Maybe it’s because Pitt has looked past them late in the season. Maybe dumb luck. Whatever, but Seton Hall has beaten Pitt 3 of the last 5 times.
On the surface, it looks like another “Groundhog Day,” but there are two variables this time: The Panthers’ dominant big man, senior center Aaron Gray, is questionable after spraining his ankle Saturday, and Seton Hall has played some of its best basketball against Pitt over the past three years, including a 65-61 win on the road last winter.
“Brian Laing and Jamar Nutter and the guys who played in that game know that even though Pitt is the best team in the league, they’re not invincible,” Pirates coach Bobby Gonzalez said Sunday.
Seton Hall has lost 7 straight in the conference (they beat Princeton in the span), but they have been in every game until late, when their lack of depth has just caught up with them.
Gray missed practice yesterday, and will likely be a gametime decision. Size-wise if Gray doesn’t play, Pitt doesn’t suffer tremendously in this instance. Seton Hall is not just short on depth, but lacking in size.
What they do, do is press and gamble on steals.
“I know (Seton Hall) watched the Louisville game, and they’re fired up,” Pitt G Levance Fields said. “We didn’t attack the press against Louisville. We were a little nonchalant.”
Of course, if Gray doesn’t play, it means the rest of the team has to play a lot better, especially the shooting by the guards.
“Obviously, we have to shoot better,” Pitt coach Jamie Dixon said. “We’re one of the top field-goal shooting teams in the country and we haven’t shot it well in the last two. We have to do a better job in that regard.”
A big part of the problem is the 3-point shooting. Outside shooting had been a positive for most of the season, but the guards have gone cold lately.
In the past four games, the Panthers are shooting 26 percent (15 for 57) from 3-point range. In those games, Antonio Graves is 3 for 13 from behind the 3-point arc, Ronald Ramon 4 for 13 and Levance Fields 4 for 14.
The players, of course, don’t express concern. They profess confidence that all will be well. As you would expect.
