#4 Pitt [79] @ W. Virginia [67] - Recap

Let's recap: I said that if Pitt could do three things they would win this game.

Three!! Three things!!

1. Play lockdown defense

Pitt's D wasn't very lockdown in the first half. The Panthers allowed the WVU guards to penetrate and dish, and a lot of points were scored in the paint against Pitt. Also in the first half, WVU had a good many offensive rebounds and second chance points. This is why Pitt shot 60% from the field and was only winning by two points (39-37) when halftime came. Pitt put the smackdown on WVU in the second half, allowing only 30 points to the Mountaineers and forcing a lot of contested shots.

2. Keep WVU out of transition

Pitt had only nine turnovers in the entire game, at least six coming in the first half. This forced WVU to run offensive sets the entire game, and they just couldn't stay with Pitt in that facet of the game. If Pitt can force its opponent to play a slow tempo game, the Panthers are borderline unbeatable.

3. Someone needs to hit some shots in the second half

Pitt shot 60% from the field in the first half, an incredible number, but it didn't seem like it. Pitt didn't hit any threes in the first half, and most of its baskets consisted of DeJuan Blair powering inside and LeVance Fields hitting some pull-up jumpers. (Note: Nasir Robinson played some spectacular minutes in the first half, scoring two layups on 2-2 shooting. He is going to be a hell of a Pitt basketball player in years to come.)

In the second half Pitt shot a respectable 48%, but it seemed like whenever the Panthers needed to hit a shot, the ball was in one of two players' hands: Jermaine Dixon, Sam Young. Dixon hit three HUGE threes to help Pitt pull away near the mid-point in the second half. These weren't ordinary threes, either, they were all from NBA range. The kind of threes that when the player shoots:

You yell "NOOOO!!"

And when it goes in:

You yell "YESSSS!!"

And then you change your pants...

Sam Young; what more can you say about Sam Young? He sits for most of the first half with two fouls, then gets his third called on him literally seven seconds into the second half. He comes off the bench STRONG after that. He was hitting fadeaways, hitting contested jumpers, driving to the hoop for layups, and giving WVU players extreme facials (no homo). He scored 16 points in the second half alone, and looked basically unstoppable.

Another typical Pitt victory this season: play iffy defense in the first half then totally shut down the other team's O and make a game-ending run in the middle of the second half. Just like the STJ and GTown games (at the top of my head), Pitt just started to force turnover after turnover in the second half and make WVU look sloppy.

Don't think this wasn't a huge win, it was. The Mountaineers were #15 in the RPI Index and winning on the road in the Big East is always a big deal. Big game against Villanova tonight.

Hail to Pitt!!