My in-laws finally got high speed. Unfortunately, they lack wireless in their house. That rendered the laptop useless. Big problem when I forgot my password cheatsheet. I had gotten lazy with most of the passwords for this and other sites stored on the browser. That I actually got mildly pissed and frustrated by this is a little silly.

Essentially, I ended up with a semi-forced blogging break. Probably good for me. Since I wasn’t going to be able to blog, I just stayed away from the computer most of the time. A little information deprivation.

Back to blogging.

Got this in the mail a few days ago — sounds like it’s being sent to all football season ticket holders.

The inside reads:

This is just the beginning of something very special
at the University of Pittsburgh.

Thank you for your continued support of our program.
Best wishes for a wonderful holiday season
and a very Happy New Year!

Steve Pederson, Dave Wannstedt, and the Panthers Football Team

My excuse this time. Going to the in-laws tomorrow and trying to get everything together, finished and just done. Add in the fact that I want to get there early so I can plant my ass in front of their TV and watch basketball all day, and well, I’m not always the perfect son-in-law. Hell, they don’t really care. All they want is to see their grandkids.

Let’s start with the locals. The story was Levance Fields hitting the game winner.

Fields, the Brooklyn native with many of his friends and family among the 19,544 in attendance, finished with a game-high 21 points on 7 for 13 shooting. Blair had 15 points and 20 rebounds, and Sam Young added 17 points and seven rebounds.

…Fields, shooting only 27 percent from 3-point range this season, worked off a ball-screen by Young, who was playing center in Blair’s absence. Fields pulled up and made the game-winner — something he mimicks at practice every day — over Duke 6-6 junior David McClure.

The cost in the game was huge with Mike Cook out with a torn ACL and other ligaments just because it wasn’t gruesome enough.

Yesterday’s news confirmed what Dixon and the Panthers knew in their hearts last night. Dixon was having trouble holding it together after the game. He got choked up speaking about Cook at the postgame news conference. Tears welled in his eyes. It was Dixon who held Cook’s hand and cradled his head when he was sprawled on the floor, screaming in pain 30 minutes earlier.

“We knew right away,” Dixon said. “As soon as I got to him, he said, ‘Coach, it popped.’ You just knew at that point.”

This will make Pitt an even smaller and less experienced team. Even if Gilbert Brown does fine, there is no one else at the small forward position to back him up. Keep in mind that Brown has also battled injuries this season and last. That means guards Wanamaker and Benjamin will see more action. Benjamin is 6’1″, though a senior. Wanamaker is a 6’4″ true freshman. No matter what, that will be an issue.

DeJuan Blair has continued to impress as a force inside.

Blair continually outworked and outmuscled Duke’s slender frontcourt players, pushing them aside like they were rag dolls. He was the big reason Pitt dominated the rebounding margin by 14 (53-39).

“DeJuan is a beast,” Young said. “I have no words to describe him. It seems like he has magnetic hands. He’s confident. He doesn’t play like a freshman.”

Austin Wallace was able to rejoin the team on the trip. The NYC area players got to stay behind and be with family after the game.

It’s come to this. Joe Starkey goes for the online/blogging stunt of a “running diary” or “liveblog-esque” thing of his attempt to watch 3 different games. In other words, simply recap with timestamps, try a couple jokes with slice of life things that his wife said to him, and little actual content. Yeah, like I need that competition.

Down in North Carolina, this was about Duke blowing a big first half lead and a lack of toughness by the Blue Devils. Especially the toughness issue.

To understand that outcome, look at the Pittsburgh basketball roster stacked with strong, physical players, compare it to the Duke roster packed with lanky, quick athletes and know that the Blue Devils lost a 12-point halftime lead because the Panthers hammered them down inside.

But also look at how the Devils couldn’t finish layups or hit open 3s and how they failed to play fast and realize that the Devils also got beat by the Panthers’ effort.

Frustrated Mike Krzyzewski said after the game that toughness is a Pitt trademark and that it showed when the Panthers (11-0) played tougher than his Devils (10-1).

“I am not just disappointed, I am very disappointed,” Krzyzewski said. “You come here, you are playing in the Garden against a really good team, an outstanding program. We should have had more energy and toughness.”

The comments from Coach Krzyzewski should be taken with some cynicism. Those words were as much about a veteran coach sending a message to his players as “speaking truth” or anything like that. It’s a pointed way to let the Blue Devil players know they aren’t going to do much in March if they aren’t ready to do the gritty things.

Moving back to the city where the game was played. Plenty of coverage there.The obvious was that the game winner came from a local product.

“I was going for the win,” the Brooklyn kid from Dumont Avenue in Brownsville said.

Then he did just that.

The junior out of Xaverian High School, where he was coached by Jack Alesi of Grymes Hill, knocked down a step-back three-pointer from the top of the key inside a packed building in his hometown for a 65-64 overtime victory against Duke last night.

