Sitting on the newly assembled couch some Bell’s Hopslam Ale (it’s a double IPA with 9.5% ABV) in hand, ready for this one. Should be a very good, very close game. I expect Gray to be forced outside a lot on defense, so it will be up to the forwards to help on rebounding.
Can’t believe a second straight week of Pitt’s game going opposite an NFC playoff game.
3:13: Pitt leading 10-9 13:33 to the half. Gray looks very aggressive on the offensive side and is 4-4. Only a couple double teams so far. As expected, Marquette is trying to bring Gray as far out on the perimeter on defense as possible.
Forward Hayward already on the bench with 2 fouls, meaning the ineffectual Fitzgerald in. Some early flops from Marquette against Cook one worked the other didn’t.
3:24: Now down 15-10 and Marquette is looking very sharp. They are pestering Pitt’s offense now that they seem to have some confidence going right at the hoop. Pitt seems a little stunned to be put back on their heels.
3:30: Pitt now down 24-17 with 7:39 left, but Ramon heading to the line. I’ve seen and read their struggles shooting the 3. So naturally they are burying some really deep ones right now. Sigh. Pitt’s shifting to the 2-3 zone to keep them from penetrating was correct. It’s just that with those deep 3s, it’s hard to stop.
3:40: Well the crowd is fired up by some very questionable calls going against Pitt. The tech on Dixon and an offensive foul on Gray for backing down Barro were both stunners to even the CBS play-calling crew. Usually on coaches techs, the play-callers are talking about how a coach needs to chill. Apparently these refs have a short fuse. I’m still confused about the offensive foul call against Gray. Frustrating, as Fields then (legitimately) picked up his 3d foul.
Mike Cook has been very sloppy with the ball. 3:55 29-23 Marquette.
3:48: Pitt down 32-27 with 55.2 seconds left. Graves and Ramon are doing a very good job. Starting to get some calls on the inside as Marquette keeps shoving in the back. No, I’m not frustrated.
3:51: Halftime. Marquette leads 32-27. I am not ready to be overly concerned yet. Marquette has done what I expected. Just that their 3s have been falling 5-11 (technically 5-12, but the last one was an attempt before the buzzer) and a 5-6 FT shooting for a team that shoots about as well as Pitt. Dominic James has been the story with 14 points on 5-9 shooting (4-6 on 3s).
Kendall has 4 assists along with 3 rebounds and 5 points. Gray hasn’t had many more opportunities as the Golden Eagles have been double and triple teaming him.
The second half, Pitt needs to bury a couple 3s (only 2-7) and do better with the ball. If you are wondering about Sam Young, well when he was out there briefly, all he did was keep the ball and turn it over because he never even pretended that he was passing. I’m guessing Dixon wasn’t going to let him do that. Aside from Fields (3 fouls) the starters are going to play a lot in this tight of a game.
4:14: Pitt down 40-35, 15:33 in the game. Gray heading to the line. This is just going to stay tight the whole way. Hayward and Matthews for Marquette have 3 fouls.
4:20: 44-37. Pitt not hitting free throws for this game. Oy. Benjamin’s ball handling against Marquette is not exactly inspiring for earning more minutes.
4:35: Pitt still down 50-45, 8:48. Just not able to finish closing the gap. Got to within 3, but then Marquette got another spurt. 4 fouls on Mathews.
4:38: Does CBS actually have instant replay? I’m just curious.
4:47: Pitt still down 54-51. Got it within 1, but again, couldn’t get the lead. Marquette is doing a great job at denying many good looks from outside.
4:53: WTF? Fitzgerald for Marquette draining 3s? This is a Bryan Butch nightmare repeat. A guy who has been a bitter disappointment finally comes up large when facing Pitt.
Fields has received a harsh lesson this week about where he really stands in the Big East with the top guards.
Graves has been good on defense, but only 1-7 shooting 3s. A credit to Marquette’s guards that they have the speed on defense to keep Pitt from getting good looks on the perimeter.
 5:31: Crap. Lost in OT. 77-74. Marquette suddenly shoots lights out from the FT line. Pitt shot like it usually does at the line. That’s it. Frustrated by the loss.
Gray was 2-8 from the line, to unfortunately be the big goat. When he doesn’t even come close to his season average of somewhere near 60% from the line, that kills. Especially with the misses in OT. I don’t know if it was the sore wrist or not, but that killed Pitt. Hate to say it about the guy when he had 16 points and 9 rebounds. The fact is, though, he only shot 50% and had 4 turnovers. It wasn’t a particularly strong game from him despite the hot start.
