You know, it’s a good thing I slacked off on some articles the past week. Otherwise, I’d be really desperate for something to write.
Unbelievably bad scheduling by the Big East with this break. Way to ice the highest ranked team in the conference. I know Coach Dixon will publicly say all the positive things and how they planned for it. The players will say the good things. I’m not buying. To start conference play 8-1, and then have a week plus layoff before a road game against a big rival. That’s not a good thing. Mike DeCourcy doesn’t even convince me of this.
Visiting the Mountaineers always is a chore for Pitt, and later in the month there will be trips to Georgetown (Feb. 24) and Marquette (March 7). That’s why the next week is such an advantage. There is the danger the Panthers could get stale during that period, but this is a team that wins on execution and not unbridled emotion.
It’s hard to get by purely on momentum in the Big East, anyway. It sometimes seems nearly every team has its own defensive gimmick. There are conferences where everybody is playing man-to-man, and teams in those leagues can be at a disadvantage if they face some sort of zone upon reaching the NCAA Tournament. Surviving the Big East means getting through the 2-3 zones Syracuse and Providence have been using for years, along with WVU’s complex 1-3-1 scheme and now Villanova’s matchup. Louisville and Cincinnati play a lot of zone, as well.
So each game is its own unique challenge. A little bit of time to think about all that, to rest and to heal, will serve the Panthers well. It’s not a vacation, but it’s a break in more ways than one.
I’m not worried about the emotion. I’m worried about the rust. In conference road games at Syracuse, DePaul and Villanova; Pitt got off to slow, disjointed starts. This was without a week to not play real games. WVU is undefeated at home and it’s the one place where they look really impressive. Pitt has historically struggled at the concrete toadstool, so that is little comfort.
No sir, I just don’t like it.
fran frischella giving us the #3 overall seed – which could happen if only 2 of ucla, wisconsin, florida and unc win their conferences/conference tourneys and we win the both the regular season and BET……..
Joe lunardi (who normally bashes us) gave us the #5 overall seed…..bout time joe, about time…
doug gottleib gave us the #16 overall seed…ladies and gentleman, your douchebag of the week…doug gottleib everyone……nothing from us so far warrants this low of a ranking……moron……
In what appears to be a newly-posted question for upcoming debate/ discussion, Dick Viale — at: link to espn.go.com — asks his readers to send response / opinion / argument (via V[itale]-Mail) on the topic of…
******* Can Pittsburgh win it all? *******
Note that beneath the question, there is a link entitled: • Latest answers! •
But seemingly, Vitale is still collecting mail on the topic. (At least I didn’t see any comments that addressed whether, or not, ‘Can Pittsburgh win it all?’ when I clicked “Latest answers.”
I don’t generally check into Dickie’s site, but this should be a fun read. So for those of you who visit the site, or feel inclined to write an opinion, it’d be appreciated if you’d let the rest of us know when Vitale releases his “answers.”
middle of page
…have you got a link for the “experts†power rankings, or is this ESPN insider subs material?