…

Dixon called for the “Five set” in the Panther playbook. It gives Fields the opportunity to drive the ball to the rim or take a perimeter jump shot.

But even before Pitt broke the huddle, the other players knew there wasn’t going to be any drive to the basket.

“I told them,” said Fields, whose best friend on the team, fellow guard Mike Cook, had gone down with what looked to be a serious knee injury moments earlier. “I said to them, ‘I’m taking a three-pointer for the win.’ “

Interesting. The play was his the entire way. Of course, since Fields was the only Pitt player able to hit a 3 and the only player on the court shooting 50% at that point, calling the play for for Fields was not exactly the risky move.

There was the theme of Pitt’s toughness, but it kept coming back, repeatedly to Fields hitting the 3.

Pittsburgh’s basketball team has had a gritty, physical personality under Jamie Dixon.

But no one was tougher on Thursday night than Panthers point guard Levance Fields.

The 6-foot junior made a game-winning three-pointer from the left of the key with 4.7 seconds remaining to give the 11th-ranked Panthers a 65-64 overtime victory over No. 6 Duke in a Garden game between two heavyweights. But afterward, all Fields could think about was his best friend Mike Cook.

…

“I had tears in my eyes,” said Fields, who starred at Xaverian in Brooklyn and had his family and friends waiting for him in the stands. “He and I worked so hard this summer losing weight. This was his last year. After he went down, coach called us to the bench and said, ‘Let’s win this one for Mike.'”

The Andy Katz write-up for ESPN.com made it clear how much Mike Cook means to the team and Dixon.

It was special because Cook has been a special player for the Pitt program since transferring from East Carolina three years ago. After the game, as Dixon had a brief moment alone in the coaches’ locker room, despite the euphoria of winning a thrilling game, Dixon’s eyes watered as he held back tears as he spoke of his fondness for Cook.

“He’s grown so much and become a leader and so liked by the players and really bought into our program,” Dixon said of Cook. “We had a lot of heart-to-hearts during his redshirt year.”

… And the Pitt coach said Cook’s commitment to the Panthers’ program and its ideals made the injury even more difficult to digest.

The nice thing, is that Pitt is getting national credit for winning this game. That they earned it, not Duke giving it away.

To be sure, Duke did not give the game away. Rather Pitt took it from them. Whether it was Blair blocking shots on the interior or guard Ronald Ramon working the ball-handlers, Pitt executed at a higher level than the previously undefeated Blue Devils.

“I think they played tougher than we did,” said Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski. “They took over that game with persistence and toughness.”

Blair, of course continues to impress.

The Duke lead grew as large as 31-15, and it still was at 16 points entering the final minute of the first half. That’s when the Panthers began dragging themselves back into the game, and the four points they scored before the break were essential in convincing them the night was not over.

From there, Blair deflated the Devils as if he were squeezing the air from a playground basketball. He didn’t score a basket until 9:15 remained, but he drew foul after foul along the baseline. He went only 5-of-8 on foul shots in that stretch, but Singler and Nelson wound up in foul trouble, and Blair’s teammates began to play with confidence.

Fields will get the headlines for his team-high 21 points and the beautiful jab-step that created room for the game-winning 3-pointer. The only number that really screams about Blair’s effect on this game was his 20 rebounds. His impact was so much greater, though. He was like an overwhelming left tackle, emphatically but quietly protecting his quarterback.

To some, this was Blair’s national coming-out party in a season of top freshmen.

NBADraft.net listed 4 players from the game as prospects. Only one was a Pitt player.

DeJuan Blair (Pitt, 6’7″ 265 lbs.): Beast. The freshman had twenty rebounds in the game. What more needs to be said? Blair, in part thanks to his 7’3″ wingspan, swatted away three shots in the game as well. Making matters more disconcerting for opponents is the fact that Blair seems to always have a smile on his face. The big body possesses very soft hands for such a bruiser. He was an anchor in the middle for Pitt the way Shelden Williams and Carlos Boozer used to be for Duke. Coach K can only dream about having a beast like Blair lacing it up for Duke this year.

Now on Jay Bilas’ chat today (Insider subs.), there was talk of the Pitt-Duke game. Only one whining question, Bilas shot down.

Jacksonville NC: Will Blair see any more punishment for the intentional foul in Thursday nights game against Singler?

Jay: No. It looked worse than it was. Singler fouled Blair first, and it was not called. The kid got an intentional foul, what more does one want? He’s a good kid that was playing hard. No big deal beyond that.

I’m sure Duke fans were eager for Henderson to be suspended last season after breaking Hansbrough’s nose.

Otherwise, it was sad at the loss of Cook, love for Blair and Pitt in general.

Michael: (New York, NY): Great game last night at the Garden, Jay! Do you think it was Pitt’s win or Duke’s loss?

