Okay, that is kind of a strange factoid. In the 169 or 168 times that Pitt and WVU have met, Thursday’s game will be the first time both teams are ranked at the same time.

Most of Pitt’s basketball success has come in the past 30 years or so. The AP ranked Pitt for the first time Jan. 14, 1974. After the ’74 season, the Panthers didn’t get ranked again until 1986 and spent most of the next five seasons in the national rankings. They have been a consistent presence in the AP poll since early January 2002.

West Virginia, on the other hand, enjoyed some of its best years in the 1950s and early 1960s. The Mountaineers were consistently ranked from 1950-1963, including a No. 1 ranking for eight weeks in 1957 and ’58. After ’63, the Mountaineers got ranked for one week in 1971, but didn’t get ranked again until 1982. Until this season, the Mountaineers were ranked only 21 times from 1989-2004.

Those are some big gaps.

And in case you just haven’t gotten enough of the Steelers:

Pitt is in the preliminary stages of putting together a ceremony to honor the Steelers for their victory in Super Bowl XL. School officials are trying to work to get Steelers players to attend for a pregame or halftime ceremony.

It won’t be the Providence game (Feb. 25) since that one will be the “Centennial Team” honors. Probably couldn’t pull it together in time for tomorrow night’s game. That leaves either this Saturday’s game against Cinci or the final game against Seton Hall (March 3).

Pitt comes into the game losing 2 straight while WVU hasn’t lost in BE play and has won 15 of its last 16 games. Both teams played over the weekend, with WVU beating Cinci on Saturday and Pitt lost to G-town on Sunday.

The big match-up issue will be the presumed one between Aaron Gray and Kevin Pittsnogle. I’m not so sure. Pitt might consider a different match-up given Pittsnogle’s ability to shoot from outside. It has to at least be considered to let Kendall and Young give up some size to be able to come out on Pittsnogle.

An article claiming that Patrick Beilein is WVU’s biggest trash-talker? I’m just going to let that go.

Game notes for Pitt and WVU (PDFs).

I don’t have a huge problem with this week’s BE Power Poll. Of course, it is helped by the fact that not many got their votes in, so my vote had more heft to it. I’m a little troubled to see Seton Hall behind Syracuse at this point. Here’s my ballot.

1. UConn
2. WVU
3. Nova
4. Georgetown
5. Pitt
6. Seton Hall
7. Marquette
8. Syracuse
9. Louisville
10. Cinci
11. Providence
12. Rutgers
13. St. John’s
14. DePaul
15. ND
16. USF

Of course, Pitt took a tumble in the National Polls. Not surprising to me that Pitt dropped to #13 and #14. Yes, I know Florida is still in the top 10 and didn’t fall as far losing to lesser foes. I’m not going to be that bent over it. Besides, how do you think G-town fans are feeling? They’ve been as hot as any team, and they are still behind Pitt in the rankings.

The 2006 Pitt football schedule has been released (hat tip to Joe T.). That makes sense because the Big East released the entire schedule (hat tip to Kevin B.).

Date —– Opponent —————— Time

Sept. 2 —- Virginia —————— TBA

Sept. 8 (Fri.) – at Cincinnati* (ESPN2) – TBA

Sept. 16 — Michigan State ———- TBA

Sept. 23 — The Citadel ————— TBA

Sept. 30 —- Toledo ——————– TBA

Oct. 7 —— at Syracuse* ———— TBA

Oct. 14 —- at Central Florida ——– TBA

Oct. 21 ——- Rutgers* —————- TBA

Oct. 28 ——— OPEN

Nov. 4 ——— at South Florida* —– TBA

Nov. 11 ——– at Connecticut* ——- TBA

Nov. 16 (Thurs.) – West Virginia* (ESPN) – 7:30 p.m.

Nov. 25 ———- Louisville* ———– TBA

Only 2 ESPN games at this point. Having a disappointing season and debut last year will do that.

Let’s see, yup, Pitt keeps the tradition going again. If any of the High Holy Days fall on a weekend, there must be a home game. Rosh Hashanah starts Friday evening, September 22. Perfect. At least it’s only The Citadel.

As far as the BE schools as a whole, the ongoing ghettoization on the ESPN family continues. Only two games get on ESPN or ESPN2 on a Saturday. Both on the final day of the season, December 2: UConn @ Louisville and Rutgers @ WVU. Otherwise they are Thursday (4) and Friday (2) match-ups. Though, according to the release:

There are a minimum of two additional ESPN or ESPN2 telecasts and four ABC telecasts still to be determined.

With games against Virginia and Michigan State, Pitt has a chance for one of those 6 slots. Louisville has as good a shot with games against Miami (FL) and K-State

WVU will be televised 5 times on the Mouse channels and Louisville 4 times. USF and Syracuse make 0 appearances at this time.

Almost exactly a year ago, Pitt was heading to the concrete toadstool for a game that Pitt was expected to win. And why not?

Pitt had won 5 straight from the ‘Eers. WVU was struggling after a good start. Coach John Beilein was under criticism in his third year at WVU for his system and whether he was even the right coach for the job (he had yet to beat Pitt or win a game in the BET). The starting center for WVU was going to miss the game because he was sick. In his place the back-up Center who only averaged about 15 minutes a game as his game seemed to regress from the previous year would start.

It all started turning around with that overtime win over Pitt.

That just makes me ill.

Two-game losing streak. In the midst of a brutal stretch of games. Home game against a rival, that is not only top-10 but plays an offensive style that plays to Pitt’s weakness. Oy.

