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.