Jay: Both. Pitt and Duke both did good things to put them in a position to win, and both made mistakes to put themselves in a position to lose. Both are top ten good, and both will benefit from the game. The only real downer was Pitt’s loss of Mike Cook. He is a great kid, and seeing him hurt was gut wrenching. I thought Jamie Dixon showed a great amount of compassion for his player on the floor and afterward. That will be a tough loss for Pitt. He is a really good college player.

…

Matt (Pittsburgh, PA): What’s going on Jay? How would you rate Levance Fields play against some of the top point guards in the country?

Jay: Right up there. Fields has a really low error rate, and really makes a lot of plays. He is disciplined and really plays smart. I love him as a competitor. He is really solid.

The PTI guys weren’t the only one’s eating crow after the game. CollegeHoopsNet.com also conceded getting it wrong.

Finally, Joe Lunardi gives some love to Pitt (Insider subs).

And now, the only time Panther fans tell me to put a sock in it is when I don’t seed their team as high as they would like. Last night at Madison Square Garden, a few Pitt partisans — when not lamenting that “Duke gets every call” — made sure I knew exactly how they felt.

So, Panthers, this one’s for you. When Levance Fields buried his 3-pointer in overtime to complete a thrilling and emotional win over the Duke Blue Devils, I went scurrying for the record book. Not the NCAA records, mind you, but my own little cheat sheet of occasionally helpful facts.

And you know what? Pitt defeated the program with the best aggregate RPI of the last five years. With an average RPI of 7.0 from 2003-2007, Duke is statistically light years ahead of the No. 2 school on the list (Kansas, 12.6).

Who is third on that same list? My first guesses would have been North Carolina or Michigan State or maybe Arizona. Maybe even Wisconsin or Texas, as those two programs seem to play the RPI game well just about every season.

Yet all of those schools are looking up at the University of Pittsburgh. With an average RPI of 13.6 since its current run of excellence began, the Panthers have been as consistently good as any program in the country (and by far the best in the Big East during that time). So when your Friday paper calls this victory an upset, perhaps it is.

But not by much. And, for Pitt basketball, that may be the greatest compliment of all.

One more thing for Pitt to stick in the game notes.

ESPN is doing some sort of top highlights of all time.

Jerome Lane’s backboard breaking dunk is on the list. Since they list by date — Jan 25, 1988 — it is somewhere in the middle of the list.

Vote early and often.

After 10 pm. That’s when I was finally able to sit down and watch this. So many things to get done even after the kid’s holiday concert. Needless to say, I was screwed. By 9:20, I stole a glance at a sports website to check something else before I could get to the TV. I caught that the game was in OT. I was just hoping it would end by 9:30 — I extended the taping a half-hour.

Three phone calls came starting at 9:35. I had to ignore each of them. Each time, though, apparently my face betrayed my emotions. The wife thought I might be heading for a nervous breakdown. I just don’t know as I type this whether I have the final minutes on the DVR.
…Hideous call by one official. Denying the charge call on Nelson taken by Cook. Instead, they call something against Young — but count the basket. Then they give a call back to Pitt. At best, it might fire the team up a little more with the “everyone is out to get us” type mentality kicking in.

It did seem to embarrass the officials with that bad of a call — that they looked at to determine who it was on. Pitt is getting some more calls. Less than 5 minutes into the half, Pitt’s in the bonus.

Wow. A 12-0 Pitt run with under 6 minutes. Pitt with a 50-48 lead. Complete defensive battle. Both teams just contesting everything. Making it a battle up and down the court. Brutal. Beautiful.

OT.

Oh, crap. Cook had his left knee buckle. Hate to think it, but all you can think is ACL.

Duke fans chanting for Duke as Mike Cook lies on the floor. Hell, even Domer fans have more class.

DeJuan Blair fouls out. Huge for Duke that Lance Thomas was able to play. If not, they would have lost at least Henderson if not Nelson by now.

Time runs out on the DVR with 56.3 seconds left. Duke with the ball and up 63-62.

OMG!!!!

Pitt won?!?!?!?

Levance Fields. Wow.

Here’s the link to the ESPN video highlights.

Nothing like being the team that comes back in the second half after a horrible 1st half. It beats beating up your own team for choking and blowing it.

Losing Cook, though, is brutal. There is love and hate for Cook from fans. I understand it, but I am a fan. Gilbert Brown is going to have to be huge. It also means more size deficiency issues. Benjamin and Wanamaker will get more action in a 3-guard line-up. That or Cassin Diggs and McGhee will have to make a huge jump.

Near the beginning of the OT against Duke, Mike Cook went down with what looked to be a really ugly knee injury. He was on the flooring screaming in pain and had to be carried off the court. Obvious it’s not good to speculate on injuries but usually when you see a knee just give out like that it’s a good guess to say he could be out for a long period of time. Maybe (but hopefully not) a very long period of time.

On the postgame radio show, Jamie Dixon was obviously shaken when talking about Cook’s injury — not just because he’s an important part of the starting lineup but also because he’s a senior who might have just played his last game for Pitt.

