Open thread for those who can.

HALFTIME UPDATE: Pitt 35-28. Krauser leading the scoring. Young started slow but finished the half strong.

Okay, before the game started Hillgrove and Groat waxed positively euphoric over the officiating crew. Then the game started and Pitt was whistled for a ton of fouls while nothing on Wisconsin. 3 on Kendall and Gray, 2 on Young, Graves and Biggs. Ultimately They were acting like Pitt was getting screwed. I am not seeing the game, what is reality?

FINAL UPDATE: Pitt 73-64. Pitt 11-0. Jamie Krauser led the scoring, but this was the freshmen breakout game. At least that will be the storyline tomorrow. Big night for Young. Fields was efficient (except at the FT line). Biggs stepped up and had a great night filling in when Gray could not stay in the line-up.

Unsung heroics to Ramon for his defense and running the point. 6 assists, 1 steal and 0 turnovers. DeGroat apparently got the message and played solid. 25 minutes with 5 points a rebound and an assist. This despite an apparent injury during the game.

I’m signing off for the night. Happy new year.

Can you guess today’s theme? Not just Pitt, but the same for Wisconsin.

The Badgers are 10-1, the best start of Bo Ryan’s five seasons. Considering just four of the team’s 15 players are upperclassmen, it’s possible that this team has grown more over the pre-conference season than any he has had at Wisconsin.

That doesn’t mean there aren’t concerns six days before they open the Big Ten season against Iowa at home. The team’s free throw shooting has been shaky at times, especially Tucker’s. Its defense has been, as Ryan likes to say, “a work in progress” although the team has made strides in that department in the past month.

The Badgers also have little experience playing on the road. They lost their lone road game, 91-88, at Wake Forest Nov. 29.

That’s why this evening is so important.

At 5 p.m., the Badgers, ranked No. 24 by the Associated Press and No. 22 in the coaches’ poll, play at Pittsburgh, a 10-0 team ranked 23rd by the coaches. The game should provide a much-needed test for both teams. Wisconsin gets to play at the Petersen Events Center where the Panthers have won 56 of 61 games. Pitt gets a ranked opponent after playing a schedule that, according to collegerpi.com, ranks 235th out of 334 teams.

(For those confused about the starting time, remember that Wisconsin is in the Central Time Zone. The game is still 6pm Eastern.)

The CollegeRPI SOS is accurate, but does not include the Wednesday game against South Carolina. With basketball regular season barely 1/3 of the way through, that is a big omission. It actually raised Pitt’s SOS by around 40-45 spots. Smaller sample sizes create wider variances.

As I was saying, the theme is “testing”:

Saturday, we should find out how physical the Badgers really are. They’ve only played one team anywhere near their skill level this season and that was Wake Forest, a team that doesn’t mind a game of strength, but would rather deliver body blows with fluid combinations of three-pointers and fast breaks.

While strength was an asset for the Badgers last season, Pittsburgh has been among the most physical programs in recent seasons, especially on defense.

Saturday’s game should be a good measuring stick for both teams. It is also an excellent scouting opportunity for Marquette coaches and fans. The Eagles will face the Panthers twice this season and should get an idea of how strong Jamie Dixon’s undefeated group is on Saturday prior to New Years’ eve gatherings.

And though Pittsburgh’s calling card remains rough, tough and tumble play, the point guards could be the difference in the game.

Not to mention give Pitt a good idea of how it stacks up against Marquette and the rest of the Big East. Marquette lost to Wisconsin earlier in the season, but beat South Carolina at the Great Alaskan Shoot-out. Right now Marquette is probably right in the middle of the Big East, and this will help indicate whether Pitt is right within the orbit or slightly higher.

Draft Express also goes with the testing concept.

WISCONSIN AT PITTSBURGH. Pittsburgh is undefeated on the season, but was really only tested once and that was in their game at South Carolina. This game will teach us more about how good a team they really are. Wisconsin has played a much tougher out of conference schedule. They are 10-1 on the year with their only loss being a close one to Wake Forest. They have some pretty good wins against top tier teams from lower level conferences, which may not sound impressive because they don’t have big names, but they are still good basketball teams that aren’t easy to beat. This would be a huge win for the Badgers as well if they could pull this off. Perhaps their best win of the year so far.

How obvious is the theme? Even Dick Vitale picked up on it.