I guess there’s a parade or something today as various players quickly return from media engagements. So unless the Steelers players show up during the WVU-Pitt game, most Pittsburgh fans aren’t really going to notice this game until after it happens.

It doesn’t matter. This is a big, national game on ESPN. Complete with Dick Vitale screaming into the mike, and singing the praises of the Oakland Zoo. It’s a rivalry game.

The Mountaineers will be about to start their brutal stretch: at Pitt, at Georgetown, at Seton Hall, home for UConn, and then at Syracuse. All 5 games in a 12 day period late in the season. WVU’s lack of depth could catch-up to them in that period. They really only go 2 deep on the bench. 97.8% of the minutes are filled by seven players.

Pittsnogle, Gansey and Herber all average over 30 minutes a game. Beilein, Young and Collins at least 24 minutes.

This game is up to Pitt. To get all clichey, Pitt is going to have to step up and show what kind of team they are. Now that everyone knows Pitt is a top-20 team, Pitt has to be able to beat other legit top-20 teams. None of the teams that were previously ranked when Pitt faced them are ranked at this point. WVU would be the first that I am reasonably certain will still be in the rankings at the end of the season.

A Q&A with Pitt Associate Head Coach, Barry Rohrssen. It’s mostly fluff, but there are some nuggets.

You coach Pitt’s forwards and center and work with Aaron Gray every day in practice. Why has he been able to improve so much this season from last?

Rohrssen: The jump in his numbers are reflective with the minutes he’s playing. I’ve always been impressed with Aaron ever since his freshman year. I have buddies who work in the NBA who are scouts and personnel guys. I was telling them about Aaron ever since he was a freshman, and they were like, ‘Well, he’s not playing. He’s overweight.’ I said, listen, ‘I want to make you look good with your boss. Take down his name because one day he’s going to make you look good.’ One of the things that separates Aaron is his work ethic and desire to improve. He wants to be a better player. One thing about Aaron is impressive to me is his unselfishness, his sharing of the basketball. It’s not a black hole when it goes in there. If you give the ball to Aaron and you cut or you space out, you’re going to get it back. He is a very unselfish player.

Isn’t neat how idle speculation becomes a rumor? Take the speculation that Arizona State might consider Jamie Dixon as its next coach. Today it starts making the leap.

Rumor of the Week: Pitt head coach Jamie Dixon to Arizona State for mega-bucks. As it did with Dixon before, Pitt may move an assistant up to the first chair to help keep Pitt’s New York city recruiting pipeline alive. Unless, Xavier head coach, Pittsburg area native and former Pitt player Sean Miller can get out of his long-term pact with the Musketeers.

I have to laugh. A speculation that ASU might consider Dixon noted that if money is the issue it wouldn’t be the problem consider Dixon’s present pay. Now it’s that he will get a mega-sized deal from ASU. It really is kind of funny.

The Pitt program gets some respect and love in the Providence Journal.

They’ve lost Ricardo Greer and Donatas Zavackas, Jaron Brown and Julius Page. They’ve also lost Brandin Knight and Ontario Lett, Chris Taft and Chevy Troutman. They even lost the architect, coach Ben Howland.

Yet through all the personnel alterations, the Pittsburgh Panthers are still looking good these days. Make that looking real good.

Pitt is ranked ninth in the country and coming off a knock-down, drag-out loss at Connecticut on Tuesday that reminded any doubters that the Panthers (17-2) can be every bit as good as anyone in the country. The players may change, but the five-year run of success at Pitt is still clearly rolling along.
…
How did Pittsburgh fight its way into the nation’s elite? Though everyone in the Big East was a bit leery of the school’s boosters (The Golden Panthers) in the 1980s, the recipe for success now is good coaching and excellent recruiting. First, the coaching. Howland came to Pitt an unknown but left with enough credentials to secure his dream job at UCLA. He was the 2002 National Coach of the Year, led the Panthers to the Sweet 16 and then punched his ticket West with a 28-5 season in 2003.

After some hemming and hawing from Wake Forest’s Skip Prosser, Pitt gave the head job to Howland’s loyal assistant, Jamie Dixon. He promptly went 31-5, good for the winningest season in Pitt’s history. Last year the Panthers “slipped” to 20-9, and with a load of younger players a mild step backward was certainly possible.

But that’s not all that’s in Pitt’s repertoire. Thanks to the shocking emergence of 7-foot center Aaron Gray and strong play from three freshmen, Pitt won its first 15 games and zoomed from unranked to the top 10.

McNamara has been covering the Big East and Providence for a long time. Outside of Dick Weiss at the NY Daily News, he’s probably the only one who could throw out the Golden Panthers reference and not think he needs to explain it.

There are certain standards of how to report a game like this depending on whether you covering the winning or losing team. The DC papers report a rally and comeback from as much as 15-points down by the Hoyas.

Green made 9 of 14 shots, including a career-best 4 of 7 three-point attempts. His quickness in Georgetown’s matchup zone helped the Hoyas hold Aaron Gray, Pittsburgh’s 7-foot junior, scoreless in the second half. On offense, Thompson pulled Green away from the basket and used him as a point-forward against the Panthers (17-3, 6-3 Big East). During the Hoyas’ decisive 14-4 run late in the game, Green twice drove by Gray and scored on easy layups.

“We thought that if we pulled Jeff away, he’d have a chance to go around him a little bit,” said Thompson, whose team has won six straight. “He made some tough lay-ups, which he does.”