Gilbert Brown replaced Cook on the court and will probably be the one who takes his spot. Great job by the entire team to battle back; not just by coming back from such a huge deficit but also for playing tough after seeing a teammate go down like that. More info on the injury as it comes out.

6:40: Family (huge Duke fans) from North Carolina are here for Christmas and I’ll be watching the game with them tonight. I am prepared to win or lose excessive amounts of money tonight depending on the outcome.

6:50: On PTI today, Tony Korheiser gave Pitt a 4% chance of winning and Michael Wilbon gave us at 25% chance. Jay Bilas says on SportsCenter that Duke is also built more for the postseason. It’s still December…

7:02: The team looked fired up in the pregame.

We have tip-off. Go Pitt.

7:05: The clocks at MSG are performing about as well as the Knicks have this year. Still waiting…

7:08: Finally we’re actually going to play. DeJuan Blair gets an early 2 on a nice move. Already we’re seeing the Duke screen plays at the top of the key lead to a wide open lane. Can’t expect Blair to switch on a pick to cover a quick guard. Duke is picking up the defense at about 3/4 court, much earlier than we’ve seen from any other team this year.

7:11: Maybe Blair should have dished it to Fields for the break, maybe he shouldn’t. Oh well. Four offensive turnovers already — ouch.

7:16: Sam Young with a horrible missed dunk.

I feel like on at least two occasions, Ronald Ramon was maybe going to shoot a 3 but was confused by the NBA three-point line.

Stuart makes a good point in the comments: “Duke seems to have a good plan with making Ramon bring it up – its taking Fields out of the game and causing Ramon to turn it over way too much.”

7:28: Gil Brown has knocked down a jumper and blocked a shot which lead to Blair basically getting tackled. Both teams look sloppy — Pitt more than Duke, though. Duke is up 3 with 9:20 left in the half.

7:35: Even more turnovers. Traveling, stepping out of bounds, offensive fouls, bad ball handling…

Dixon takes his first timeout of the game after Paulus nails a three.

7:41: Duke is just a team of tall white dudes who know how to flop. The refs are starting to lean towards Coach K and we haven’t scored in about 5 minutes. The double teams on Blair are starting to work and he’s getting trapped in the lost post without a place to pass it to. On defense it looks like Pitt has never seen a team use a screen and Duke has all kinds of open shots and drives. The Duke family members have taken over my basement.

13 turnovers and counting.

7:55: So that was a pretty ugly half of basketball. We have no leader on the floor and the entire team needs to collectively calm down. Not at all impressed with Ramon, which makes me realize how much better I felt with Antonio Graves last year. If Ramon isn’t even going to hit his three pointers (0-3) then why does he even play? Sam Young and Mike Cook need to both settle for less jump shots and drive more. Too much of the offense is happening very far from the basket, which is a combination of Duke’s good defense plus Pitt’s offense which is playing like crap. The “help defense” being played on Blair has been working very well for Duke and ‘m sure we’ll see plenty more in the 2nd half. Oh, and hitting some free throws would be nice too.

Halftime: Duke 34 — Pitt 22
(more…)

Not a lot of time, so here are some more stories going up to game night.

Pittsburgh Post-Gazette‘s Ray Fittipaldo picks Duke by 7 by the end of his weekly chat.

Rivals.com heart’s DeJuan Blair, in hindsight.

New York looking forward to a night at the Garden (Newsday).

Dick Weiss is grooving on the game and focuses mainly on Pitt, esp. Sam Young.

Blue Devils are also excited about this game.

“The game is a real big-time game,” Duke senior DeMarcus Nelson said. “I think that’s something everyone in this locker room really embraces. These are Final Four and Elite Eight type of games that Coach loves to schedule.

“Two undefeated teams, two big-time teams. I think the game speaks for itself. Madison Square Garden has always been a home away from home for us.”

Can’t wait.

For the record, Dennis will be handling tomorrow night’s live blog.

I’m going to be on DVR delay on account of a holiday concert at my daughter’s school. Can’t wait. Wife is insisting I completely cross to the dark side and video tape the slew of off-key singing. And she won’t let me bring a flask. Not that I’m bitter. So, I’m turning off my cell in case any of my “friends” thinks it would be good to call or text me while the game is happening or for several hours afterwards. Urgh.

Now, for those of you who get the MSG Network (either from living in the area or via the sports package on satellite), at 6:30-7 pm they will be previewing this game. The featured guests will be Will Brown, the head coach of Albany, and Manhattan Coach Barry Rohrssen. Albany played Duke on Monday and is a close friend of Coach Dixon. Rohrssen of course was a vital Pitt assistant under Howland and Dixon.

MSG Network chose Brown because he just faced Duke and because Brown is good friends with Pittsburgh coach Jamie Dixon. Brown will be joined in studio by Manhattan coach Barry Rohrssen, a former Pitt assistant.