Speaking of Pittsburgh, we’re going to find out a lot about Jamie Dixon’s club when they go against Bo Ryan’s Badgers. With Carl Krauser in the backcourt, an improved Aaron Gray up front, and the Zoo rooting on the Panthers, this should be a thriller. Diaper dandy Sam Young had 16 points in a big win at South Carolina earlier in the week. If Levon Kendall can play as well as he did against the United States over the summer in international play, Dixon has the potential to smile this season.

I know everyone is really tired of hearing Kendall’s performance over the summer. So am I. Problem is, we haven’t heard the last of it because Pitt has yet to start playing on ESPN. All of those announcing crews have to have their chance to talk about it.

There’s something of an incongruity when it comes to Pitt — and this applies to any team that has played a rather soft schedule — everyone is arguing that they are overrated, yet if Wisconsin beats them it is a big win. This, despite the fact that Wisconsin is actually ranked slightly above Pitt — and no one is claiming Wisconsin is overrated.

So as a service, here are the advanced spins from the national college basketball punditcracy.

If Pitt wins: A good win for Pitt, but it was at home; and they have played such a cupcake, home-laden schedule leading up to the game that they still should be punished and ridiculed for it. No real harm to Wisconsin who went on the road against a very good team.

If Wisconsin wins: A big win for Wisconsin on the road against a team that rarely loses at home. Shows how a good non-con can prepare a team (even if they barely left their home court all through the non-con). Pitt will have a tough loss that they had coming because they just weren’t prepared for the step-up in competition because of their lousy non-con and not testing themselves.

Now I’m not saying there aren’t some kernels of truth in there, but this is how you can expect to see the storylines.

Naturally one of the themes that will be heard on any broadcast of the game today will be the 2004 meeting of the teams in the NCAA. If you need a refresher you can find my recap here, along with the media recap. The great advantage of the blog is you can check responsespsonses and reactions at the time rather than memory-addled rewinds.

Wisconsin’s Greg Stiemsma gets a puff piece in one of the Wisconsin papers. He had five blocks against Louisiana Tech, and is part of the troika of big men inside for the Badgers. Bo Ryan, Wisconsin’s head coach, gets a puff piece in the context of looking at tonight’s game — aided in part by the fact that Ryan has a PA connection of being from Chester.

That’s why Ryan believes tonight’s game is crucial to both teams, and says playing the Panthers will help prepare the Badgers for Big Ten play.

“Pitt is a tough team, they are obviously playing very well right now,” Ryan said. “They’ve had a lot of success over the years and they’ve made their building a tough place to play. I think both teams could use a big win to get them jump-started for the conference schedule. It will be a tough game, but we’ve just got to make sure we do the things that made us successful to this point.”

Pitt of course, wants a win and end the year the right way.

“This is going to be my first experience playing against a team like this,” Young said. “This is going to be the best team we’ve played thus far. But we’ve worked hard and practiced hard. We had a good practice (Friday), and I think we’re ready.”

The Pitt defense, which has been stingy all season, will be severely tested by a Wisconsin lineup that features three players that are at least 6-10. Alando Tucker, a 6-6 forward, leads three double-figure scorers for the Badgers with an average of 17.5 points per game.

After allowing 71 points in a season-opening victory over St. Peter’s, Pitt has limited its past nine opponents to 60 points or less. The Panthers are yielding an average of only 54.6 points per game.

Both teams have the ability to play slow-down. Pitt coach Jamie Dixon said Wisconsin’s style would be a continuation of what the Panthers saw in South Carolina, when Pitt scored the least amount of first-half points this year.

But, he said, while South Carolina presented a sizeable lineup inside in 6-11 Brandon Wallace and 6-8 Renaldo Balkman, Wisconsin possesses a “completely different” player in the middle.

“These guys don’t put the ball down on the floor,” Dixon said, referring to 6-11 Brian Butch, 6-10 Jason Chappell and 6-11 reserve Greg Stiemsma. “They’re bigger, stronger, wider. But they’re not as athletic.”

Against Louisiana Tech, Butch registered game highs in points (18), rebounds (10) and assists (5) and a career high in blocks (3), while Stiemsa had a career-high five blocks to go with five points and four rebounds off the bench.

Wisconsin killed Louisiana Tech 78-52. This is a team that likes to score. They had one game where they didn’t score at least 71 points or more (a 54-51 win over UNC-Wilmington). According to the numbers, this is one of the most efficient teams on offense. They don’t commit a lot of turnovers, and they do a good job with each possession. The game should be something since Pitt is one of the most efficient defenses in the country.

Yeah, it’s safe to say the wife is going to be pissed at me for wanting to listen to this game on New Year’s Eve. But I don’t see how I can not.

