Man, DePaul just sodomized Syracuse. 108-69. I couldn’t turn away in the second half. It was stunning to see. Unbelievable. DePaul just was not missing and Syracuse couldn’t have been less prepared to actually play a game.

Add in the high comedy of the commentary from Rick Majerus. Where he saying things about Gerry McNamara draining a 3 with under 5 minutes and the team down by 30+ like, “That kid just doesn’t know how to quit.” He also doesn’t know how to shoot well. Or as Mr. Glaude simplified it, “Stop shooting.”

Another gem from Rick was on the topic of BE Coach of the Year, and in all seriousness he actually suggested Mike Brey at ND deserved consideration. Apparently for keeping the team playing hard no matter how many losses they suffered. Hell, if that’s the criteria then Robert McCullum of USF should be a candidate.

I think the game, though, is a fine reminder for Pitt to not even consider taking Seton Hall lightly.

Not to mention, it actually opens the door for more possibilities for the battle for the last 2-3 spots in the Big East Tournament.

You think it’s fun trying to figure out the permutations for the top half of the Big East Tournament bracket? Try calculating all the permutations for the bottom 4 that stay at home and the order of the #8-12.

The season could end with a 5-way tie for spots nos. 10-14 with 6-10 records. DePaul isn’t even officially eliminated yet. They could still conceivably win tonight over Syracuse and then knock out ND on Saturday (unlikely given the way their season has collapsed, but…). Won’t that be fun to use the tie-breaker rules (PDF) at that kind of level.

I will just about guarantee a 2-way tie (ND and Louisville) for 11 and 12 with Louisville at #11 and ND #12 (Louisville beat ND head-to-head). That would mean Rutgers beats St. John’s, knocking out St. John’s and putting RU as a #10 seed. Providence loses to Marquette to be eliminated.

I’m thinking around a 4-way is a more likely scenario. Providence doesn’t make it because it will lose to Marquette. St. John’s (1) knocks off a demoralized and down Rutgers (2) team. Notre Dame (3) takes care of DePaul. Louisville (4) falls to UConn.

That leaves 4 teams and 3 seats at the BET. The mini-conference tie-breaker looks like this:

#10 St. John’s: 3-0 (a win over Louisville and 2 against Rutgers)
#11 Notre Dame: 1-1 (win over Rutgers, loss to Louisville)
#12 Louisville: 1-2 (win over ND, losses to Rutgers and St. John’s)
——–
#13 Rutgers: 1-3 (win over Louisville, 2 losses to St. John’s and 1 to ND)

If Pitt wins against Seton Hall and Georgetown beats USF, Pitt would face Louisville at 2 pm this Wednesday. If Pitt loses, they become the #6 seed and face ND at 9pm. If Georgetown (somehow, please) loses to USF, G-town drops to the #6 seed and Marquette becomes the #5 seed.

I don’t know if anyone saw the Texas A&M upset over #7 Texas last night (P.J. Tucker is wearing goat horns, not longhorns after he dribbled out the shot clock because he mistook the game clock for it). One of the things that struck me is how much more than any other sport or level the home court advantage seems to be worth in college basketball. Especially, it seems, this year. I was thinking of taking a closer look at it as one of those summer project posts. Lots of stuff to sort through, but interesting. Either that, or just e-mail Ken Pomeroy and see if I could get him curious enough to do it instead.

I bring this up, because this column lauds Pitt’s home court advantage.

The Pirates haven’t had a winning home record in their five seasons at PNC Park. The Penguins haven’t had a winning home season at Mellon Arena since 2000-01. The Pitt football program hasn’t capitalized on its move to Heinz Field, going 23-9 in home games with notable crushing defeats against Notre Dame, Nebraska, Miami, West Virginia and South Florida. Not even the Steelers have played lights-out at home. They won the Super Bowl, but they went just 5-3 last season at Heinz Field. They’re 32-12-1, including playoffs, with just one perfect season — 8-0 in 2004 — at the new stadium.