Unbeknownst to MSG at the time, Brown also was briefly hired at Pitt by then-coach Ben Howland to be his director of basketball operations in 2001. Brown never started the job because UAlbany coach Scott Beeten lured him away to become his top assistant and recruiting coordinator.

Sam Young goes candid with SI.com’s Luke Winn in a Q&A.

Luke Winn: You had a self-imposed ‘ban’ on talking to the media for most of your sophomore season, when you were coming off the bench behind Levon Kendall at the power-forward spot. Why the ban?

Sam Young: Last year, I was pretty frustrated. I consider myself a hard worker, and I was working hard all offseason, and then had a knee [injury] be a problem for me all season long. I felt like I probably wasn’t the best player at the three [small forward] on the team. But at the four, I felt like I was the best player, and that basically added to my frustration. I was put in a position where I couldn’t win, basically. And then when the media asked me questions, they often put me in a position where I wanted to say some things that I shouldn’t. So I felt like the best thing for me to do, if I didn’t have anything positive to say, was to be quiet.

He does admit, though that he was injured. The thing Young has had struggles has been the defensive side. Really, but for the defense he would be an ideal small forward. He has the size, the range and ability to go to the hoop. I realize he prefers being at the power forward, but Coach Dixon was right in terms of flexibility for the team and Young’s development/NBA goals to try and play him at the three.

WagerWeb.com looks at the Pitt-Duke game.

No. 6 Duke at No. 11 Pittsburgh: Duke has been overshadowed by top-ranked North Carolina, but the Blue Devils are outscoring their opponents by an average of 25 points per game. However, Duke also has played only two road games thus far. Pitt has been just as impressive as Duke and is 6-0 at home, but the Panthers have not faced a true quality team. They have beaten solid squads Duquesne, Washington and Oklahoma State in their last three games and are 10-0 for the fifth season in a row under coach Jamie Dixon. I like Pitt in this game, especially considering oddsmakers will overvalue Duke – as usual.

Interestingly, Vegas isn’t touching this game with less than 24 hours. Most have this game “OFF.” Only one place is going with Duke -5.5.

DeJuan Blair gets a national AP piece going into this game.

Blair is so excited about his first game against a national power like Duke, he is worried he won’t be able to sleep the night before. For real.

“To just play against them and see what they can do on a big stage, see how they can come into the game, I can’t wait,” he said.

Blair may be matched against another star freshman, 6-7 Duke forward Kyle Singler, who averages 13 points and 6.1 rebounds. Blair has not seen Singler, who is from Medford, Ore., except on TV.

“He’s a good player, a fundamental player, but he’s not too physical, I guess,” Blair said. “I don’t know if he likes to bang or not, but we’re going to see on Thursday.”

I’m guessing that will be going on the Blue Devil bulletin board. He also gets puffed by Joe Starkey.
Seth Davis at SI.com can’t believe the excitement for this game.

Indeed, this game is generating tons of buzz for a variety of reasons. Though there have been some pretty good matchups thus far, the nonconference portion of the college hoops season has for the most part yielded forgettable games. (Some notable exceptions were UCLA-Texas, Arizona-Kansas and Gonzaga-Washington State.) Duke-Pitt is just the third game this season that features a matchup of two teams ranked in the top 10 of at least one of the polls. (Duke is 7th in the coaches’ poll, Pitt is 9th.) Finally, it is happening in the media cauldron of New York City, and neither Isiah Thomas nor Roger Clemens is invited.

Moreover, the Panthers and Blue Devils will have the stage to themselves Thursday, while Saturday’s Georgetown-Memphis tilt, even bigger rankings-wise, will have to share the bill with several other compelling games that day.

Ultimately he picks Duke to win by two.

Almost 50 years to the day, Pitt beat Duke in OT 87-84. They were led by Don Hennon who set the school record of 45 points in a game.

His 45 points remains the second-highest scoring game by a Duke opponent in 103 years — more than Lew Alcindor or Michael Jordan or Ralph Sampson ever scored. No Duke opponent has ever surpassed Hennon’s 20 field goals made.

Hennon’s feat is even more remarkable considering it came during an age when there was no 3-point line, no one-and-one bonus and no shot clock.

Duke has become much more of a transition fast break team. Pitt, for all it’s increased tempo, still likes to slow things down — mainly on defense.

Tomorrow night’s game is the one we expected to see in the second round of last year’s NCAA tournament until VCU stormed the party. Duke easily took care of Albany, but so has everyone else. Likely one of those games Duke scheduled knowing they needed to get back into the swing of things after a break for finals. Thursday at MSG is a good test for both teams though.
Duke’s probably starting five will look something like this:

G — Greg Paulus: Shooting 50% from three point land. In his first two years it began to look like he might have made a mistake by playing basketball instead of football. As a junior, he’s starting to show his worth.