For a second game in a row, Pitt will be facing an opponent who’s local media is completely focused on a college football bowl game. They have this Citrus Bowl or something on January 2, and that seems to be a big deal. I mean they are playing Auburn, and like, Pitt already crushed Auburn this year. Sure the crushing was in basketball, but then, that’s what’s important right now. No, I’m not in denial about the past football season. Why do you ask?

This will be the big game for Pitt. The Badgers can throw 3 big guys inside at teams. Forward-Center Brian Butch and Center Greg Stiemsma are both 6′ 11″, and Forward Center Jason Chappell is 6’10”, and all 3 are around 240-245. The point was made leading up to the South Carolina game that Aaron Gray would finally play inside against someone who could look him in the eye. Wisconsin actually has an inside size advantage.

Anyhow, game notes from Wisconsin (PDF) have the stats and it suggests that this is a team that will go inside on offense, then kick it out to the guards for the outside shots. Despite all that size inside, they are not a particularly dominating team on the glass. Butch is their leading rebounder with 6.8 per game.

Pitt game notes are here (PDF). The game is on FSN-Pittsburgh, ESPN Gameplan and apparently MSG is carrying it in the NY/NJ area (hat tip, Steve). For the rest of us it is Radio or the internet.

The game caught the attention of Greg Doyel at CBS Sportline, who included it in his top-ten games of the weekend.

No. 24 Wisconsin at Pittsburgh: Its schedule has been weak, but 10-0 Pittsburgh’s for real. Intermingled with all that tiptoeing through the daisies, the Panthers trashed Auburn and won at South Carolina. And this game is in Pittsburgh. So the pick here is obvious. Pick: Wisconsin.

I’m strangely happy to see Pitt not being picked, though it would appear some sports books have made Pitt a 4.5 point favorite. Many, however, have this one off.

After what is hoped to be his break-out game, Sam Young is the topic of a couple articles today. Obviously after the South Carolina game the issue is not will his minutes increase, but by how much.

Dixon has brought Young along slowly, playing him less than 17 minutes a game the first 10 games of the season. But it is becoming evident that Young is a player who can help the Panthers reach unexpected heights this season, if he can perform on a consistent basis.

“I told him that’s how I expect him to play every game,” Pitt senior Carl Krauser said afterward.

Young could be forcing his way into a more prominent role. He is Pitt’s most productive player when broken down into points per minute. Young has scored 74 points in 168 minutes. Center Aaron Gray is next with 123 points in 257 minutes.

Despite playing 66 fewer minutes than Levon Kendall, the starter at power forward, Young has scored just one fewer point. If Young can find consistency in his game, he will force Dixon to find more playing time for him.

As it is, Young is Pitt’s fourth-leading scorer with 7.4 points per game while seven other players on the team get more minutes.

Part of Young’s problem is that he has been maddeningly inconsistent. He failed to score against Vermont and scored three points or fewer on three other occasions. Yet there he was against South Carolina, playing like a seasoned veteran in his first college game outside Pittsburgh.

Based on the one game I have actually seen, I think Young has to rein in his showmanship. That seemed to be a problem. He was looking to create the big impact play to really bring the crowd to its feet, rather than just play and make things happen within the game. I’m a little uncomfortable saying that because it is extrapolation from too small a sample. It’s all I have at the moment to offer as a theory.

In the South Carolina game, it was Young’s offensive rebounding that made the difference in how much he scored and how Pitt came back and won the game.

“Sam Young had six offensive rebounds, four of which I know were put back by him,” Odom said.

After Dixon decided to replace Pitt starting forward John DeGroat with Benjamin in the opening minutes, Young spelled Levon Kendall at the other forward. Young (22 minutes) and Kendall (21), though, rotated consistently and played nearly an identical amount.

“Sam can be a great offensive rebounder, but I don’t think he’s quite grasped that yet,” Dixon said. “We’ve seen it at times, but we want it all the time. We want it every time.”

With Gray continuing to control the rebounding — he grabbed 13 to lead Pitt’s 38-22 domination of South Carolina on the boards — Dixon may want to find a way to keep Kendall and Young on the floor together with the 7-foot Gray.

“We had (Kendall and Young) in there at the same time, which is something we’ve done a little bit in the past,” Dixon said. “We’ve practiced that way probably more than in the games. It’s something that can happen.”

And likely will. There has yet to be any report of an injury to DeGroat, so it might be safe to assume he got in Dixon’s doghouse for now.