“I just used my quickness against him,” said Green, a 6-foot-9 former All-Met from Northwestern High. “I knew when I came here, me playing the 4 [power forward] and the 5 [center], there was going to be guys bigger than me, so I really had to use my quickness against them and sometimes use my power. I just had to use that in this game a lot.”

The biggest difference between the pros and college is that inside-out threats are more dangerous in college where athleticism has a wider variance.

Pitt had them out of their game early.

Settling for jump shots instead of working their offense for easier inside looks, the Hoyas (16-4, 7-2 Big East) uncharacteristically missed seven consecutive 3-pointers while the Panthers (17-3, 6-3) parlayed a monster first-half performance from junior center Aaron Gray (15 points at halftime) into a 33-18 advantage late in the first 20 minutes.
…
Thompson made a pair of key adjustments, one on each end, that precipitated the comeback.

Defensively, the Hoyas shifted from man-to-man to a sagging matchup zone that engulfed Gray, the 7-foot favorite to earn both the league’s most improved award and its rebounding crown (11.0 a game). An excellent passer and face-up shooter from inside 10 feet, Gray tormented fellow 7-footer Roy Hibbert and Green from point-blank range in the first half.

But after halftime, Gray routinely found himself bracketed by defenders and harassed by fronting guard traffic. Instead of forcing the ball into their most skilled offensive player, the Panthers chose to ignore Gray. He finished the second half with just four shots, zero points and three turnovers.

And offensively Thompson employed one of his favorite post-nullifying strategies, pulling Green out to the top of the key and running the offense through his versatile point forward. Against Duke, this strategy negated the defensive prowess of All-American Shelden Williams and led to a series of backdoor assists from Green. Against Pitt, which overplayed Georgetown’s cutters, it resulted in a season-high scoring eruption from Green.

The efficient 6-foot-9 forward from Hyattsville flipped the tables on Gray in the second half, torturing the slower, bigger man. If Gray gave him space, Green made him pay from behind the arc, drilling four of seven 3-pointers. And when Gray stepped into tight coverage, Green destroyed him off the dribble, slashing past him to the rim for a series of scores down the stretch and finishing 9-for-14 from the field.

I’m stressing what Green did to make a point. There’s only so much you can do against some adjustments and some players. You can’t exactly sit Gray and go with some combination of Young, Kendall, DeGroat, Benjamin and even Biggs inside. Those are still major match-up problems in terms of size, experience and athleticism against the 6’9″ Green, plus the ‘9″ Bowman. It’s a bit akin to the way Curtis Sumpter at Villanova last season was able to kill Troutman because of his ability to play outside as well as going in. It draws a big man who doesn’t have the speed further away from the basket and creates space.

On offense, it was actually easier for Gray when the 7’2″ Hibbert was there rather than Green and whoever else came to defend him.

For the Pittsburgh press, this was about Pitt blowing a lead.

“We felt like we got shots we wanted,” Fields said. “We just missed. That’s just how it goes sometimes.”

“That was a long stretch where we went without scoring,” Dixon said. “We got some open looks, but we just didn’t make them. And we didn’t get any offensive rebounds and didn’t get to the foul line. It was just a combination of things.”

Pitt easily solved Georgetown’s man-to-man defense in the first half. But after shooting 52 percent in the first 20 minutes, the Panthers were 8 for 24 from the field in the second half. The shooting percentage would have been worse had they not made three of their final shots in the last 30 seconds, when they attempted their furious comeback attempt.

“Playing against zone has been a strength of ours,” Dixon said. “We just didn’t do a very good job against it today. We needed to get more penetration. We missed some good shots. We made the right pass a lot of times. We just weren’t clicking out there.”

Center Aaron Gray led Pitt with 15 points and 11 rebounds, but he did not score after halftime. Gray was 0 for 4 from the field in the second half. Georgetown decided to double-team Gray and force others to win the game. Pitt’s other players had a hard time knocking down open mid-range jumpers and 3-pointers.

“We got a little away from what we wanted to do in the second half,” Gray said. “We were playing like we needed to win the game right there on a few of those possessions.”

It still comes down to making shots. Gray was killing them in the first half, and they went with the approach of making sure it was anyone but Gray. It worked. No one else was hitting.

There seems to be some controversy over Fields taking the lay-up in the final seconds rather than kick out for a 3.

Moments later, Georgetown (16-4, 7-2) couldn’t convert from the line again, as Jonathan Wallace missed the front end of a 1-and-1. Pitt’s Sam Young grabbed the rebound and passed to Fields who drove the length of the court for a layup with 3.6 seconds left.

With precious time ticking off the clock, Fields opted for the 2-point shot instead looking for one from behind the arc that could have tied the score.

“We didn’t have any timeouts,” he said. “We could have gone to a layup or kicked it out, but I didn’t want to waste any more time.”

Pitt coach Jamie Dixon backed up Fields on the play, which pulled Pitt within 59-58.

“I thought it worked out well, Dixon said. “The way it worked, you’re not going to get a better shot. We couldn’t have done it any better. We got as good a shot as you could get on the next play, even with them making their two free throws.”

After Fields’ shot, Ramon fouled Georgetown’s Darrel Owens, who made both free throws to extend the Hoyas’ lead back to three and set up Ramon’s last-second shot.

I really had no problem with it. I’d rather see a sure 2 there with no time lost and a chance to at least tie at the end rather than the 3-ball — especially the way Pitt was shooting. If Pitt missed, then they would really have problems. Even if Pitt makes it, G-town gets the last shot. The sure 2 kept more time on the clock and allowed Pitt a final shot to tie.

