Musketeers' offensive rebounds- they outscored the Gophers 20-8 on second-chance points - helped them survive 21 percent shooting (9-for-42) in the first half, which ended with a 26-26 deadlock.

Wait. Giving up offensive rebounds and second chance points? So stop me if you've heard this one...

I'd like to call these teams mirror images of each other, except that they're really not. While they have some similarities, Xavier scores more. A lot more. They average about 80 ppg, good for 9th in the country.

And oh yeah, you've got the star guard factor, which seems to do Pitt in quite a bit. Xavier's star player is Jordan Crawford - a sharpshooting sophomore who went from a solid contributor as a freshman to the team's best player and a decent three-point shooter. Sound familiar? Truth be told, he's better than Ashton Gibbs and has been more consistent this year. He also has the ability to take on more of a scoring load than Gibbs and has really only been held in check twice all season (at Marquette and at Fordham). By the way, yes, it's THAT Jordan Crawford who dunked on LeBron at his camp last year.

Crawford had some kind of first game against Minnesota to help Xavier advance to the next round.

So what does Pitt have in its favor? Well, this isn't exactly the same team as last year. None of the players contributed significantly last year with the exception of center Jason Love - and he was a role player to a degree averaging about 7/6 per game. Gone are starters Derrick Brown (NBA 2nd Round Draft Pick), B.J. Raymond and C.J. Anderson, who contributed more than 50% of the team's total offense. But like Pitt, they've had success even with these losses. Love, Jamel McLean, and Terrell Holloway aren't stars, but they've all significantly increased their minutes and each has virtually doubled his scoring average over last year. Heck, they even lost their coach and didn't miss much of a beat, record-wise.

As much as I don't like Pitt facing star guards, Pitt is fortunate in that respect to a degree as their best defender is a guard. Here's hoping a healthy Jermaine Dixon can keep him in check, at least somewhat.

And while that offense is scary in that they score so much AND spread the wealth a bit, I don't see Pitt giving up that many points. Pitt will force them into their tempo and I would assume, control the score a bit more. Plus, A-10 defense is not, by any stretch of the imagination, Big East defense. Minnesota, a solid defensive team and 62nd in the country in scoring defense, held them to 65 points, 15 below their average. Pitt (32nd in the country) is even better defensively than Minnesota.

So what do I expect? I'm not too sure. I have a hard time getting by the fact that Xavier could not beat teams like Marquette (neutral court) or Wake Forest (on the road). Those aren't bad teams, but Pitt beat Marquette on the road and I'd fully expect them to beat Wake Forest. Plus, the fact that they have not even one signature win despite several chances makes me question if they'll be able to beat Pitt. Pitt has beaten the likes of Syracuse, Villanova, and West Virginia. I've got to think that if they play a good game, they should win. I'll go with Pitt by eight.

Easier Than Expected

Been MIA for the past few days. Just an incredibly busy week with filling out brackets. Mix in a busy week at work and a Fantasy Baseball draft to get ready for and, well, you get the idea.

I thought Pitt was going to have a harder time in this game than they ultimately did, winning by 23. But that's what happens when Pitt actually plays up to its ability. I thought Pitt would end up with around a 12 point win and was surprised to see Oakland virtually fold up after Pitt made a run late in the first half after they got off to a very sluggish start.

Keith Benson was a one-man wrecking crew for Oakland. 28 points on 9 of 19 shooting, 9 boards, 3 steals, and a block. Not sure if he'll be a first-round NBA Draft pick, but at 6'11", he's got the size and it might just be a matter of putting on some more weight. I was really impressed with his game.

Oakland also received nothing from its second leading scorer (12.4 ppg), Derick Nelson after potentially a key play in the game:

There was some drama in the physical game though.

Oakland forward Derick Nelson took an accidental elbow to the head going for a rebound and was on the court for several minutes before leaving to receive six stitches with blood still on the court. He returned in the second half but finished with only one point on 0-for-7 shooting in 25 minutes of play.

His absence took away any momentum Oakland had gained.