Ray Fittipaldo has his Q&A filed. He’s worried about the lack of depth behind Aaron Gray. Go figure. How many schools have a good center in the first place? Let alone 2? He also provides some updates on former Pitt players. Seems Julius Page is close to getting his degree.

I kind of held off on posting about Greg Lee deciding to go pro, because it didn’t seem that much more concrete than earlier reports. Now Frank passes word that he made it so on TV. Okay. I’m guessing it was money. His family needs it or something. He’s a 4th-5th rounder at best. That or he got some seriously bad advice. He’s got the talent and the size. He just has yet to show the focus and consistency. That’s going to be a potential killer.

As noted, this opens the door for the incoming freshmen like Dickerson and Smith. Kinder suddenly becomes a number #1. DelSardo gets another chance to get back in the mix. Players like Pestano, Chandler, Moore and Turner have to take advantage of the time between now and spring drills to try and make their case.

Matt Cavanaugh needs to further work on figuring out how to use the extremely deep and talented pool at Tight End — Buches, Strong, Pelusi are already here. Plus Byham’s arrival.

Finally, it is up to Palko to make an effort to connect with the WRs already here and find out which ones are committed to becoming the “go-to guy.”

Final note. Looks like Pitt will have a very respectable schedule.

Pitt has finalized its non-conference football schedule for 2006. The Panthers will play home games against Virginia, Michigan State, Toledo and The Citadel and play at Central Florida. They will play seven home games and five on the road. In addition to the four non-conference games, the Panthers will play host to Big East rivals Louisville, West Virginia and Rutgers. They will play road conference games at Connecticut, Cincinnati, South Florida and Syracuse.

If ticket prices hold the line, that will be pretty good value for home game opponents.

So Harry Psaros has left Rivals.com/PantherLair for Scout.com/PantherReport. He takes over as publisher.

Bob Lichtenfels has done an admirable job maintaining this site for two years. He is well known and respected and I look forward to working with him. As your new publisher, I plan on making a tremendous amount of changes. Look for a new name, new logo, new “look” and dramatically improved message boards. This site has sat in a state of atrophy for several years. That is about to change. There will be a steady metamorphosis over the next six months. I can assure you this site will dramatically improve.

There are many of you asking why I chose to jump to Scout.com. Upper management from the network has been in close contact with me for several months. We have had multiple in-depth discussions. Their vision of the future is aggressive and exciting. Scout’s affiliation with Fox Sports is bound to lead to bigger and better opportunities for this site (in addition to massive exposure). A myriad of Scout.com publishers took their time to contact me. I was highly impressed with family oriented atmosphere and sense of camaraderie between the publishers.

Things have quietly been getting interesting in the last six plus months for the recruiting sites. Scout.com and Rivals.com have had their sniping over time and various names, and people change sides all the time. It’s been recent, though, that real changes have been brewing. A lot started when ESPN/Disney started making noises. First was a ESPN The Magazine article over the summer that seemed to some as a hit piece on recruiting sites. Then came the further news about how ESPN.com was creating its own recruiting database and info under the name of Scouts, Inc. — and how a lawsuit over the names by Scout.com hasn’t occurred is beyond me.

Scout.com responded by letting itself be acquired by Fox Interactive Media, a part of the Fox media conglomerate. This gave Scout.com more reach and deeper pockets.

At this time, Rivals.com is still operating as an independent. There are still sports/entertainment media groups that could become involved with them. CBS Sportsline.com, which is owned by Viacom and recently acquired College Sports TV would appear to be the most obvious. Comcast/OLN is another possibility, as is Time Warner, and possibly even the Tribune Company. At some point they are going to need to have somebody behind them, if the fight for subscribers becomes more pointed.

2006 looks to be a year of potential shakeout and consolidation.

One of the things that will have Pitt fans wondering for the next couple of days will be what DeGroat did to get put on the bench for the entire game after less than 3 minutes on the floor? He started, but was pulled quickly and never saw the court again. He shot 1-2 and committed a turnover. There was no explanation I could find, and no reported injury. Seems even more surprising given Kendall’s 4 second-half turnovers.

The word used to describe the game was “ugly.”

He did not plan on the Panthers shooting 38 percent from the field, committing 17 turnovers or having his starting front line combine for a measly 12 points.

A performance like that usually produces a loss. But the Panthers did what they seem to do better than almost anyone they play. They muddied the waters, made the Gamecocks play their type of game and stole a 58-51 victory on the road.