Man, this can be a surly bunch after a loss. I think there is a bit of underestimating what Bowman and Green did in the second half. They used their athleticism on offense to go inside and outside. They were able to draw Gray further out to the perimeter — spreading the floor. Hibbert only played 11 minutes in the second half as Georgetown went smaller but faster to pass and cut more.

Pitt attempted to answer, which was why Ramon played 16 of the 20 minutes in the second half. They needed him on defense more. That was part of the reason why Benjamin only saw 6 minutes of action in the second half. Ultimately that looks like a mistake because it took away one of the offensive threats Pitt had in the first half — a player capable of taking the ball inside more and keeping Georgetown from using the zone to minimize Gray.

Hopefully, everyone is calming down about the loss and basking in the glow of the Steelers win. Let’s start looking at the numbers and seeing what they tell us.

Pitt
Poss 61.8 Pace Moderate
O-Rating 93.9 D-Rating 98.8 (Eff. Margin -4.9)
eFG% 49.0 PPWS 1.04
A/TO 0.9 TO Rate 24.3% A/B 63.6%
Floor Pct 47.0% FT Prod 15.7

Georgetown
Poss 57.7 Pace Slow
O-Rating 105.7 D-Rating 100.5 (Eff. Margin +5.2)
eFG% 54.1 PPWS 1.12
A/TO 1.8 TO Rate 13.9% A/B 60.9%
Floor Pct 49.1% FT Prod 16.3

Now, what really differentiates the teams was on turnovers. Pitt committed 15 turnovers in the game to Georgetown’s 8. Missed opportunities. Almost 25% of Pitt’s opportunities resulted in giving up the ball without getting a shot.

A lot of the focus has to be on the second half, since Pitt blew the lead and the game then. Yes, Georgetown started making a run near the end of the half to cut the lead to a more manageable size, but Pitt scored a total of 14 points in the first 19:30 of the second half, before a 9 point flurry in the final 30 made it close.

14 points. 5-20 shooting, before that final 3-4 spree. This is what all players who saw time in the second half did in that 19:30 :

Gray 0-4
Krauser 1-5 (1-1 in final :30)
Kendall 0-2
Ramon 2-4 (1-2 in final :30)
Fields 1-4 (1-1 in final :30)
DeGroat 1-1
Benjamin, Young and Graves 0-0

That’s frickin’ ugly shooting. 13 of the shot attempts came from the guards.

Interesting to me was how the bench for Pitt got a lot shorter in the second half. Graves, the object of much ire, saw only 3 minutes of action in the second half. Fields, DeGroat and Young both saw nearly the same amount of time in both halves (all got 1 extra minute in the second versus the first). Biggs never got off of the bench. Ramon, Krauser, Gray and Kendall all played at least 15 minutes each.

Looking at this, and with a little more time to reflect, it is clear that Georgetown made better adjustments in the second half. At the same time, the players for G-town responded and executed much better. Pitt did make attempts to adjust, but did not execute. Gray did not respond well to the double teams, and players did not come to help. Pitt did not get aggressive against the zone, instead moved the ball on the perimeter. No penetration.

Right now, I have some real concerns about the way Pitt is playing on the road in the Big East. They just are not shooting well away from the Pete. That has to be a concern for the BE and NCAA Tournaments. Right now, Pitt is lacking a high quality road win.

Didn’t have to go to the pre-school open house. Got the snow day I needed. Sure it’s my daughter’s future we’re talking about, but it was a Pitt basketball game.

Ended up missing the first 2 minutes of the game because an incompetent “Amber” alert was broadcast. I stress incompetent, because they gave the areas to be aware — twice. They, however, neglected to give other relevant info. You know like a description of the child, the suspect, the car or where last seen.

This incompetency was repeated again around 1:30 pm, but expanded. Rather than singling out 10 counties in NE Ohio, they posted it for all of Ohio. Again without any relevant info. What did they want, the police flooded with calls like, “I just saw a car go by with a kid in it.”

About 2:15, they finally gave the relevant info and it turns out that the abduction took place at 5:30 this morning in Cleveland. Way to make sure people were aware in advance to make a difference.

UPDATE: Not that anyone really cares, but just to close the book on this. The kid was actually dropped off safely at a fire station in Cleveland at 2 in the afternooon. Turns out mom and her boyfriend had been arguing. While he was driving the car, she claims he was trying to choke her. She jumped out — leaving the kid behind.

The comment space is open to talk before during and after the game.

HALFTIME UPDATE: Pitt leads 35-28.

Why is it that once BE play started, Pitt seems to have reverted to that slow start, turn the ball over start that they did the past 2 years?

Gray having a monster day so far. Showing the difference between him and Hibbert. Young playing extremely well. Definitely looking to show, but not out of control.

Pitt is forcing G-town to play a faster pace. Weird to type that.

FINAL UPDATE: Pitt blows it 61-58.

All props to G-town for making some excellent adjustments in the second half. They really worked to deny inside passes to Gray after the way he torched them in the first half. It also protected Hibbert from major foul issues.

Pitt did not respond to the defensive adjustments. There was just too much perimeter passing, as the easy entry to Gray was denied. The first time this season that I have questions about what Dixon was doing with the plays. Benjamin wasn’t out much in the second half (at least it seemed, I have to check the box score later) and he’s one of the few that really crashes the boards and scrums inside to help create second chance points for Pitt. Too, too often It was Gray alone inside trying for a rebound surrounded by 3 gray-shirts.

Pitt also began to have real problems with Bowman and Green being able to go inside off the dribble.

