Here are the beat reporters stories on Pitt’s 66-58 win over ND. My write-up is here. The Chicago Tribune felt the game ended 5 minutes into the second half.
With 14:43 left in the game, Jaron Brown’s three-pointer from the right baseline merely extended a four-point Pittsburgh lead to seven.
Logic dictated there was plenty of time left for Notre Dame to reclaim the momentum. Instinct, though, was screaming that it was over.
In merchandising news, Pitt gear is selling at an all-time clip because of the success of the basketball program. Dick’s Sporting Good’s says Pitt gear is its #2 collegiate seller right now. Behind (yes, Lee,) Ohio St. Of course, I still can’t find a single stinkin’ piece of Pitt gear in the Cleveland area. I mean, the damn hat stores have Penn St. and WVU, but not Pitt, WTF? No mention in the article about how the players responsible for the success will never see a dime.
Finally, this piece by Andy Katz at ESPN.com on assistant coaches taking over a program when the head coach moves on to another job. Obviously Jamie Dixon gets a lot of attention.
Next up, a trip to the present home of the New Jersey Nets, the Continental Airlines Arena, to face Seton Hall on Monday Night. Seton Hall blew out Rutgers last night, and are looking forward to the Pitt game.
“I’d rather be in this position going into (the) Pittsburgh (game) than the other way around,” Pirates coach Louis Orr said after the Hall’s 85-58 victory.
His players are understandably looking forward to the challenge of meeting one of the top teams in the nation. Last season, the Pirates split a pair of games with the Panthers. Pitt was ranked seventh when Seton Hall beat it, 73-61, at Continental Airlines Arena last Feb. 15. Junior John Allen said a victory over the Panthers, whose only loss this season came to No. 5 UConn, could go a long way toward helping the Pirates get back into the NCAA Tournament.
“We’ve got to make this game carry over into Monday night,” Allen said. “If we do that, we won’t have a problem. If we come out and play hard, we won’t have a problem. We’re going to have a chance to maybe make (an NCAA Tournament bid) happen after this big game. But we can really make some noise against Pitt.”
I’m sorry, it’s still a thrill to read things about how other teams are looking to make a statement by upsetting Pitt.