G — Gerald Henderson: Has been hot lately, putting up 10+ points in 8 of last 10 games

G — DeMarcus Nelson: Only senior on whole team and plays the leader role. Season high 23 points on Monday over Albany

F — Kyle Singler: 6-8, 220 lb and one of the best freshmen in the nation; tied for team lead in points per game and has team lead in rebounds per game (6.1)

F — Brian Zoubek: Over 7 feet tall, which is 5+ inches taller than DeJuan Blair who will likely be the defender on him. Should be a great test for Blair on a big time stage.

Similar to Pitt, Duke will only go about three deep from the bench. Both teams are very comfortable with the rotation they’re in at this point regarding how many guys see the court.

In case you hadn’t heard, Dick Vitale will be out of action until at least February. Once, many years ago, before he became a caricature, Vitale was one of the best color analysts for college basketball. I don’t like listening to him any longer, but I still wish him a speedy recovery. That means Dan Shulman and Jay Bilas will have the call that night.

If you were watching ESPN stations ast night and tonight, you know that the game is getting full ESPN promotion. Including the in-game discussion while other games were happening.
Both Pitt and Duke have game notes (PDFs).

I’m not particularly bothered that Pitt isn’t going too deep on the bench right now. I think Wanamaker is struggling a bit to pick up the increased level. It will come in time, and for the past couple of years, a complaint has been that Dixon hasn’t had a good rotation and thrown too many guys out there.

Ray Fittipaldo is right because he agrees with me about the importance of Levance Fields.

…The second thing was Levance Fields picking up his third foul four minutes into the second half. Pitt is a very ordinary team without Fields on the floor. As soon as the lead got trimmed to seven, Jamie Dixon put Fields back in the game, and the Panthers resumed control.

Pitt played without Sam Young for 10 minutes in the first half against Washington and still only trailed by three at halftime. The Panthers have played without DeJuan Blair for long stretches because of foul trouble and still been successful. It became obvious to me Saturday that the player they can least afford to lose is Fields.

Basic rule, when the reporter or columnist agrees with your viewpoint, he is obviously right.

Duke had no problem on Monday with the Great Danes of Albany. They too, seem to be looking forward to the next game.

“This game was good to keep us sharp and give us a little something going into Pitt,” swing-man Gerald Henderson said.

By the way, Duke has won 36 straight games in Decembers. Almost makes me wish the game had been in November when Pitt hasn’t lost under Dixon.

Duke may be without New Jersey Sophomore Forward Lance Thomas who missed the Monday game with a high ankle sprain. The Blue Devils don’t have that much depth in the front court, so that could be a big issue.

DeJuan Blair apparently has a chip on his shoulder about Duke.

Blair is motivated for a couple of reasons. He said the Blue Devils didn’t pursue him at all coming out of Schenley High School. Instead, they focused their efforts at forward on Singler, who was named the ACC Pre-season Rookie of the Year, and 6-6 Taylor King, another McDonald’s All-American.

“They didn’t recruit me at all,” Blair said. “That’s another reason why I’m going hard on them. They have an excellent program. I wish I could have been recruited by them. But they looked the other way and got who they wanted. Pitt got who they wanted.”

I’m going to choose to view this as a competitive player looking to use any perceived slight as extra motivation.

Duke Coach Mike Krzyzewski thinks the focus should be on the older players.

Krzyzewski brings his Blue Devils (10-0) to the Garden Thursday for a showdown against Pitt (10-0), and both teams have terrific freshmen in Kyle Singler and Taylor King for Duke and DeJuan Blair for Pitt. But I’ll heed Coach K’s words and keep on an Duke senior DeMarcus Nelson, who’s finally healthy and Pitt’s junior Sam Young.

While the players are clearly juiced for the game (almost as much as we, the fans), and I prefer them to concede the excitement. I just hope they get their emotions reined in for the game itself.
Finally, Dixon gets a puffer by Ron Cook.

Well, if I had to guess Averin Collier will choose Syracuse to play RB or finally take the move to Safety at Pitt or Alabama. He actually wanted to choose Clemson, but they told him no.

…apparently the Tigers feel they have a chance to land a running back higher on their board right now. Collier had planned to visit Clemson over the weekend but after talking with recruiter Billy Napier a couple of weeks ago, the visit was canceled. “I told him they were my number one choice and I would commit if I enjoyed my visit,” Collier said. “He told me to wait and I could not do that because I’m an early enrollee. I can’t have my fate depending on somebody else. He said they were waiting on somebody else. There was no use wasting my time. I told him to just scratch me off the list and I’ll look elsewhere.”

He seems set on wanting to be a running back. Oh, well.

ESPN.com lists 5 programs recruiting well despite disappointing records: 1. Minnesota, 2. Pitt, 3. Stanford, 4. Washington and 5. Colorado (Insider subs.).

