It’s hard to believe that at the start of the season, I felt that 10-6 would be the upper range of what Pitt would do this season in the Big East, but now, even if Pitt finishes 11-5 it feels a little disappointing. Knowing Pitt will be a 6th seed in the BE Tournament (even as officially tied for 4th) has that effect.
What is even more impressive is the leagues’s depth. With five games remaining in the regular season, only one team — South Florida (0-14 in Big East) — has been eliminated from the conference tournament next week at Madison Square Garden. Before last night, seven teams were within two games of one another in the standings.
But, perhaps, this is the best way to articulate the degree of difficulty in the Big East this season: Pitt, a top-10 team in the national polls and the Ratings Percentage Index, in all likelihood will be seeded sixth in the conference tournament and will be forced to play a first-round game to qualify for the quarterfinal round.
“You don’t have to go to Harvard to figure out that the Big East is the best league in the country,” ESPN basketball analyst Dick Vitale said yesterday. “You don’t have to be a genius. A dummy like me can figure that out. When I look at my coach of the year candidates, Jamie Dixon is in my top five. Jamie has done a fantastic job. He has lost some heartbreakers on the road, but that’s because winning on the road in the Big East is so difficult. They’ve been able to win at home. And that’s the key when you play in a tough league. You better win your home games.”
Pitt did have a very tough conference road schedule, especially when contrasted with its home set. The key now is to beat Seton Hall, (who beat Cinci last night, and are on the NCAA bubble) and preserve the perfect home record on Friday night.
This is probably the best piece on the end-of-the-game decisionmaking by Krauser.
After the game, Krauser, usually a boisterous and upbeat person, was visibly shaken. He said as the leader of this team – one of only two seniors on the roster – he needs to take those late-game shots. It’s his responsibility to win close games, to throw the rest of the team on his tattooed shoulders and carry the Panthers to victory.
So, even though he was hounded by J.D. Collins and other West Virginia guards, Krauser continued to take shots. He had a poor 4-3 assist-to-turnover ratio. He admitted to bad decisions and bad play.
“I’ll take the blame,” Krauser said. “It’s my fault.”
Dixon wasn’t pleased with the insinuation that Krauser shouldn’t have been able to control the final moments of the game. For that, he’s correct.
But Krauser is not the team’s point guard anymore. And though he’s improved as a shooter, Ramon is the team’s strongest outside threat.
The Panthers are 3-5 in games decided by five points or less. That’s not a record indicative of a clutch team.
Does that mean Krauser should be on the bench in the waning moments of a close game? That’s lunacy. But he must perform better when he’s out there.
That’s not to say Krauser should give up the reigns in those situations. In the NCAA Tournament, teams need that one go-to player. Krauser is that for Pitt. He’s proven he can be.
At the very least, however, he could give up the basketball a few times. That’s especially true when he isn’t playing well on a given night.
Knowing when someone else is a better option is being the ultimate leader. Krauser needs to recognize this.
I think Krauser made bad decisions at the end of the game. He let his emotions, personal frustrations and desire to make things right, overrule the best thing for the team. This game, of course, was magnified for the significance and being a rivalry game.
His teammates seem to be rallying to his defense a bit.
“Maybe it was a lack of our defense. They got a lot of wide-open looks and they missed a lot of wide-open looks, too,” said Pitt center Aaron Gray, who is averaging a double-double but was limited by the Mountaineers to seven points and seven rebounds.
Senior guard Carl Krauser, Pitt’s leading scorer, struggled and finished with 10 points, including four in the final 22 seconds. He shot 3 for 16 from the field and conceded afterwards that he forced a number of shots out of frustration.
“Carl’s a great player. I mean, he comes out here and gives us his all. He just wants to win every single time,” said sophomore guard Ronald Ramon, who tied with freshman forward Sam Young as Pitt’s high scorer with 12 points.
Young shot 6 for 6 from the field, including several impressive dunks that helped Pitt stay close.
“They left a lot of opportunities for me to take advantage of, because they were so worried about Carl and Aaron,” Young said.
Krauser, however, couldn’t get on tracked, and the 7-foot Gray was unable to overcome double- and triple-teams by the Mountaineers, who got 26 points from senior Kevin Pittsnogle.
In the previous meeting, Pittsnogle, West Virginia’s leading scorer, was held without a point, a performance that much resembled Krauser’s effort on Monday.
“He’s a senior, and he just feels he has to help the team in any way he can,” Young said of Krauser. “I just trust that he’ll make the best decisions.”
I am a little concerned about the reception he gets on Senior Night at the Pete. Krauser has been one of the best players in Pitt history, a team leader, will graduate, is involved in his community and a responsible father. He is a great representative of the student-athlete at Pitt.
Hopefully, people will be able to give him the love for his full career, not the previous game.