At the end Pitt had a chance to send it to OT, but Ramon wasn’t able to drop that final 3. Tough shot, but he was open.

This was the first time this season where there was a 2nd half collapse. Just did not respond to the challenge.

So, let’s see. Pittsburgh papers seem a little distracted by the Superbowl. Apparently the Steelers are involved. Georgetown just isn’t getting much coverage in the Post. Not a lot out there.

On a neutral court, this game would probably be a pick ’em. Since it is at Georgetown, the Hoyas are 2.5 point favorite. Pitt is 5-2 overall on the road this season.

It is expected that more than 12,000 will attend the game. Georgetown hasn’t sold out the 20,000 MCI Center except when they have played Duke. They are learning, though, that (surprise) winning tends to increase attendance. Especially when a team is playing at an off-campus facility.

Coach Dixon feels that the team has had a good week of practice and responded well following the UConn loss.

For Pitt, playing Georgetown means facing yet another different style of play.

Thompson III runs a version of the Princeton offense, and it provides some challenges for opponents. Against Pitt last season, the Hoyas shot 50 percent from the field and won, 67-64, at the Petersen Events Center.

It is a hard offense for Pitt to defend against because the Panthers don’t see it too often, and the backdoor cuts can be difficult to simulate in practice.

“You have to have the right personnel to run that offense, and they do,” Dixon said. “They have good skill guys.”

Georgetown, however, is a different team from last season. Hibbert averaged 5.1 points and 3.8 rebounds in 16 minutes a game last season. He is playing more and scoring and rebounding at a much higher rate this season.

When Hibbert is on the floor, Georgetown is so imposing inside that the Hoyas can overwhelm opponents. When he is on the bench, Thompson goes to a smaller lineup that can be just as dangerous.

“They’re like two different teams,” Dixon said. “They can go big with Hibbert and they can go small with [Darrel] Owens. They have some interesting matchups, kind of like we do. They change drastically when different guys are in the game. They’re a completely different team when Hibbert is in there and when he is not.”

The Hoyas, though, haven’t face anyone like Pitt this season — though their fans might see something from the past.

Pittsburgh is a team built around the rugged penetration skills of senior point man Carl Krauser (16.4 points, 4.5 assists), the pivot prowess of 7-foot wide body Aaron Gray (13.6 points, 10.9 rebounds) and a host of relentless athletic defenders who tend to turn the game into 40 minutes of basketbrawl.

Sound familiar?

OK, so Gray isn’t going to be confused for Ewing or Mourning. But the Panthers (17-2, 6-2 Big East) are still pure Papa John. They hound. They pound. They bump, poke, grab, bang and generally force officials either to interpret the rules loosely or wear out their whistles.

“Toughness is definitely one of the first things we look at when we’re recruiting,” said Pittsburgh coach Jamie Dixon, whose team commits the third-most fouls a game in the league (17.6) behind only South Florida (18.6) and Syracuse (18.5).

Like the scrappy blue and gray squads of old, Pitt shoots poorly from outside, averaging just 35.1 percent from beyond the 3-point arc. And they might notch more victories with their will than with their skill. But success trumps style points, and there isn’t a coach in the conference who doesn’t respect the Panthers.

“Nobody comes at you and competes any harder,” Connecticut’s Jim Calhoun said after his top-ranked Huskies survived against the Panthers 80-76 in Storrs earlier this week. “They are physically relentless.”

The Hoyas (15-4, 6-2) haven’t seen a team this season that truly fits that profile. Both Duke and Illinois play hard but not rough. Connecticut dwarfs every team in the nation in terms of talent and depth, but the Huskies haven’t featured a member of the league’s All-Want-To squad since Kevin Freeman left Storrs. West Virginia is the Big East’s most polished squad, not its most punishing.

Who would have thought we’d see the day when people covering Georgetown basketball seem worried about tough physical play?

Hibbert has been hot inside, lately, but…

Roy Hibbert, Georgetown’s 7-2 sophomore, says that he remembers Gray from last season, but Gray — like Hibbert — is not the same player he was a year ago. Gray has more than tripled his production from a year ago and is averaging 13.6 points and a Big East-best 10.9 rebounds per game. Hibbert is shooting 70.3 percent from the floor in his past three games, but hasn’t faced a player with Gray’s size.

Gray, on the otherhand, has faced several teams that could throw size against him. That will be an interesting thing to see what Gray does.

Luke Winn moves Pitt up to #11 in his weekly power ratings.

It’s easy to glance at 7-foot center Aaron Gray and dismiss him as just another plodding, white giant. But after watching the Panthers fall to UConn on Tuesday, I’m convinced that Gray should get votes for the All-Big East first team, even ahead of West Virginia’s Kevin Pittsnogle. Gray put up 23 points and grabbed 12 rebounds against the Huskies’ beastly, NBA-bound front line, and is averaging a double-double (13.6 ppg, 10.9 rpg) on the season. One NBA scout I talked to said that Gray is very much on the radar for the 2007 draft. Perhaps, in retrospect, he should’ve made this top-10 list …
Next three: 2/5 at Georgetown, 2/9 vs. West Virginia, 2/12 vs. Cincinnati.

And after reading this sort of comment versus his previous ones which seemed to come from the media guide, I’m convinced that the UConn games was one of the first time he’d actually bothered to watch Pitt play this season — like so many other pundits.

A couple weeks ago we watched most of Pitt’s NYC-area players struggle when playing St. John’s at the Garden. Plenty of speculation by me that the players were distracted and looking to impress their hometown family and friends. Now Sam Young is going home — or at least close to it.

