Okay, I’m with Zeise on this one that I’m not holding out a lot of hope for the game today. That said, I’m in the ‘Burgh for the game and I’ll still be trying to nurse a little bit of optimism.

At the very least, I’ll be in there to cheer the seniors playing their final game for Pitt at home.

Mike DeCourcy of the Sporting News is very impressed with Pitt’s start and the way they look.

The team, though, is something to behold. Nine players are major contributors. They are amazingly unselfish, with 28 of their 35 baskets against the Seminoles coming from assists. They also might be the best shooting team Pitt has fielded since Ben Howland reinvigorated the program in the 2001-02 season.

Florida State was most disappointed in its inability to defend the Panthers’ transition game. Pitt has not been known as a running squad, but pushed the ball hard early on and wound up with a 15-0 advantage in fastbreak points at halftime.

“They’re going to always be good in halfcourt,” said guard Jason Rich. “If you give them transition baskets, that’s too much of an advantage for them.”

Pitt has more offensive weapons than at any time in its recent history, and more ways to use them. In the next month, it will need every one. This is not what you’re used to seeing, not at all.

He’s also paying attention to what Pitt fans are saying. I can’t help but have some sense of caution when I remember the way Pitt dominated what was supposed to be a good Memphis team to start 2004-05. Memphis that year was bad, and Pitt had a lot of problems that showed later. Of course that could just be my normal paranoia.

FSU coach Leonard Hamilton thinks they hit Pitt at the wrong time.

“I think we ran into a Pittsburgh team that was hitting on all cylinders,” Hamilton said. “They kind of gave a clinic, I guess you might say, in ball movement, execution and shot selection. I thought they did a good job moving us around on defense, setting screens, and seemed to have created some situations that took some energy away from our players.”

Like vampires?

The FSU strategy of taking away Gray inside, also meant they were giving up Thornton.  He may not be a center, but a Power Forward has to go inside. Trying to take away the inside game with fouls, all too often bites back. It did for FSU.

I was mistaken that Brown by playing, burned his redshirt.  He can still play a bit more before losing it. I’m guessing, though, that he will break into the line-up. That Coach Dixon played him at all, makes me believe he won’t be able to keep him from working harder and pushing for more playing time — and deserving it.

Pitt’s defense was tremendous against an up tempo team like FSU. They had under 40 points with less than 8 minutes left in the game and Pitt with a 30+ lead.

Good times.