That makes Pitt’s home success more astounding. If you count Pitt’s final year at Fitzgerald Field House, it is 80-6 in home games since the start of the 2001-02 season. Is that good value for your entertainment dollars or what?
…
“When you’re playing at home, you expect to win,” Pitt coach Jamie Dixon said. “But maybe we have taken it to another level …

“It’s been great for the university. That’s the thing that makes me most proud. People see our games on national television and hear the talk about the Petersen Events Center. They see the excitement. It gives our university an image of school pride and professionalism. That’s great exposure for us.”

The home games have become a valuable recruiting tool for Pitt. Everybody loves a winner. Pitt has sold all season tickets it has made available since it moved to the Petersen Center, almost 11,000 this season, prompting Dixon to say, “It’s almost like our games have become an event.” The building, packed and throbbing, makes for an impressive picture in person or on television. And it doesn’t hurt when Dick Vitale gets on the air and starts screaming about the energy in the Oakland Zoo, as Pitt’s student section is affectionately known. In that Sports Illustrated poll, the Big East players mentioned the “creativity” of the Zoo’s more animated creatures as an intimidating factor in Pitt’s success.

“Recruits definitely talk about it,” Dixon said. “You bring them to a game, and they see the environment. It’s good. It helps us a lot.”

I just don’t think you can compare the home advantage of college basketball to any other sport. It is so drastically different.

The article notes that in a survey of Big East players (SI dead wood subs. only) they ranked the Pete as the toughest place to play:

“The fans get there early to start heckling you. It’s like a zoo.” … “They have a nice, new arena. The student section is next to the court, and the fans there say some creative stuff.”

The Pete got 36% of the vote on that (no listing of other venue’s rankings). At 45%, Carl Krauser was voted the biggest trash talker:

“He tests you to see what’s going on inside your head. If he sees he has control, he’ll keep talking.”

Gerry McNamara, Syracuse was voted “Biggest Crybaby” and tied with Rudy Gay for “Most Overrated” (Gay was also the overwhelming choice for “Best Future Pro”).

UConn Coach Jim Calhoun winner of “Coach You Would Least Like To Play For” and his team was considered the “Team That Most Fears Respects Its Coach.”

Then in this notebook piece, there is this:
Pitt coach Jamie Dixon was named Coach of the Year in the Big East Conference by collegeinsider.com.

Dixon, in his third season as head coach and seventh season overall at Pitt, has led the Panthers to a 21-5 record thus far, the program’s fifth consecutive 20-win season. Pitt plays host to Seton Hall on Friday in its regular-season finale.

The Internet site also named West Virginia’s Mike Gansey as the Big East’s MVP and Villanova’s Randy Foye as the league’s Player of the Year.

You can see the list for each conference here. This site always amuses me because it is so heavy on college basketball coaches and the other site established and having coaches laud their site. Yet the home page is filled with ads for gambling and ticket brokers. No mixed messages there from the pious coaches.

Barely a mention of tomorrow night’s game. Coach Dixon apparently made an effort to say that “Seton Hall is a very good team,” but the talk centered on a contract extension and the Academic Progress Report.

“I’m confident that Jamie Dixon will be our coach,” Long said Wednesday.

He was responding to recent reports that Dixon’s name has been linked to several men’s basketball job vacancies, as well as an anticipated opening at Arizona State, where Rob Evans is rumored to be out at season’s end.

Dixon, in his third year, has four years remaining on a contract reportedly worth more than $550,000 per year.

“I’m not surprised his name is being mentioned, and there will be more,” Long said. “Arizona State is not the only place you’re going to hear Jamie Dixon’s name.

“Pitt is prepared to make Pitt the best opportunity for Jamie Dixon.”

There are 2 ways an AD can deal with the stories and questions that arise from them. Ignore/deflect them by saying things like, “we have not been contacted by any schools,” or “this is something that will be addressed after the season, right now the full attention is on winning ‘X’.” The other way is straight on, as AD Jeff Long appears to be doing (mostly).

