Going to try and keep this quick. Curious to see how blatantly biased Digger Phelps goes to his Irish (not that there is anything wrong with blatant, up front biases, or then I’d be a hypocrite regarding Mark May during football season) on the 11 am College GameDay.

The Pitt players are not only confident about this game, but still confident about what they can accomplish this season. There are legitimate questions.

Can Chris Taft play hard enough often enough to dominate, at least during portions of games, as Pitt needs him to?

Will Pitt grasp the importance of effort and execution for 40 minutes on defense?

Can the Panthers expect consistent contributions from their bench?

Will they protect the ball?

Although the Panthers are young at some spots and have been working all season to come to grips with no longer having Julius Page and Jaron Brown upon which to rely, the pieces are in place for Pitt to become a special team. Not Illinois special, not Duke or North Carolina special, but better than last year’s Sweet 16 team, the program’s third in as many seasons.

There’s not time to get into it now, but I will posit that the local media and some fans are the ones that seem to be having the problem coming to grips with Page and Brown no longer being on the team. There’s only 3 weeks left in the regular season, 6 games after today, and the issue of Page and Brown keep getting raised after every game it seems. Time to let it go. Different players. Different team.

What Pitt can expect from the Irish, is not a shock. It’s what teams have been doing in the conference with some success. It’s what the Irish, generally, like to do. It’s taking shots around the perimeter. Not necessarily always going to be 3s, but 15 to 18 foot jumpers.

The trick for players like Graves, Ramon, Benjamin and Kendall — don’t give the easy foul, by going for the fake step. Falls and Quinn prefer to make their own shot and take jumpers. Using the head fake, a short first step like they are going to drive then using the separation to pull back for a jumper.

Thomas, is the perimeter player who drives. He’s had a season that has not lived up to all the hype (when has he?), but he played well against BC. He should be matched up with Krauser, the Pitt perimeter player who drives. This is the match-up everyone wants to talk about for the game.

Each has a fierce desire to win, as well as an ability to create his own shot and take over a games. If this were a prizefight, Krauser would be considered a brawler, a guy who looks for the crowd-pleasing knockout, while Thomas would be considered a ring technician, a calculating finesse fighter.

“He’s one of the toughest point guards in the nation,” Krauser said of Thomas. “I think it’s going to be a good battle.”

Thomas averages 13.7 points, 6 assists, 5.2 rebounds and 3 turnovers this season. Krauser averages 15.8, 6.3, 4.7 and 4.1. Both have been sporadic — offseason knee surgery has hampered Thomas and led to substandard play; Krauser is prone to turnovers — but more often than not, they’ve found ways to lead their teams to significant victories.
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“Winning games is what you have to judge (point guard play) on, not points assists or turnovers,” Notre Dame coach Mike Brey said.
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“I have a lot of respect for his game,” Krauser said of Thomas, who has hit just 33.7 of his shots this season, compared to 41.5 for Krauser. “We both just want to win.”

In head-to-head competition, Thomas has produced better statistics than Krauser, but Krauser is undefeated at 2-0. Thomas scorched Pitt for a total of 52 points in two games last season (including 29 on 7-of-13 shooting from 3-point range in a three-point loss), in addition to amassing 10 assists. Krauser contributed 34 total points and seven assists.

Wins not stats.

ND has yet to win at the Pete, but the shooters seem to like it.

It is, according to the most accurate shooter in the conference, one of the best shooting arenas in the Big East.

“The Petersen Events Center is a great place to shoot,” Notre Dame guard Colin Falls, tops in the Big East with a 44.3 percentage from three-point range, says of Pittsburgh’s facility.

Pitt is going to need Ramon on defense. Hopefully his shoulder is getting better than previously indicated. Graves just is not that good on defense, and it affects his shooting and ball handling when he starts getting torched.

Let’s Go Pitt!!!