I think some of why Pitt didn’t get him the ball as much in the first half was that Fields was forced to sit with foul issues early. The point guard and guy who gets it inside to Gray — or at least starts things.
Pitt’s inside game suddenly looked weak when the guards from Marquette were keeping Pitt from getting good looks at 3s.
What drives me nuts is watching a team bury deep threes OFF THE BACKBOARD. Banked 3-pt shots are a sign of bad luck for Pitt.
I do not want to see Kendall post up for another wide-open 18 foot jumper. Cook needs to get his head in the game. Graves is playing well.
Given that the Panthers did not capitalize on either stretch of Marquette offensive ineptitude, they’re lucky to only be down 5.
Marquette also averages around 64% on FTs and instead shoots 77%. A guy like Fitzgerald who shoots 37.5% on 3s hits 4-6 (and Billy Packer hails him suddenly as the second-coming of Steve Novak).
Marquette is a good team and they are on a hot streak. The 3-point shooting more than anything else is the one thing I look at for this game as costing Pitt.
ramon is incredible…he needs to start working to get his own shots…he did it a couple times today…..he’s shooting lights out right now……
our FT shooting is horrific…..embarrassing…..
Without some marque players, which we once again have not recruited…(aka 2008 class) we will be year in and year out a good basketball program…top 15-20…but never an elite (top 5) team that actually has a very good chance of winning the national championship.
As I stated early in the year, Pitt will beat the snot out of teams who are average or below average, but they can’t beat teams that are good or have a superstar….and once again Marquete and James have proven me correct…unfortunately.
So let’s lick our wounds move forward, and take a risk and hold out for a top 25 player instead of giving away scholarships to these top 100 – 150 players….that’s my opinion…
Pitt’s inability to make FTs in this game had a direct effect on the outcome. At this level you have to make them, especially if you want to be considered an elite team. We missed 13 free throws in an overtime loss decided by three points. Marquette made 15 in a row to close out the game. It doesn’t get any simpler than that.
You can’t always count on three-point shooting. Particularly against a team like Marquette, which has very athletic perimeter players.
Pitt’s FT shooting is not a new thing. They shot around their average — so I just can’t say that’s the true fault when Pitt should never — ever — count on FT shooting to win games.
A couple years ago, who bought Dixon’s defense of the poor FT shooting as “making them when they count” defense of players?
Look back on the Pitt Q&A with Fittipaldo and the questions regarding FTs. It’s not like they are ignored. Pitt is just not and hasn’t been a team that has particularly good FT shooters. The last time I remember a good FT shooting Pitt team was the Paul Evans era of the late 80s. How’d that work out?
Marquette got much better FT shooting — especially down the stretch — that only shows the mettle of a team until they don’t do it. The fact is, Marquette couldn’t count on that either. They got it tonight, but if it went the other way, then it would have been a Pitt win that scrapped it out when the shots weren’t falling.
Those are the little things that get you over the hump. Today was a perfect example of poor decision making and a lack of fundamentals costing us a win. I will not be surprised if I see it again in March.
That said, I’m hoping that we get things back on track against Cincy and St. Johns. Two teams we must beat before heading into battles with Villanova and WVU. Go Pitt!
Ball protection was atrocious.
Did I say they think too highly of themselves.
For all that Kendall is supposed to be, how can he even comtemplate, let alone do, driving to the hoop and dishing to Gray, with his team having possesion, up a point, and your freakin team can run out the clock and force Marquette to foul so you can go to the line to ice it or at the least put the pressure on the other team????. What the he** was he thinking!!!!
Just pass the ball back out to the guards and let them run the clock down. There was no excuse for that, absolutely none whatsoever.
So much for senior leadership.
And there is no longer any excuse to give Kendall the minutes he gets. He makes some good defensive contributions but he is a complete liability on offense. I’d much rather give up the size and finally give Young and Benjamin some real minutes and see if some extended playing time might help them become the impact players we desperately need – the players who are the difference between an L and W against top-tier teams.
And we can no longer hide behind “They’re 17-3 and in first place in the Big East.” The fact is they have lost to the three ranked teams they have played and at the rate they are going, they will make the Sweet 16 – maybe – and then lose.