Young is friends with several Georgetown players, most notably forward Jeff Green, who played at Northwestern High School in Hyattsville, Md.

“I played on the same AAU team as he did, so it’s going to be real competitive,” said Young, who chose Pitt over a host of Division I powers, including Georgetown and Maryland.

“Georgetown has a couple of guys I played against when I was at home. I played a lot of pickup games against those guys, so I know a lot about them.”

Young lost a tooth this season while playing in a pickup game over Christmas break at Friendly High.

“I remember a lot of times I was there (at various venues in the Washington area),” he said, “and there were a lot of people there who really didn’t care who won because they were family and friends of both teams.”

Young has played with maturity far beyond what was expected from a freshman. He’s going to need that maturity if Pitt is going to win this game.

This story about Pitt spending a good deal on practice this week on trying to improve on rebounding is interesting. There is some misunderstanding though, about the challenge of rebounding against G-town. Not that they aren’t good rebounders, but there is something of a misunderstanding in my view.

Against Georgetown, the Panthers will face another stiff rebounding test. The Hoyas have 7-foot-2, 283-pound center Roy Hibbert, who averages 11.8 points and 6.1 rebounds per game. Sophomore forward Jeff Green averages 11.2 points and 6.4 rebounds a game.

Georgetown is seventh in the Big East in rebounding margin.

It is true. Coming into the game the Hoyas hold a +3.8 rebounding margin. Of course Pitt has a +7.5. The primary reason, though, is that Georgetown doesn’t give opponents many opportunities for defensive rebounds. Georgetown is second lowest in the conference in rebounds/game at 32.9 while Pitt is near the top (3d) at 39.7.

As I noted previously, Georgetown plays one of the of the slowest tempos in the country. They are also one of the most efficient offenses in the country. That means they make a lot of the shots they take — limiting defensive rebounds. They lead the Big East in FG% at .487, and are 4th in 3FG% with .380 (Pitt is 6th with .447 and 9th at .351 respectively).

This story noted many of the similarities in Pitt and Georgetown in certain numbers.

The primary concern for Pitt will be keeping the defensive intensity going for the full possession each time. Georgetown will pass, and pass, looking for the open man or the guy cutting to the basket. Like Pitt, they have a very high A/B% (Assists/Baskets made) at 64.4% (Pitt is 67.4%). Georgetown also handles the ball very well with only 12.1 TOs per game (Pitt is 13.2). A big thing for Pitt’s defense, especially on the perimeter will be getting the arms up to keep them from shooting the 3s rather than worrying about knocking the ball loose or getting the steal.

This game is vital for Pitt. Not just for avoiding a 2-game losing streak, but overall in the Big East. To be in the upper-echelon in the BE (or any conference really) you need to dominate at home and be at least 4-4 on the road. Pitt is 4-0 at home and 2-2 on the road. After Georgetown, Pitt’s remaining road games are Marquette, Providence and WVU.

I see only 1 expected win and 2 toss-up games on that list.

For the first time since I was in high school, I’m hoping for a lot of snow over the next couple of days as they are predicting for the Cleveland area. Anything to cancel that damn open house for a preschool on Sunday during the game.

Game notes for Pitt and Georgetown (PDF for both).

Pitt hasn’t lost to Georgetown in DC since February 2000. Of course, G-town returned the favor last year by beating Pitt at the Pete.

Both Seth Davis at SI.com and Greg Doyel at Sportsline.com are going with Georgetown in this game. Davis:

It’s hard to tell which is more impressive: That Georgetown beat Duke two weeks ago or that the Hoyas haven’t lost since. Pitt is pretty impressive as well, but while the Panthers do their damage by imposing their rugged style on opponents, Georgetown is comfortable playing at a slower pace. And unlike Pittsburgh, the Hoyas consistently make shots. They lead the Big East in 3-point percentage in conference play, they’re are second in field goal percentage and they have four players averaging in double figures. Plus, in 7-2 sophomore Roy Hibbert, they have one of the few players in America who can stand eye-to-eye with Pitt’s rapidly improving behemoth, Aaron Gray.
Seth’s Pick: Georgetown 69, Pittsburgh 66

Doyel:

The winner of this game is going to the NCAA Tournament with a high seed. The loser of this game is going to the NCAA Tournament. Also with a high seed. So there’s no pressure. Let’s just enjoy the matchup of Pitt 7-footer Aaron Gray vs. Georgetown’s 7-2 Roy Hibbert. And Georgetown guard Ashanti Cook vs. Pitt’s Carl Krauser. And Georgetown forward Jeff Green vs. … wait a minute. Who does Pitt have who can stop Jeff Green? Pick: Not Levon.

I always feel better about Pitt’s chances when multiple pundits pick against them. Not that they aren’t making very good points. This is an incredibly balanced Hoya team. They aren’t as deep as Pitt, but they are very accurate shooters and incredibly balanced. All five starters average between 9.2 and 11.8 points per game. They also play a very good defense. The only clear advantage for Pitt is on the boards. Georgetown is a lousy rebounding team.

HoyaSaxa has an excellent preview/scouting report for the game.

Keys to the game:
1. Fouls. Pitt scores a lot of point via the line. The Panthers average 18 points a game via the free throw. Fewer fouls mean fewer points.
2. Aaron Gray. Gray’s ability to create points inside reduces pressure on Krauser outside. Hibbert and Green must reduce his impact and force Pitt outside..
3. Tempo. Georgetown’s success with Duke was predicated on maintaining a lead and weathering the storm. This is not a Pitt team that Georgetown can fall behind with, so keeping things close will be to Georgetown’s benefit, and there’s no 18-0 point against a team like Pitt.