The contract negotiations could be a little different this time.

“I want to make it clear that we think the job Jamie is doing is outstanding, and we want him to be here a long time. It’s my job to keep Pitt the best opportunity for Jamie Dixon. And I think Pitt is the best opportunity for Jamie Dixon.”

Dixon, 40, has four years remaining on his current contract that pays him in the neighborhood of $600,000 annually. His original contract was extended after his first season.

Dixon is a Big East and national coach of the year candidate and has directed Pitt to its third consecutive NCAA tournament appearance in three seasons.

He does not have an agent, but he had a lawyer look over the contract extension he signed after his first season. He said he did not hire an agent because Pitt asked him not to have representation. Since then he has been approached by agents and did not rule out having one represent him in the next round of contract negotiations.
…
One of the published reports linking Dixon to Arizona State indicated he could be had because “Dixon is one of the lowest-paid coaches in the Big East.”

Long disputed that assertion yesterday. He would not say how much Dixon is making or where he is slotted in the conference, but he did say that Dixon is not one of the four lowest-paid coaches in the Big East.

He also said it would do no good to announce a contract extension during the season and that such a statement wouldn’t quell rumors about other jobs.

“There would be speculation regardless,” Long said. “Every time a job opens, there’s going to be the rumors.”

If I had to guess, I’d say that these 4 coaching jobs are paying less right now: Cinci, St. John’s, USF and probably Seton Hall (or DePaul). Dixon is almost assuredly, though, in the lower half. UConn, Louisville, Syracuse, Marquette, and Villanova are all $1 million + annual deals. RU was up near that until yesterday. WVU and ND are in the upper-half.

The article also mentions that AD Long will be trying to get the team on more chartered flights to get the players back faster.

The other big story, is of course the Academic Progress Report. Apparently it was a little closer to penalties than would have been liked for the Pitt basketball team.

Only men’s basketball was below the APR’s two-year standard of 925.

But while the program scored 905, it fell within the NCAA’s safe range and will not be subject to scholarship penalties.

Unlike NCAA graduation rate reports that document academic performance six years prior, the APR, which was instituted last year by the NCAA, measures current student-athletes’ progress by rewarding points annually for retention, eligibility and graduation on a term-by-term basis.

Seems like there are still bugs to be worked out of it.

“It’s more up to date but there’s still problems with it,” Pitt coach Jamie Dixon said. “This past year, we lost kids who had already graduated. You’re talking about losing points when you’ve reached your goal. We put our kids in a position to graduate early, and we’re being penalized. That’s flawed.”

Dixon isn’t overly concerned but said he has been in contact with NCAA officials to point out what he insisted are inaccuracies in the report, adding, “They were not aware of it.”

Both Chevon Troutman and Mark McCarroll had fulfilled requirements and technically graduated over the summer before the season started, but were taking more classes. Neither (along with Chris Taft) finished their classes in the Spring semester.

But they needed to be enrolled in classes the second semester to be eligible to play basketball. They enrolled, but failed to finish the courses after the season ended.

“We’ve had to adjust how we do things,” Dixon said. “It’s actually more of a benefit to us if we slow kids down to graduation and delay them a semester,

“It’s still a flawed report. However, I still think it’s better than the graduation rate. The NCAA is working on legislation to improve the APR.”

The good news for Pitt is that all its other programs are in good academic standing, and most of them received excellent marks. The football program scored a 943 — significantly higher than the national average for football programs (929) — the volleyball program scored 1.000 and the women’s basketball program a 983.

Several other local programs fell below the minimum standards but remained within the confidence boundary. They include Duquesne women’s basketball (920), Penn State men’s fencing (900), Robert Morris field hockey (921) and West Virginia women’s basketball (915).

Here’s Pitt’s actual report from the NCAA (PDF). There is an observation on the way the information is put out there:

Take a look at the user-unfriendly APR display on the NCAA’s website, which allows you to look up individual schools but denies you the opportunity to actually see them compared on a single sheet. Not by design, right? No, of course not…

Never.