Oakland was up 14-10 at the point of Nelson's injury and Pitt really took over after that. While I don't think it would have changed the end result, losing a senior leader like that may have played into Oakland fading so quickly like they did. Nelson did come back in the second half, but you've got to wonder if the injury played into it at all.

At least one Oakland player said his loss hurt a bit:

"It changed a lot," guard Larry Wright said. "He's our rock on this team. He can rebound, defend, score. He does everything for us. We didn't pick up the slack when he got hurt. That really hurt us. We didn't back him up."

In the end, Pitt just played too well and with six players in double figures, it's easy to see that pretty much everyone came out to play. They shot 53% from the field, had a +7 rebounding edge, and did just about everything right other than giving up a lot of fouls.

Though part of it was due to foul trouble, Oakland did what it set out to do, and that was to stop Ashton Gibbs who struggled. Unfortunately, they forgot about the rest of Pitt's team. This was the first time he's been held to single-digits in scoring for two straight games, so I've got to think he'll play better on Sunday against Xavier.

And speaking of Sunday's game, I can only assume that after 17 points today, Gil will be good for a solid four points and one rebound in that one. Sorry, had to say it.

Lastly, this little nugget upset me a bit:

Oakland's fans didn't head to the door, though; even as some Pitt fans thinned out their section, the Oakland faithful remained in their seats, getting their full 40 minutes' worth of NCAA tournament enjoyment. A few rogue fans even kept making noise -- weird whoops and hollers and yodels -- when Pittsburgh shot free throws. You have to admire the dedication.

Hard to believe you'd travel all the way to Wisconsin and then leave early during a win, no matter the score.

Afternoon Game

Just heard Pitt will play around 2:45 p.m. or 3:00 p.m. Yuck. Get out of your cubicles early.

Breaking Down the Oakland Golden Grizzlies

So with the news about Pitt headed to Milwaukee, just how much of a threat are the Oakland Golden Grizzlies? Let's break it down.

To start, Pitt played them three years ago and didn't completely overwhelm them. I think I was actually at that game at the Pete.

Oakland may not have any real quality wins this year (their best one was probably beating IUPUI at home), but they were 17-1 in conference. The Summit may not be the Big East, but they did have three 20-win teams this year. I guess that's prone to happen when six out of the ten teams have losing records, though.

One thing that scares me a little is the fact that Oakland was 7-1 on the road in conference this year and a reasonable 3-6 on the road in non-conference, considering who they played: Syracuse, Wisconsin, Kansas, Oregon, Michigan State, and Memphis. They didn't win any of those games, but I think they did themselves a favor scheduling games against some of the best of the best. They won't be intimidated by Pitt and have a good 10-7 record overall on the road this year.

It seems like the scheduling gauntlet they went through was for a purpose:

Getting trounced at Kansas, Wisconsin, Memphis, Michigan State, Oregon and Syracuse could pay off today.
When the Golden Grizzlies reached the NCAA tournament in 2005, their RPI was 192, which made them one of the lowest-rated teams in the field and put them in the opening round/play-in game in Dayton. They won it to earn a spot against No. 1 North Carolina as a No. 16 seed -- where no underdog has ever won.
This year, because of their non-conference schedule, the Golden Grizzlies seem slotted for the No. 14 or No. 13 seed, with an RPI of 52 (according to collegerpi.com), the highest Summit RPI in the past 16 years. A 53 RPI in 2008 got fellow Summit member Oral Roberts a 13th seed.

Apparently, though, Oakland wasn't all that happy with the seeding decision:

"I’m absolutely ecstatic that we’re playing in Milwaukee and all our kids can get there, we’ll have five or six bus loads of students go there,” OU coach Greg Kampe said. “I’m really disappointed in the seed though. I don’t understand how you can have a 51 RPI and be a 14 seed when teams that are 90 and 100 in the RPI get 13 and 12 spots. I guess that’s just a matter of us being new to (the tournament) and maybe there’s not a respect level for us. Maybe we need to do something about it and get a win first before that respect will come.”