Obviously, they didn’t look closely at what happened against St. John’s and Marquette. Pitt is fully capable of finding itself down 18-0. Georgetown with its variation of the Princeton offense, makes Pitt look like a fast break team. Georgetown’s tempo is one of the slowest in the country, while Pitt is closer to the average. They are, though one of the most efficient teams when they do shoot.

So what have the ESPN talking heads and b-ball writers had to say in their weekly chat sessions (all Insider subs.)? There were a few Pitt questions during the course of the week. Several questions regarding Coach of the Year.

Pat Forde:

Frank (Knoxville, TN): Who do you think Bruce Pearl will be in competition with at the end of the season for National Coach of the Year honors?

Pat Forde: Frank: I’d say the top competition will be Bruce Weber, Jamie Dixon, John Beilein, John Calipari, Billy Donovan, Herb Sendek, Bo Ryan, Karl Hobbs, Thad Matta and John Thompson III. I know that’s a pretty wide net to throw, but we still have five weeks left before postseason.

Rick Majerus:

Josh Ann Arbor, Mi: Who would you say the coach of the year is at this point in the season?

Rick Majerus: Let me think. The difficulty in saying it now is that like Florida has hit some tough times. I think that it would be hard for me to just point out a guy right now. I’m not so sure that I can it. Pearl at Tennessee is doing a good job right now. I haven’t seen George Washington in person, but then they haven’t played a great non-conference schedule. The Colorado coach could be a good candidate. Florida. Pittsburgh. I actually, if I had to vote today, I’d vote for Dixon at Pittsburgh.

Fran Fraschilla:

George (Greeneville, TN): Fran, how ’bout some love for “Pearl Jam” in Knoxville? Is Bruce Coach of the Year or what? He’s doing it with mirrors.

Fran Fraschilla: Smoke mirrors and an outstanding backcourt. The style of play that he’s brought, uptempo, pressing and running and spreading you out on the offensive end, is perfect for Lofton, Watson, Bradshaw and company. Certainly Donovan’s done a great job at Florida, but at this point, Bruce gets a slight edge from me. Nationally, He’ll get some votes as well, as will Jamie Dixon, Calipari, Weber and Mark Few. Bruce’s energy, as you know, has created new found excitement in Knoxville. Wayne Chism, a 6-9 high school senior, will arrive next year, along with a solid recruiting class. So the beat should go on.

Lots of love, acknowledgent of the job done by Coach Dixon. This is part of the reason we will hear his name being tossed around for coaching vacancies. Whether it’s idle speculation/rumor-mongoring or actual interest, expect a good deal of it. Back to the chats.

Andy Katz (the day after the Pitt-UConn game):

Eric (PA): What do you think the chances are for Pitt to make it to the final four this year?

Andy Katz: I’ll tell you I was so impressed with Pitt last night. The Panthers don’t quit. They are as tough a squad as there is in the country. They didn’t shoot 3s well, rebound and couldn’t avoid foul shooting yet they were still there to win at UConn on the final possession. Pitt is one of the eight to 12 teams that could get to Indy.

Rece Davis:

Keith (Pittsburgh): What’s your take on Pitt Rece? They dropped one to UCONN, but I thought they showed something in that loss. They appear to be a tough team, but with the ability to change it up and run some as well.

Rece Davis: I like this team better than last year’s team. Ramon and Fields have really helped free up Krauser. Gray is not even the same player. Very, very good team. I expect them to be in sweet 16.

Kieren Darcy:

Keith (Pittsburgh): Pitt & WVU are heated rivals having great season. How do you see their upcoming home-and-home matchups panning out? Which team do you think will have more tournament success?

Kieran Darcy: I’m really looking forward to these games, the first of which is this coming Thursday. I could see the team’s splitting home-and-home…but I think West Virginia will go farther in the Tournament this year. They’re just more dangerous offensively. That said, I underestimated Pitt this year — and I usually overestimate them. They’ll be a factor in the Big East tournament, and should win at least a game in the Big Dance.
…
Pete (DC): Kansas-Oklahoma is a bigger game than Pitt-Georgetown? Are you sure? BOTH Georgetown and Pitt are ranked ahead of Oklahoma and Kansas (who isn’t ranked yet). It’s about time the Hoyas earned some respect.

Kieran Darcy: Forgive me Pete…you’re right, Pitt-Georgetown belongs right up there with Oklahoma-Kansas. To clarify, I’m the most curious about the Oklahoma-Kansas game, and whether Kansas can make a big-time statement. Believe me, I’ll have my eye on Pitt-GTown too.

Joe Lunardi:

Pete (DC): How big a bump does Georgetown get if they can beat Pitt this weekend?

Joe Lunardi: Two seed lines, probably.
…
Chip (Harrisburg, PA): Joe, in honor of the Super Bowl, who would win a neutral site matchup between the University of Washington and Pitt and why?

Joe Lunardi: The team playing better defense, which is Pittsburgh in both cases.

For the record, Georgetown is presently listed as a #7 seed in his bracket.

I have a theory.

There’s a good chance it’s dead wrong, or many of you don’t think it applies to you, but hear me out.

From March 2003 to February 2004, Pitt went through as traumatic and turbulent 12 month period college sports fans can go through with out the words and phrases “sanctions,” “recruiting violations,” “NCAA investigation,” “arrests,” “criminal activity,” “gambling,” “drugs,” “prostitution,” and “trans-sexual hooker” involved.