“When you go on the road, it’s about being a family, sticking together and coming through adversity,” senior guard Carl Krauser said. “We gutted it out and got a tough win.”

The story, of course, was Sam Young.

Young did not make his first appearance until midway through the first half, but he quickly made his presence known by scoring off three offensive rebounds in a 3:30 span to get Pitt back in the game.

When Pitt seized control of the game early in the second half, Young played the key role. He scored 10 of Pitt’s points in an 18-7 run to open the half, including a three-point play off an offensive rebound and a 3-pointer from behind the arc.

“Sam Young is the guy who turned the game with his offensive rebounding,” South Carolina coach Dave Odom said.

“We were struggling on offense,” Young said. “I saw an opportunity to step up. I thought I’d take that opportunity.”

That he did.

Coach Dixon was in his usual coachspeak, but was honest that the team needs a lot of improvement. Despite holding South Carolina to 51 points, Pitt allowed them to shoot better than 40%; Pitt turned the ball over too much and shot selection needs to be better.

For South Carolina, their leading rebounder was invisible in the first half then benched in the second.

“I’m terribly disappointed right now,” Gamecocks coach Dave Odom said. “Our team is not playing as well as it needs to play. Our team is not playing winning basketball right now.”

Balkman played two minutes in the second half after being benched because “I didn’t think he was playing well, and I didn’t think he was playing very hard,” Odom said.

Without Balkman, the team’s leading rebounder entering Wednesday, Pittsburgh finished with a 16-rebound advantage and erased a slow start that produced 10 points in the first 14 minutes.

Kelley’s 18 points appeared to hit the spot. But because Balkman was MIA and no one picked up the slack, the result was another bad statistic for the Gamecocks: They are now 0-7 when Kelley scores at least 17 points.

Kelley said the increased pressure to score occasionally results in turnovers; he had three in the second half Wednesday.

But Kelley said there are other problems with the Gamecocks, who have lost two in a row for the first time this season and have lost three of their past five.

“We’ve got to listen. I don’t think we listen much to the coaching staff,” Kelley said. “We’ve got to get everybody on the same page. Some guys may or may not care much about losing, but there are some guys in this locker room who do. We have to want to win.”

That’s one of those unfortunate things, because Kelley wasn’t the problem. He was the only one keeping USC in the game in the second half. He shot 6-10 while the rest of the team shot 12-32 (.375). He was 4-4 at the FT line, and the rest of the team was 8-17. He even grabbed 4 rebounds. This was not some sort of game where one player took an absurd number of shots to the exclusion of others. It’s where no one else for the Gamecocks was doing much of value.

The loss spoiled the retirement of BJ McKie’s jersey. Well, that’s why they do those sort of things before the game.

In the stories before the game, the theme was to get the ball inside first. Get the inside baskets and the outside shots for the guards will come. So much for that gameplan.

In the first half Pitt took 26 shots, and 12 were from outside the arc (making only 3). It would appear to have been some impatient guard play — led by Krauser. The guards took 12 shots, of which 10 were 3-pointers. Gray, Kendall, Biggs and DeGroat only took 9 shots, and 2 of them were 3-pointers. There wasn’t a lot of penetration in the first half. Some of that should be attributed to the South Carolina defense which swarmed the ball very well, and created 9 turnovers in the half — by 7 players.

What kept Pitt in the game was the offensive rebounding. Pitt held a 9-2 offensive rebounding advantage in the first half. This was keyed by Sam Young continually following shots to the basket (including his own once). He had 4 offensive boards and immediately followed with a lay-up or jumper to go 3-4 (3-5 in the half). Considering Pitt shot 8-26 in the first half, there is no way to underestimate the importance of Young’s impact.

The only other positive to take from that horrible 1st half — other than somehow being down by only 2 — was that there was an assist on half of the baskets. A not so subtle hint that ball movement gets better looks.

The second half saw the adjustments and refocusing of getting the ball inside more often. Pitt only took 6 3-pointers. The concerted effort was clear in that Gray — while shooting horribly in the game (3-10) — had 7 shots in the second half and making 3. Kendall also saw the ball inside a lot more, but was very sloppy. He had 4 of his 5 turnovers in the second half — never actually getting a shot off.

Pitt shot 10-21 in the second half while absolutely limiting South Carolina’s opportunities. The Gamecocks only had 1 offensive rebound in the second half, 3 for the entire game.