Pitt should definitely expect a quasi road game as they're not only the higher seed, but Oakland is a good 3+ hours closer to Milwaukee than Pittsburgh is. I really hope Pitt finds a way for some student buses to get there as well.

For Oakland, it all starts with 6'11" center Keith Benson. He's currently projected as a second-round 2011 draft pick on my favorite NBA Draft site, NBADraft.net, and going into the season, they had him as a first-round pick. They rate him as a pretty good center.

Pitt has gotten killed by star guards in the past and I'm glad this team doesn't appear to have one. With McGhee's defense improving, I think Pitt will be able to contain him. Normally, I might suggest they try to get him in foul trouble, but as he's only fouled out once all season, not sure how great of a strategy that might be.

Benson, who's the #15 rebounder in the country, has helped them become one of the best rebounding teams in the country (30th overall) and they win the rebounding battle by about +5 per game.

Looking at the Pitt side of things, while Jermaine Dixon isn't on my enemy list with this quote, just the fact that he can mention not being able to ignore seeing Syracuse in their bracket is slightly annoying to me:

"You can't ignore it, but we're thinking about Oakland only and that's something we've got to get past," Pitt senior Jermaine Dixon said Sunday, not long after the Panthers gathered around a large-screen TV to watch the NCAA tournament selections.

I reaalllllly don't want to hear even the slightest mention of Syracuse or Kansas State. Not after the way Pitt played against Notre Dame in the Big East tournament.

All in all, if Pitt plays hungry (and that's a sizeable 'if' considering they way they've played of late), they should not have trouble winning this game.

A #3 It Is

I really thought Pitt deserved a 3-seed, but wasn't sure they would actually get it. As I said before, I think Pitt is the only team to defeat three top five teams. They had not only a bunch of good wins, they had multiple great ones. Looking at the bracket, it's hard to complain. They missed out on playing in Providence where they may have had a few more fans as that's Big East territory, but the driving distances to Providence and Milwaukee from Pittsburgh are about the same.

The draw they got was pretty favorable for the first two rounds. Pitt should defeat Oakland and while Xavier is not a gimme game, they are a bit down from last year's team.

Even the bracket after that isn't terrible. Facing BYU in Utah would be tough, but out of the two seeds, I think they got the best draw against, what I think, is a somewhat overrated Kansas State team.

All in all, Pitt fans should have no beef with this draw.

What Are The Odds?

I was sifting through some Panthers news around the internet and found a somewhat intteresting 'article' about NCAA Tournament odds. I use the term 'article' loosely, because most of these put out by gambling-related sites are little more than advertisements. But I did find it interesting that they placed Pitt as 60:1 odds to win the whole thing.

To me that seemed a bit high. No, I don't expect Pitt to win it all, but this is a year when there are only a handful of very good teams. I think last year's Pitt team may have been better than any other team this year and I really believe that the tournament could be won by a lower seed such as a 5 or 6. You have the big three in Kansas, Kentucky, and Syracuse, but I don't know if any of them are really 'great' teams.

Tourney Talk

Lots of talk about potential seeding in the NCAAs for Pitt in the Post-Gazette.

Despite my penchant for posting Joe Lunardi's weekly Bracketology ratings, truth be told, it's nothing short of foolishness to speculate where Pitt might be seeded. Heck, with several tough games left, they're not even guaranteed to be in. It would take a freefall of epic proportions, but there have been deserving teams left out before.

And are we still basing Pitt's non-con on name value? Wofford is 18-8, Eastern Kentucky is 17-8, Wichita State is 20-6, Kent State is 18-7, and Robert Morris is 16-9. Yes, Pitt should beat those teams (even though Wichita State at a 'neutral/home' site was no gimme), but that is far from a cupcake non-con schedule. They also had the Texas game (which was a loss, of course). Wake up people.

Then of course there's been the talk of NCAA tournament expansion. Not surprisingly, coaches in the rugged Big East are in favor of it:

"If you're in the middle of the pack in our conference, you deserve to be in the tournament," Seton Hall coach Bobby Gonzalez said.