Consider the timeline:

March 2003. Pitt is rolling to a Big East Championship and the UCLA coming after Ben Howland rumors are getting louder and louder. They only seemed to get louder when Pitt won its first BE Tournament. Then there was the NCAA Tournament, and Dwayne Wade blowing-up, starting with Pitt.

April 2003. Ben Howland bolts Pitt for his “dream job” at UCLA only a few days after that loss. Pitt fans are stunned, and more disturbingly, so was the Pitt Administration. In part because the school was still operating with an interim AD, several months after the previous AD had left. Pitt conducts a chaotic and very slip-shod coaching search. Focusing almost entirely on Skip Prosser, but unable to close the deal. They fall back to Jamie Dixon, just barely before he was going to leave to join Howland in LA.

May 2003. The ACC’s raid of the Big East is leaked. This soap opera of greed and betrayal ends up going through July.

July 2003. Miami and VT announce they are leaving for the ACC. Pitt football player Billy Gaines falls to his death when he and his friend, roommate and teammate are drunkenly climbing around the rafters of a church. Abdul is traumatized and goes from automatic on field goals to a glaring problem.

August 2003. Pitt football seems poised to finally take that next step. The team is considered the best possibility for knocking off Miami in the BE farewell tour. Pitt is already locking down top recruits from the area and hopes are high. Also, PSB is launched.

September 2003. Lee gets married (and it is a dry reception) and that night Pitt loses to Toledo. I’m not saying one is cause for the other, but they do remain intertwined. That night, Pitt’s defense was exposed and became Pitt’s achille’s heel.

October 2003. The season continues to unravel as Pitt’s defense lets ND’s RB Julius Jones run all over Pitt like he was going through a junior high j.v. squad. BC announces it too will jump to the ACC, and the BE decides rather than split the football and basketball-only schools, they will instead consider forming a mega-conference.

November 2003. Actually started the month quite well with ACC defectors BC and VT going down to Pitt. Of course, Pitt proceeded to tank the games against the Hoopies and Miami. The latter with a legit shot at still winning the conference.

December 2003. Pitt blew its consolation game against Virginia in the Continental Tire Bowl. Actually made Al Groh look like a real coach. The rumblings began that RB Andrew Johnson was going to reexamine his verbal commit to Pitt.

January 2004. The other top-line verbal, Anthony Morelli, also begins to consider going elsewhere. The entire recruiting class seems to be unwinding before a stunned fanbase’s eyes.

February 2004. NLI Day is a disaster. Pitt not only loses Morelli and Johnson, but others like a solid WR named Peyton staying home to play for USF. Linebacker James Bryant also bailed on Pitt for Miami, dissing his own brother Sam. The only plus was getting an athletic QB/TE who chose Pitt because he was promised a shot at QB rather than being moved to TE right away as Auburn would have. His name, Darrell Strong.

And just to top off the end of the month, Pitt basketball lost it’s first game in the Pete.

Now, the events of the NLI Day 2004 have hung over Pitt fans’ collective heads for the last couple of years. Let’s face it, many of us (including myself) were waiting for some last minute change of mind from one of the recruits.

It may take a couple more years to fully disapate the foreboding. Still, this past Wednesday was a huge step forward and a gigantic relief. The hope and optimism are there right now. It has really seemed to finally push that day into the past.

Then there is that trauma that started the whole 12 month period. Losing Howland. The coach who made Pitt basketball matter for the first time in a decade. The coach responsible for getting Pitt to its first BE Tournament Championship and 2 straight Sweet 16 showings.

So now, there are rumors/theories starting to spread about Coach Jamie Dixon.

It’s also no secret that Arizona State coach Rob Evans is in dire trouble. Lots of guys will be lining up to take that job if it comes open, but I’ve got a sleeper for you: Pittsburgh coach Jamie Dixon, who grew up in North Hollywood, Calif., and was an assistant at Northern Arizona, Hawaii and UC-Santa Barbara. If it comes down to money, Arizona State shouldn’t have a problem getting Dixon, because he’s one of the lowest paid coaches in the Big East.

And this gets the nervous buzzing going again. Especially when you consider that Doug Gottlieb of ESPN hinted at similar things a week ago.

“Nationally, the ultimate sign of respect is when jobs come open, and Jamie’s name is going to be thrown into the fray because everyone knows he can get the job done. There is a good chance that a job or two is going to come open in the Pac-10 this year. The first name you’re going to hear is Jamie Dixon’s. He’s going to have to make a decision. …

And God help us if Gottlieb could be right.

It’s possible, I guess, but consider that it would be the PAC-10 and that would mean facing Ben Howland about twice a year. Hmm.

Q: Could you ever see Pitt scheduling a non-conference game with Ben Howland at UCLA?

FITTIPALDO: It’s not going to happen, John. I have asked Howland and Dixon about the possibility, and they both can’t say “no” fast enough. They are adamant about it. Dixon and Howland still talk almost every day. Howland told me that it’s just not any fun going up against your best friend.

I’m not saying enough money wouldn’t overcome the issue, but it is definitely something to keep in mind against it.

It would also be a rebuilding job. Another thing to decide. He’d have lean years like Howland had at Pitt at best. At Pitt, he is maintaining, growing, improving. It’s plenty of work, but not like a rebuilding project. Does he want one of those so soon after helping accomplish that at Pitt?

I do believe that Pitt will step up with the money, but they do need to be proactive. ASU is not a dream job or one of the top “name” basketball programs in the country like UCLA. I think he will merely use the possibility to get a nice raise.