A three-year contract extension for coach Dave Wannstedt and huge road win over then-No. 2 West Virginia last month has proven to be a huge boost for this fledgling program trying to get above .500. For a team that has struggled so much, many prospects must see a light at the end of the tunnel.

Luring QB Tino Sunseri (Pittsburgh/Central Catholic) away from Louisville obviously means it is not sold yet on incumbent Pat Bostick. ESPN 150 TE Jonathan Baldwin (Aliquippa, Pa.) is a huge playmaker who will likely start out at wide receiver and should play right away in some capacity.

The needs start on the offensive line. Sophomore OT Jason Pinkston is going to be a good one, but both starters are gone and the two reserves are seniors-to-be. The Panthers need an offensive tackle capable of improving depth and eventually competing for the starting slot opposite Pinkston. This could very well be Luke Nix (Jefferson Hills, Pa./Thomas Jefferson), an athletic two-way player who on defense has the athleticism to hold up in pass protection and the strength to drive folks off the ball in time. OT Ryan Turnley (Aliquippa, Pa./Hopewell) rounds out the position to this point.

This class isn’t very big, but there is some potency near the top.

For whatever it’s worth, Pitt’s upset of WVU was ranked the #3 upset for 2007 by SI.com.

This is why college basketball is ignored until after conference play really gets underway. Poor planning. There are a slew of good games worth watching starting tonight through Saturday (except for Friday which is dead). Yet, it is overlooked as minor bowls are starting at the end of the week. A bunch of great games, all while the students are on break and people are scrambling to get ready for Christmas. Or some &*@&@!%#% holiday concert you have to go to for your kid — not that I’m projecting.
For ESPN, Thursday is the big primetime game — though the Georgetown-Memphis game on Saturday at noon is the bigger impact game.

Rivals.com puts this at the top of their 5 games worth watching.

Andy Katz in the ESPN.com Weekly Watch is excited for this game.

[What I’m looking forward to this week…] If Pitt vs. Duke on Thursday night (ESPN, 7 ET) at Madison Square Garden can live up my expectations as one of the best nonconference matchups of the season.

Pitt and Duke remain in the same spots in both polls.

Mike DeCourcy at the Sporting News also makes this his game of the week.

Game to watch this week: When Duke and Pitt agreed to the game at Madison Square Garden that will be played Thursday at 7 p.m. EST, it appeared the game would involve two very good, Sweet 16-type teams. One word for that assumption: oops. The Blue Devils and Panthers have yet to lose, which means this should be the first of perhaps three games this week between undefeated teams. Unless Albany takes out the Blue Devils tonight; you never know. Both Pitt and Duke attack defensively and like to shoot from the perimeter. Both are led by freshman frontcourt players who have elevated their teammates: Duke with Kyle Singler, Pitt with DeJuan Blair. Neither team has great size, which eventually could be an obstacle to a national title, but it appears both will have something to say about who does win it all.

He also sings the praises of DeJuan Blair a little later in the post.

Say hello to: Pitt freshman bigman DeJuan Blair, who beat up the Oklahoma State Cowboys so badly it’ll be hard for him to fit into Santa’s “nice” column. Blair pounded OK State with 20 points, 10 rebounds and five blocks and only missed two of his 10 field goal attempts. In early October, my buddy Dave Telep of Scout.com called, and the first words out of his mouth were these: “I’ve got the Big East newcomer of the year for you.” He was pushing Blair, a wide-body with surprising quickness, length and explosion. I’d written extensively about Blair’s importance to this Pitt team during the summer, but never once thought of him for that honor. Shame on me. But where was Telep in August, when I had to make that selection?

To be fair, in a conference that had Jonny Flynn, Donte Green, Chris Wright, Corey Fisher, Corey Stokes and Dar Tucker in the freshman class; overlooking DeJuan Blair wasn’t nearly that obscene in August or even October.

People are noticing now. Everywhere.

Pittsburgh always seems to find players like DeJuan Blair — big, defensive forces who can dominate a game by rebounding. Blair might be the best of them all, with three double-doubles in his last four games and a 20-point, 10-rebound, five-block effort in Saturday afternoon’s victory over Oklahoma State. In a loaded Big East Conference, Blair could lift the Panthers among contenders Georgetown and Marquette for the whole regular season. He’s already survived one key test — with the Washington student section taunting him last week, he overwhelmed the Huskies with 16 points and 14 rebounds.

Coach Jamie Dixon does a Q&A in the NY Sun.

Do you think scheduling highly ranked non-conference opponents early in the season toughens players up for later in the year, and for tournament time?

You’re telling me that a game in November is going to help you in March, when we have 18 league games in play? We have 18 league games to play in January, February and March, those are what will get us ready. Our schedule is going to have us pretty toughened up by the time we’re done with conference play.

…

You’ve got a big matchup with Duke coming up — that’s another team that’s changed its style to something more up-tempo with their big man gone. Do you see this as an emerging trend in the college game, the way it’s been in the NBA with teams like the Suns and Raptors going with smaller guys at the 5 spot and athletes all around them?