And this:

"I've been for expansion of the tournament for years," Boeheim told the Syracuse media earlier this season. "The NCAA Tournament has always been expanded when there's a need. It started out at eight teams and expanded to 12, 16 24, 32, 48 and 64.

"I mean, it's expanded seven or eight times. And we're in the longest period between expansions in history. The fact is, we have better teams. We have more good teams than ever before. And they should get a chance to play in the tournament."

And finally, this:

"I love it. I think its time has come," Villanova coach Jay Wright said. "As you add Division I teams (the number is currently 347), look at college football, close to 50% of the teams go to bowl games. There are so many good teams that don't go to the tournament."

I don't know. Consider me unsold. Yes, if you're the #9 team in the Big East, you might not be all that bad. But how long will mediocrity be served? To me, 64 teams is enough. Every 18-8 or 19-10 team doesn't need to get in. If you want to make the argument that more Big East teams need to get in, I can listen to that.

But by expanding the tourney to 96 teams, you'd be adding 32. The NIT coincidentally takes 32 teams that don't make the NCAAs. Let's take a look at some of those teams last year:

- Washington State (17-15)
- Northwestern (17-13)
- Georgetown (16-14)
- Virginia Tech (18-14)
- Bowling Green (19-13)
- Kentucky (20-13)
- Notre Dame (18-14)
- Nebraska (18-12)
- Jacksonville (18-13)
- Providence (19-13)

Are these really the types of teams that need to get into the tournament? A few are barely over .500. Seriously, we're not going to be able to sleep unless a 16-14 Georgetown team doesn't get in because they're in a great conference?

Whatever.

I won't have a big problem if they expand. I just don't think it's really necessary. If the tournament would expand, no team like this is going to realistically win eight or so games to win the title. At best, if you really want to expand, add eight more teams and give the top eight overall seeds (#1 and #2 seeds in each region) a bye.

And let's not forget, expanding will only open up more cries for more expansion. Can't you hear Dickie V now?

'To leave an 18-14 Iowa State team out is highway robbery, baby. I can't believe it. This wouldn't have happened if only we had 128 teams in.'

Of course money, which rules everything else, will be the prime factor. And eventually, the tournament will expand. But I can live with 64.

Class of the Big East?

That's the question I'm asking shortly after Pitt's ten-point win AT UCONN. Pitt's now gone on the road three straight times and come away with three wins for the first time in its Big East history. Factor in the competition in a top 10 team, top 15 team, and a team that was previously ranked, and in the words of Judge Smails the teams they've beated have been 'no slouches.' UCONN, on the other hand, is left with yet another defeat to a ranked opponent.

Beating UCONN three straight times feels mighty good. The early reports are in and folks are just now starting to catch on, it seems.

I always find myself rushing to the box score and flow chart immediately after the game looking for something specific. Tonight, I was looking for UCONN's number of layups or points in the paint. Had Pitt lost, that would have been the main reason why.

The verdict? According to ESPN.com, 19 of the 25 field goals were layups or dunks.

No that's not a typo. I knew it was bad, but no idea it was THAT bad. What's even worse was that 12 of their 13 FGs in the second half were layups or dunks.

I've been watching basketball for over 20 years. I honestly can't remember ever seeing a college game where a team got so many easy baskets. They had a lot of transition points and seemed like they were in the paint all night. Pitt's defense wasn't the greatest - ESPECIALLY in transition.

But perhaps that makes the win that much more impressive. To win by ten in a rivalry game on the road when (and this is key) you didn't play your best game gives me a good feeling.

For once, Cryin' Calhoun didn't make any excuses, lauding Pitt in his post-game comments. And even though I talk about all the easy baskets, Jamie Dixon pointed out another key stat:

"We came in at halftime; I told them we got beaten on the boards by four. We had to turn that around."

"We out rebounded them by 13 in second half, and clearly that was the difference."

The silly talk about Pitt perhaps not making the tournament should be over. As I mentioned before, this IS a tournament team. And not only a tournament team, but a team that can challenge for the conference title. Starting 4-0 in the conference and winning your last seven games will make you think like that. Funny thing is, I keep waiting for the team to falter. I'm convinced it will happen, but when? I figured this would be a much harder game, but the fact is that had UCONN not gotten so many easy buckets, it would have been much more lopsided.