I enjoy having a team I can root for that I can expect to have good seasons, make the tournament, and play some entertaining basketball on occasion. But there comes a time — and the opportunities — when a team needs to move beyond that. And, honestly, I don’t think Dixon is the coach that can make that happen. I hope I’m wrong, but these losses are too frustrating and give me no confidence that I am.
How much did Gray’s wrist hurt the FT shooting? I’m thinking maybe more the fact that Marquette’s guys were making him run. And I agree with Billy Packer – why did Gray hedge so much today? It really meant nothing, and hurt more because it gave up penetration. He should have stayed anchored in the paint.
Nice comeback, but we really didn’t play well until the last five minutes. Very, very disappointed with Fields play this afternoon. Cook played awful as well. An area where we seriously miss Krauser is awareness. We were in the bonus with over 13 minutes in the second half and nobody recognized it and drove to the hole. We should have shot a lot more free throws. Secondly Matthews picked up his fourth foul midway through the second half and nobody took it too him. Stupid! On a positive note I thought our defense was very good today. We held James to something like 3-4 points in the second half
I don’t think this loss is at all indicative of Pitt not being capable of beating a ranked team. We didn’t play very well and were one foul call away from winning the game. Not a horrible situation. We are still 5-1 in the conference and get to play Marquette again. I’m not worried about this team at all. We are very good.
Despite my earlier rant (which was made before I had my first sip of a Brooklyn East India Pale Ale, 6.8% ABV), there were some very good things from this game. Ramon is really beginning to emerge and look more for his shot, even trying to create his own shot. Graves played a solid game on both sides of the ball and he and Ramon made James a nonfactor for much of the game after that fucked-up banked 3. And that gritty comeback from 9 down late in the game really showed me something.
I think this is a fairly talented bunch of players – not the most talented, but pretty good players with some real big-game experience. If they can just pull it altogether and do it with some consistency, they will make a real run in the tourney. But we all know about Ifs and Buts…
As for the game, relax. These are college kids. They are going to have ups and downs. Marquette is a quality team. Pitt didn’t play well and Marquette probably played their best game of the season. Did you expect Pitt to go undefeated??? I say they finish the Big East season with at least 3 losses. But that’s expected.
Cook is a liability on defense and for every nice pass he makes on O, he either turns the ball over or takes a bad shot.
To me, the big difference in this game was how poorly Fields played.
Marquette is one of those Big East teams that seems to have little fear of Pitt. UConn used to be that way, but now they fear us, because I think Calhoun talks us up. Georgetown and St Johns sometimes act unafraid as well. It seems like some teams see themselves as better “ballers” than Pitt’s guys. There were always guys who didn’t think Krauser was as good as they said, but they kept it quiet so as not to make him mad. But now it might get worse because Levance and Ronald are shyer than CK, so it could ferment during the games.
What do yinz think?
What did PITT fans think this team would do prior to the season starting? We are 17-3 with the three losses coming against very good teams and two of those went into overtime. Did we really expect this team to be that much better? I can only surmise that any basis for those types of expectations would be centered on Gray returning for his senior year, and since we hadn’t shown that we were national championship caliber in the last few years with Gray – what made this year so much different?
This is a serious question as I just began to really follow the team after this year’s play started – but I think they are doing very well so far, and am kind of amazed at the negative tone of these posts after a close loss like this game.
but, at some pt, we have to prove we can beat a top25 team………
Gray only started as a junior. He didn’t play much his sophmore year. Fans probably thought he was going to improve by leaps and bounds again this year, but that is not realistic. He won’t get any better until he gets his body in better shape and that will be in the NBA.
I thought Pitt had a chance to get to the Final 4 last year. Honestly we were a very good team and ran into a hot team in Bradley in Round 2. I think we would have been better off playing Kansas rather than Bradley. I think we can get to the Final 4 this year as well. Pitt fans are a negative bunch, for a reason I believe. I think the negativity is missed place with this team.
The coaches are really going to have to do something about Gray on the defensive end. I feel bad for the kid. Every team is just dragging him out to the three point line or running the pick and roll. I think we should not hedge and make our guards fight through the pick or trap the guard on the pick. Nobody has a dominant big man so I am not worried about leaving the cutter on the pick, furthermore we can rotate to cover the cutter if need be. Gray obviously is not quick enough to recover so we have to counter somehow.
I don’t think Billy Packer will talk about Kendall’s piano playing skills.