Maybe there was a time when there were a lot of quality big men around, but that was before I started coaching. I think the three-point line being more and more used, teams spacing the floor, using quickness to defend more so than size, all of that has become pretty common. On the other hand, nobody’s turning down a big guy if you can get one.

Scheduling good non-con games is as much about getting early TV exposure. Getting the team out there and helping to sell the program to recruits. Most coaches if they could, would go the UConn/Syracuse/Duke route of nearly all the games at home against minor talent mostly, with one tournament and an extra neutral site or good road game for recruiting.

Pitt of course is excited about the game against Duke. Perhaps, nearly as much as we fans. Pitt’s radio color analyst, Dick Groat played b-ball at Duke but professes his partisan bias is with Pitt.

“So many people ask me who I’m going to be rooting for,” Groat said yesterday afternoon. “I’m a Pitt man. I love Jamie Dixon and his coaching staff. I love these kids. I spend so much time with them. My only association with Duke now is with coach [Mike Krzyzewski] and some of his assistants.”

…

Groat began broadcasting Pitt basketball games in 1979. And even though legendary Pitt coach H.C. Carlson did not offer him a scholarship coming out of Swissvale High in 1950, Pitt always has been a special part of his life.

“I’ve been a Pitt man my whole life,” Groat said. “This goes all the way back to when I was 5 years old. I’ll always be indebted to Bill [Hillgrove] for getting me back involved in college basketball. It’s been a godsend for me.”

Can’t wait.

Dennis noted the Gorman blog post on Houser, here’s the local coverage in Butte, California.

Putting an end to what was one of the winter’s closest Big East Conference football recruiting battles, sought-after Butte College center Robb Houser verbally committed to Pittsburgh over Syracuse on Saturday morning.

He’s an important recruit and a vital get for Pitt. That was, however, a bit of an overstatement.

“They have a real similar approach to what I have been doing at Butte and that was a big factor for me,” Houser said.

He will begin the spring semester at the school Jan. 7 and be an immediate candidate to fill the Panthers’ open starting center spot when spring football workouts begin.

Head coach Dave Wannstedt, a longtime NFL assistant who was also the Miami Dolphins head coach before coming to Pitt, recently cited landing a junior college center as one of his top offseason priorities. The Panthers’ starting center last season, fifth-year senior Chris Vangas, graduated.

“When we set our personnel board, the area I will have to spend the most time with is the offensive line,” Wannstedt told the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette earlier this month. “It will be easy defensively, guys will move around a little, but where we need to get it laid out right, depth-chart-wise, is the offensive line.”

It would be a huge shock in the depth chart after spring practices if Houser isn’t #1 at the center position.

Starkey had a Sunday piece about Cliff Stoudt not holding a grudge against Pittsburgh and giving his blessing to his son, Zack committing to Pitt.

Mike Farrell of Rivals.com takes note of Pitt’s recruiting fun in the last couple weeks.

Watch out for Pitt to have some quick success based on the momentum from its upset of West Virginia. Pitt received a commitment from running back Cameron Saddler and quarterbacks Zack Stoudt and Greg Cross. But the big news is that Aliquippa, Pa., tight end/wide receiver Jonathan Baldwin committed Monday. The Panthers also lead for Saddler’s teammate, linebacker Shayne Hale, and in-state cornerback standout Jared Holley. One thing is for sure: Dave Wannstedt can recruit.

One potential good thing for Pitt over Ohio State for Shayne Hale. The Buckeyes already have 4 DL in this recruiting class.

The recruiting ball keeps on rolling and we continue to see what are likely direct effects from the win against WVU way back at the beginning of the month. Junior-college center Robb Houser is your newest Panther, coming to Pitt all the way from Butte, California. Houser is 6-foot-3 and 285 pounds and chose Pitt over Syracuse. He’s expected to compete for the starting job and it seems like everyone out there is happy he’ll be here next fall.

“I was looking for a good program and a great opportunity to start,” Houser said. “They’re not just going to give it to me, but the spot is mine to take. I’ve just got to earn it.”

It won’t be too hard to be an upgrade over what was there last season.

Meanwhile, Gateway linebacker Shayne Hale came to the Pitt-Oklahoma State basketball game on an official visit. Cat Basket’s thoughts from the Zoo:

I didn’t talk to Shayne at the game but I can tell you this about his visit. He came over to the Zoo with Cameron and watched the game for a few minutes with the Zoo. Not only that, but Shayne and Cameron were both wearing Oakland Zoo shirts. There were many signs and chants from the small Zoo crowd.

Prior to December 1, we were completely out of the Hale sweepstakes, but after a huge win and his friend/cousin Cam Saddler verballing to Pitt, things are looking very positive.

Duke is currently destroying Albany on ESPN2 and will be undefeated when we meet them at MSG on Thursday. What a huge non-con game — more coverage coming.