Pitt’s second half offense was keyed by 3 different players at different points. Keith Benjamin in the first couple of minutes with an offensive rebound and 2 baskets to give Pitt the lead. Sam Young was in the middle of everything from around the 17 minute point to about 9 minutes left in the game — 10 points (5-5 on FTs), 2 rebounds, 1 steal, 1 assist. (He also was whistled for a couple fouls, bringing him to 4, which was why he came out of the game at that point.) Carl Krauser in the final 5:43 where he had 8 of Pitt’s final 13 points.

Well, it’s about time.

We finally have another Pitt blogger.

Keith Wehmeyer has gotten in the game. Keith has been writing for the Pitt News, and has been a commenter here for the last 3-4 months or so. He will be focusing on basketball, and has a nice clean looking home. His blog now linked in the Big East Blogs section, and is a welcome addition — even if he is a Red Sox fan.

Facing the Gamecocks, it was the first time Pitt trailed at half time this year. Guess what? Last year Pitt was trailing South Carolina at the half for the first time in the season. Hell, looking at last year’s recap, I had afterwards there was a good amount of familiarity. — a second half run to open it up, the Gamecocks getting back into it, icing the game with free throws, Krauser.

On the bright side, it was still a win. Pitt withstood its first challenge despite an absurd number of turnovers (17) because they outrebounded like crazy (38 to 23) creating more shot attempts and limiting the opposition.

Go to this Yahoo! Page and click the gray “audio” link next to South Carolina for the free radio broadcast.

Halftime Update: Pitt down 22-20 despite absolutely pathetic shooting and 9 turnovers. Pitt is in this one because Sam Young is doing some great offensive rebounding and put-backs.

Final Update: 58-51 Pitt. Pitt turned it on, then nearly let it get away. Sam Young was huge. Gray rebounded but couldn’t hit water falling out of a boat. Krauser had one of those nights where he just shot 3s — badly. 2nd half free throw shooting helped bail Pitt out. More when I can better digest and view the full stats.

Well, not quite but a nice start to the New Year. ESPN.com is plugging its mid-season college basketball full-court PPV package online (the mid-season package starts January 6). To that end it will be doing a free preview week January 3-8. That happens to include the January 4 ND-Pitt game.

A nice bonus for those, like me, who live outside of the Pittsburgh media market (the game will be on FoxSports Pittsburgh), and opted against getting the full package.

There actually look to be some other good games during the free period. Definitely able to check out other BE opponents.

January 3: Connecticut @ Marquette

January 4: Xavier @ Saint Joseph’s and Yale @ Kansas

January 5: Iowa @ Wisconsin

January 7: Cincinnati @ Marquette; Notre Dame @ DePaul; Oklahoma State @ Missouri

January 8: West Virginia @ Villanova; Temple @ Saint Joseph’s; Georgetown @ St. John’s

You do need broadband, though. Also, I’ve found that ESPN.com is picky about the browser you use. You will probably have to use Microsoft Internet Explorer.

I’d say Pitt’s reputation in basketball the last few years is the reason the team is getting ranked or close to ranked, as opposed to Clemson.

Pittsburgh is 9-0 and Clemson is 11-0. Are the Panthers or Tigers any good? Hard to tell. Pitt’s best win is probably over Auburn, which would have mattered in football. Clemson can be proud of beating South Carolina but shouldn’t shout too loud about wins over Puerto Rico Mayaguez or South Carolina State. Both teams walloped Coppin State and Penn State. Pitt Coach Jamie Dixon and Clemson Coach Oliver Purnell must attend the same school of easy scheduling.

Clemson is in the 30s when it comes to receiving votes in both polls. They have non-con games remaining at Georgia tonight and Elon. Still amusing to read Penn State listed as one of the cream-puffs on the schedule for unbeaten Pitt, Clemson and Texas A&M

In showing how little concern there is for Gamecock basketball, the only story in the paper focuses on the retirement of BJ McKie’s number and the school’s relationship with past players.

McKie, who was a McDonald’s All-American at Irmo High, said one of his best decisions was to attend USC, but he added that today’s high-school players are less likely to associate tradition with the school unless familiar faces are watching from the bleachers.

“I think they (USC officials) could improve upon a lot of things like that. That’s why some players don’t come back. I really think they could do a better job of organizing things to a certain degree,” McKie said. “The university has a lot of things to work on as far as getting the former players to come back. Some bridges have been burned, and a lot of people know that because players don’t come back.

“This is a good first step.”

One that will include other former players and coaches. Several former Gamecocks, such as Melvin Watson and Larry Davis, are expected to attend tonight’s game. Former coach Eddie Fogler, who recruited and coached McKie and led USC to a pair of NCAA Tournament appearances, said he will attend.