Brad Wanamaker had his first good game for Pitt in Big East play, scoring 19 to co-lead the Panthers along with Ashton Gibbs. It was a good thing as Jermaine Dixon didn't have a particularly strong game.

On the flip side, Travon Woodall looks like a mess out there at times. I don't know if it's because he's not getting as many minutes or whatever, but he was completely wreckless with the ball lately taking bad shots or throwing it away. The fact that we never see Chase Adams out there makes me think he must be somehow even worse.

And in the middle, Gary McGhee is painfully mediocre. I almost think he cancels himself out because for every good putback or rebound he gets, he gives up another. And it's clear that Dante Taylor has much less leeway than McGhee does. Taylor was called for a moving screen (which was no worse than some of McGhee's) and he came right out immediately. McGhee allows offensive rebounds or makes a piss-poor effort blocking someone out and he stays on the court. Granted, he played better tonight, but Dixon's intolerance of Taylor's mistakes seems like a pattern.

UCONN, like Pitt, on the other hand doesn't have the same look as in previous years. But even with strong performances by players at times (i.e. Stanley Robinson tonight) are really without a key leader according to folks in the area. I don't know. Pitt really doesn't have a leader if you think about it. Ashton Gibbs? Can a sophomore really lead a team even if he's their best player? Gilbert Brown? Fresh off a suspension and he doesn't even start yet. Jermaine Dixon may be the closest to the team leader and he's certainly not a definitive one and has only been in the program as long as Gibbs has. I don't know how much that plays into it. The Fab Five went to the National Championship game with a starting lineup composed of freshmen.

Anyway.

For once it's nice to get the edge on free throw shooting - Pitt shot 85% to UCONN's 46%.

As absurd as it sounds, if Pitt can beat Louisville at home (which could be a daunting task because of their press), Pitt will have a look at getting to...*gasp*...25 games.

Yeah, I said it.

Back....and Back in the Sweet 16

After an uncharacteristically long layoff, back just in time for Pitt's Sweet 16 appearance.

The first two games have no doubt given some fans some causes for heart attacks. I certainly understand the feelings of nervousness on the Xavier game based on losses to Pacific, OK St., etc.

However.

Pitt is a team that usually plays down or up to its competition. I think they felt they could skate a little bit with the first two teams. With Xavier beating Memphis earlier, I think they'll be ready.

The biggest factor, though, is that I think they're sick of hearing about not being able to get past the Sweet 16. I think they'll come out hungry and the week to reflect on their two close games will be enough to wake them up a bit. I expect them to actually win this game easier than the first two.

That said, I wouldn't be surprised if they lost the game Vs. Nova or Duke. Pitt actually matches up well with Duke, but either team could certainly shock them.

We will see.

Locking Up A Number One Seed?

After the big win against Marquette last night, it seems everyone's talking about a #1 seed being locked up.

With last night's 90-75 victory against Marquette, the Panthers are all but assured of being a No. 1 seed in the NCAA tournament for the first time in school history.

Maybe it's just me, but I'd say it's a bit of a reach to say it's locked up. Does Pitt deserve one regardless of what it does against UCONN and in the Big East Tournament? I think so. But with the history of seeding, I wouldn't call it a guarantee. If Pitt would happen to get blown out on Saturday then lose badly in their first Big East game, strong performances by UNC, Memphis, UCONN, and Oklahoma could be enough to knock Pitt out.

Not to mention teams could all end up with fewer losses than Pitt. Again, it's going to be hard for Pitt not to get a #1 seed. But I don't know if it's the lock everyone seems to think it is.

On the injury front, Levance is listed as questionable for the big game Saturday. Personally, I think he'll have to be practically dead not to play. But I'd be all for him sitting this one out. It's a big game, but not that important in the grand scheme of things. I'd rather see him sit out, then come back for the Big East Tournament in a tune up.