The Pitt News offers its preview of tomorrow’s game ‘twixt Pitt and Seton Hall.

On the Seton Hall side of things, the article highlights the absence of Andre Barrett from the Pirates and the subsequent need for John Allen and Kelly Whitney to step up and take the reins.

With regards to the Panthers, Jamie Dixon admits that there’s some work that needs to be done. Specifically, that ” ‘We need to play team defense against them; it can’t come down to one guy,’ ” Dixon said of Allen and Whitney. “[Seton Hall] runs Allen and Whitney off screens, making it difficult to defend. We also need to play better transition defense.”

It’s also Jamie Dixon’s 50th game as Pitt’s head coach.

Beyond that, I’ve not seen much about this game. Then again, given that both western Pennsylvania and northern Jersey are fixating on the Jets/Steelers playoff game, this is hardly surprising.

Despite no articles about tomorrow’s game, there are some stories about Pitt basketball.

Pitt’s brutally bad non-con, something I have been slightly manic about flogging, gets somewhat of a defense.

Big East associate commissioner Tom Odjackjian said CBS tried to arrange for the No. 20 Panthers to play televised games at No. 1 Illinois, No. 5 Duke and No. 15 Michigan State, but all three schools balked at the offer.

“Syracuse and Pittsburgh have had some criticism for their non-conference schedules, but it’s not for their lack of trying or lack of willingness,” Odjackjian said when reached by telephone. “That’s how they ended up in the Jimmy V Classic.”
…
“I think it’s important people understand Pittsburgh and Syracuse were willing to play,” he said. “Pittsburgh, in particular, was willing to go to Cameron (Indoor Stadium), but it didn’t work out.

“Some people, philosophically, don’t like to play a tough game in January, but that’s what some networks are looking for.”

January? That doesn’t excuse the whole month of December. And why wasn’t the Athletic Department working to make it happen rather than rely on a TV network to sell it?

Meanwhile, Darrelle Revis, the Freshman Cornerback for Pitt who was going to join the b-ball team, and showed up at the Oakland Zoo meeting. Revis took part in a couple practices and opted to concentrate on football. Just as well, the odds of him getting off the bench from here to the end of the season weren’t exactly high.

An article about how the younger players are showing a willingness to step up and take the big shots at big moments in games. Honestly that has never been a question. Krauser and Graves were willing to do it last year, as well. It’s more a matter of making the big shots.

Another article talks about Pitt working to improve on the defensive end. The article points out that Pitt is shooting well in just about all aspects. The big problem, as far as the offense, has been turnovers. Pitt is still a deliberate, half-court offense. The large number of turnovers Pitt has had, though, limit its already low number of shooting opportunities. The defense, showed some signs of coming around against Rutgers, but it is unclear how much was just playing a bad Rutgers team putting up bad shots.

MSNBC does a series on the best college basketball rivalries (tip-off, courtesy of B.B.). My wife is a Cinci grad, so she is happy they list Cinci-Xavier, the Skyline Chili Crosstown Shootout. Pitt-UConn made their list as the best budding rivalry.

Fans and players donÂ’t really hate each other, but the level of play in their games has thrusted this to the forefront. Last yearÂ’s Big East title game, which the Huskies won, 61-58 after the Panthers took the regular-season title, is a great example.

With star Emeka Okafor hobbled by back spasms, guard Ben Gordon hit the game-winner and set the Big East Tournament scoring record in the process. Oh yeah, it was the third straight time theyÂ’d played for the title. It was the fourth straight final for the Panthers and the eighth in 10 years for Connecticut.

Funny, there is still a lot of residual tension and discussion over a game at Fitzgerald in 1998. Still this only remains a good rivalry game as long as both teams are near the same level. It wasn’t much of one, prior to 1998.

The game is tomorrow, but you wouldn’t know it. The New Jersey papers have nothing, nor do the Pittsburgh papers have anything about the game. Seton Hall has put out its press release for the game and stats and game notes (PDF). In the NY/NJ area the game will be broadcast on MSG network. You can hear the game live on the internet for free via ESPN 1050AM.

Long profile story on former Pitt RB, Curtis Martin of the NY Jets, as most of Western Pennsylvania focuses on the Jets-Steelers game. Seems Martin was never really much of a football guy:

“My mom didn’t want me out on the streets,” Martin recalled. “Too many of us were getting killed. I feel like I could have been dead so many times. I feel so blessed and grateful that [bad] things never panned out for me.”

Hackett and assistant Sal Sunseri wooed Martin, sold his mother on a Pitt education, landed the prize recruit. “I listened to them and the whole time I’m thinking in my mind, ‘They don’t know, I don’t even care.’ I was horrible in college. I didn’t want to play. I just didn’t want to look stupid [frittering away] the scholarship.”

Seems like a deep one-on-one sitdown with a reporter. That is until you see the same quotes and same type of story in the Asbury Park Press and NorthJersey.com. Not to mention the NY Times. Basically he told this story during media sit-down.

As an additional aside, an interesting and sad story (picked up by the sports wires) on the murder of Paul Hackett’s father nearly 40 years ago.

Arguably, Matt Cavanaugh coming in as Offensive Coordinator and QB Coach at Pitt will be a gamble for Cavanaugh. Cavanaugh took the blame in Baltimore for the Ravens’ putrid offense, and failure to develop a QB. He was getting a lot of heat before he “resigned.” Boller’s development this year was credited by most to Jim Fassel who came in as QB coach. In Cavanaugh’s defense, the Ravens have lacked a real #1 receiver who can stretch the field, but did have a strong O-line, an-all-pro TE (who was hurt for half the year) and stud running back.

Cavanaugh is very much a “west-coast offense” kind of coach who prefers the strong running game and short passes. He uses his tight ends as receivers a lot. At Pitt, he will have Eric Gill at TE and a receiving corp that will have Greg Lee to stretch the field along with Darrell Strong and Joe DelSardo to go over the middle. He basically comes into a job where the strengths and weaknessess are reversed.

Not only does he need to rebuild his reputation to a degree, but Pitt fans will be watching closely. Palko had progressed and developed so quickly into a top college QB, that any steps backward will likely be pinned on Cavanaugh.

A familiar, though surprising name (no, not Paul Hackett).

Former Baltimore Ravens offensive coordinator Matt Cavanaugh is expected to take a similar position at Pitt, according to a source close to the situation.

Cavanaugh, a former Pitt player and assistant coach, was offered the job by new Panthers coach Dave Wannstedt last week. He wanted a few days to consider it because he also was weighing some opportunities in the NFL.

If Cavanaugh is named to Pitt’s staff, it would mean the Panthers not only got their top candidate for the head coaching position — Wannstedt — but also their second and third choices.

Cavanaugh and defensive coordinator Paul Rhoads were the other two finalists for the head coaching position vacated by Walt Harris in December.

Wow. I’m stunned. Absolutely stunned if he comes on board. Cavanaugh was Wannstedt’s OC when he was head coach in Chicago for a couple years, and apparently there isn’t too much in the way of hurt feelings that Wannstedt came back into the Pitt coaching picture at the last minute.