Hyman said the school plans to invite all former men’s basketball players back for a game later this season.

McKie, who plays for Andrea Costa Imola in Italy, said he has maintained a healthy relationship with USC since graduating in 1999; he said he has worked at summer basketball camps at the school and occasionally stays up late in Italy to watch the Gamecocks on satellite television.

Recently departed Pitt players have been spotted frequently at the games, and that is a credit to their relationship with Coach Jamie Dixon and the Pitt Athletic Department for making the effort — as players from further back have been showing up at the games. Of course, winning really makes it a lot easier and desirable to attend the games.

The game will not be shown on TV in Pittsburgh, nor on ESPN Full Court. If you live where Comcast/Charter Sports South is shown(some places in the South), you can see the game. Otherwise you can listen for free on the internet via the South Carolina website, or on the local radio if you are in the Pittsburgh Radio Network range.

This will also be one of the first games where Aaron Gray will not have a huge advantage at Center.

South Carolina’s Brandon Wallace, who stands 6-11, will be the first opponent Gray has faced who has the height and quickness to defend Gray in the post. A slender but long-armed junior, Wallace has the task of standing up to Gray in the lane.

“It’ll be good to see Aaron go up against someone who isn’t 6-7,” junior power forward Levon Kendall said with a smile. “I’m looking forward to seeing that.”

Pitt has dominated the middle in each of its first nine victories. Gray has registered six double-doubles and Kendall, after a slow start, has scored in double figures the past three contests. He is third on the team in scoring with 7.9 points per game and second in rebounding with 6.8.

Kendall will have his hands full with South Carolina sophomore Renaldo Balkman, the Gamecocks’ second-leading scorer with 11.7 points per game and their top rebounder with 7.2 per game. Balkman, who is 6-8, also leads the Gamecocks with 20 blocked shots. Wallace has 18.

“It’s a nice challenge,” Kendall said. “He is putting up some nice numbers and is really active. He’s doing lots of little things. We’ll see if we can lock them down and show them how good we are inside.”

Wallace is only 200 pounds and Balkman just 210, so Gray will have an advantage with his girth. But Pitt coach Jamie Dixon said Wallace’s and Balkman’s athleticism will challenge Pitt’s front line. Gray is going to have to show he’s capable of defending Wallace on the perimeter. Wallace can step away from the basket and make outside shots. He is 7 for 17 from 3-point range and has a nice midrange game as well.

Reads to me as the kind of players who can get Pitt’s inside guys in foul trouble. Part of it will depend on how the game is called. Kendall is going to have to be able to keep his guy in front of him.

On offense Pitt is stating their intent to go inside first to open up the perimeter

“We should always stay with what’s working for us,” Krauser said. “We shouldn’t change the chemistry and flow of the team.”

Said Kendall: “That’s always the game plan. Once the big guys are established it opens up everything for the guards. I think our best games are when that happens. Guards start worrying about us and doubling down on us. It spreads everything out. That’s been one of our strengths.”

As noted yesterday, this is an important year for South Carolina and Coach Dave Odom. They have returning talent from a bubble team that won the NIT. The SEC is down a bit with a lot of players having turned pro last year.

Besides Temple this season, Marquette and Clemson are the other teams to beat the Gamecocks, whose only loss in the starting lineup was Carlos Powell, the MVP of the NIT.

“I think this is our deepest team since I came to Carolina,” South Carolina coach Dave Odom said. “On most teams I’ve coached, you always have one or two guys that, for whatever reason, you don’t have the confidence to put them in during prime time. I don’t think there’s anybody on our team that I would cringe if they had to go into the game when it’s on the line.”

Tarence Kinsey, a 6-6 guard, leads South Carolina in scoring (16.5 ppg.). Renaldo Balkman, a 6-8 forward, is the leading rebounder (7.2 rpg.) and is second in scoring (11.7 ppg.).

The oddsmakers, mostly, don’t like this game. Some slight edge given to the Gamecocks for being at home, but it just looks like they aren’t sure about Pitt. When even the gamblers aren’t sure what to think, you are definitely an unknown quantity.

Hope everyone had a nice couple of days of peace and tolerance. Hopefully family didn’t drive (and aren’t driving — for the students still on break) you too crazy. Don’t know about the rest of you, but this has been a slightly off holiday. Nothing major, just a little edgier at moments. Still stuck on dial-up until I get home sometime this evening.

The Pitt players got back Sunday and received a tough workout Christmas night.

Dixon put his players through the paces Sunday night in an attempt to recondition them for the quick turnaround. The Panthers will leave this morning for Charlotte, N.C., and bus two hours to Columbia, S.C. They will practice there today.

“I was sort of caught off guard,” Kendall said. “I was just expecting to get in the gym and get a sweat going. The coaching staff was pretty set on keeping us undefeated. It was one of the tougher practices we’ve had in a while. We were out there for two hours, and he put us through a lot of the tougher drills. It was really good to get guys going. It got the travel out of our legs. It shocked us a little bit, got us in gear.”

Dixon called it “the best Christmas practice we’ve had in seven years here.”

Krauser agreed.

“We went to work,” he said. “It’s what we’re supposed to do. That’s what we’re here for. Sometimes, you have to make sacrifices with your friends and family and you have to go to work.”

Krauser is looking to be the calming influence in the game, trying to make sure the freshmen don’t get too fired up on the first road game. Yet he isn’t too nervous.

Freshman Forward Sam Young returned from home with a fat lip and a missing tooth.

“I had two good workouts when I went back home. I got my tooth knocked out in a pickup game,” Young said Monday at Petersen Events Center, following Pitt’s second practice since players returned Sunday from an extended Christmas break.

The soft-spoken forward, who leads the Panthers in highlight-reel dunks through the first nine games, seemed more concerned about his next game than anything else.
…
“It’s no big deal. There were a lot of people there that I knew,” he said. “I plan on getting the tooth fixed this week.”

The players seem ready. Most of the talking for interviews appears to have been from Krauser and Kendall.

Pitt has moved to #23 in the ESPN/USA Today Coaches Poll and is at #27 in the AP Writers.

Down in South Carolina, the basketball team is in relative obscurity as the football team plays in the Independence Bowl on Friday. This appears to be a make-or-break year for SC head coach Dave Odom.

For once almost all Carolina fans agree that if Odom’s squad lands the school’s first non-consolation NCAA Tournament win in 30-plus years he should be able to return for another season. However, a classic meltdown amongst the Gamecock Nation would occur if Odom’s squad fell “just short” of that. It’s hard to name another school that has frantic arguments over “expectations/demands/goals” like the ones at USC, and Odom’s tenure has provided fertile ground indeed for these schisms to flourish. Like the “chicken or the egg” debate, it’s unclear what should come first in Columbia: Success or increased expectations?

Shouldn’t an SEC school pumping millions into a program including a multi-million dollar new arena have the right to demand more than plodding minor success and mediocrity from its coach? Shouldn’t that coach be expected to be more than a positive enthusiastic caretaker who obeys the rules? Shouldn’t that coach have to land one NCAA tournament win in five years?

Conversely, is it fair or realistic to demand more first considering the school’s history? Shouldn’t USC fans be happy with “not losing as bad as before?” Why should Odom be expected to do more than others have? Since hiring a young coach hasn’t always worked and has “risk” attached to it, shouldn’t USC just stay right in their current security blanket?

It’s a good piece. And it might seem like a familiar discussion.

In a Big East Notebook story, there is notice that Pitt looks to be better than believed in pre-season, but has yet to be tested.

How Good Is Pitt?

Pittsburgh is 9-0 and hasn’t beaten anybody, really.

Their first game away from home will be Wednesday at South Carolina, a team they beat by four at home last season.

The Panthers have a good point guard in Carl Krauser and a nice big man inside with Aaron Gray, who is averaging 10.4 rebounds.

Pitt is likely to be better than expected. It would have been nice to see how much better with some tougher games early on.

We’ll start finding out tomorrow night.

Pitt has their gamenotes for the South Carolina game here (PDF). I can’t tell you anything about them, as I am at the in-laws, they have an ancient version of Adobe Reader and it’s dial-up so I don’t feel like wasting an hour or so to download the latest version to read it.

Brief aside, to thank the Pitt Athletic Department for reverting to putting the gamenotes files with actual permanent names rather than the “auto-weekly-release” label and changing it later for the archives. I doubt it was my whining that made the change, but I appreciate it.

Unfortunately, the Gamecocks do the whole “weekly-release” thing (PDF).

As previously mentioned on this blog, before the game South Carolina will retire the jersey of BJ McKie, their all-time leading scorer. McKie was also on the 1997 Gamecocks team that went into the NCAA Tournament as a #2 seed only to be upset in Pittsburgh by Coppin St. in the 1st round.