Now, either team that lost was going to be officially in free-fall or a slide. Thankfully, it was ‘Nova not Pitt that has to deal with most of the issues.

Villanova fans watched as the team fell apart before their eyes. Over the next 8.5 minutes, the Panthers outscored the Wildcats by a ridiculous 19-3 margin.

The Wildcats could not score. The Wildcats could not defend. And still, Malcolm Grant, arguably among the team’s best scorers and defenders, languished on the bench.

I have to agree with the boys of Let’s Go Nova. Where exactly was Malcolm Grant? He torched Pitt last time, but played a total of 8 minutes. Not complaining, but it is a good question.

The ‘Nova slide is the longest for them in a while.

Nothing much has gone right for Villanova over the last eight days. Its defense has problems making stops, and when it does, the offense goes cold.

The Wildcats saw many of their recent troubles on display last night against 18th-ranked Pittsburgh. After a horrible start offensively, they grabbed the lead for all of 29 seconds midway through the second half, and then struggled mightily at both ends.

The Panthers ran away to a 69-57 victory, dealing Villanova its third straight defeat, its longest losing streak since dropping five in a row in February and March 2004.

Like Jamie Dixon, Villanova’s Coach Jay Wright continues to be publicly optimistic about his team’s prospects and only speaks of going forward. He also gave credit to Pitt.

“We played a hungry team tonight,” said Villanova coach Jay Wright, whose team will try to sweep Syracuse Saturday afternoon at the Wachovia Center. “Their effort kind of wore us down as the game wore on. It’s what good teams do.

“Every time they made a run, we had no answers.”

The Panthers, still playing without their only two returning starters (Levance Fields, Mike Cook), were coming off a home loss to Rutgers, which of course had just beaten Villanova at home before that. Coach Jamie Dixon was so upset that he had his guys really go after each other in practice. With all the injuries his team had suffered, he’d been giving them the benefit of the doubt. But at this point in the journey, you do what you have to do.

“We had that toughness [again],” said Keith Benjamin, who had seven assists. “That’s why we got through it.

“There are always going to be runs. You have to stay with it.”

The announcing crew and many people kept worrying when Villanova made their run at Pitt, that a Rutgers disaster would happen again.

“This was not the Rutgers game,” Pitt coach Jamie Dixon defiantly said.

This time, the No. 18 Panthers responded with a 22-3 surge and beat Villanova 69-57 at the Petersen Events Center. This time, Pitt wouldn’t let it be Rutgers.

“We were staying together and staying with what we do,” said Pitt guard Keith Benjamin. “We didn’t want to fall in and do what we did the other day.”

Which is why Rutgers is now a rallying cry for this team.

Of course, Rutgers was also able to kill Pitt from outside. Something Villanova hasn’t been able to do and definitely didn’t do in this game.

Sam Young’s second half effort — and the big dunk — put a lot of spotlight on him once more.

Young, admittedly, was suffering through a slump. In last Saturday’s upset loss to Rutgers, Young was 4 of 17 from the floor. The only thing consistent about his uneven performance was his poor shot selection. He was ineffective in the second half — eight missed shots and only two rebounds — when the Panthers desperately needed his scoring ability to curtail a Rutgers run.

The slump spilled into Wednesday’s game. Young was 2 of 6 shooting in the first half. His shot selection was still poor. His decisions appeared hurried.

On this night, when the Panthers called on him again in desperation after Villanova’s 9-0 run to take the lead, Young responded. He had some sort of epiphany.

“I had a feel for the game in the second half,” said Young, with a smile not often seen on his face. “That block pretty much summed it up. I was real energetic after that.”

Imagine that. A little more effort and energy on the defensive end leads to the offense. Think Coach Dixon isn’t going to remind him about that?

He didn’t get a lot of attention or credit. Even from me. I forgot to mention him in my observations, but Tyrell Biggs did a very good job last night. Showing that he has been working at it, he got the majority of his 14 points from the free throw line.

Biggs’ 14 points were a career-high in a conference game and he earned most of them inside or at the foul line. He rolled toward the basket and was rewarded often with passes from Keith Benjamin, who finished with a career-high seven assists as he handled point-guard duties during most of the run for the foul-troubled Ramon.

Biggs played 26 minutes. He was 3-5 shooting, 8-12 on FTs, 4 rebounds, 1 block and 0 turnovers. His free throw shooting has been improving as the season has gone on. It’s not 85%, but it is inching upwards.

Sure, Villanova has struggled on 3s in recent games, but that didn’t stop Pitt from taking credit for holding the Wildcats to 25% shooting from outside.

“We really locked in,” Benjamin said. “The perimeter really got picked apart in the Rutgers game, and we really let the big guys down. We didn’t want to get picked apart again.”

Glass half-full column — Pitt gutted and got gritty to get the win.

It’s not just the scoring and rebounding that the Panthers have to manufacture while relying heavily on four freshmen, it’s the physical and mental toll that’s being exacted now that the minutes are beginning to pile up, in some cases like never before under Dixon.

All of the above appeared to suddenly be a problem while Villanova was in the process of grabbing its second-half lead.

This time, the Panthers had an answer.

“It was time to just grind it out,” guard Keith Benjamin said.

It will be until further notice.

Glass half-empty column — yeah, Pitt won but ‘Nova isn’t that good right now.

So after a below-average first 20 minutes, the Panthers came out and played worse for the first eight minutes of the second half, allowing Villanova to take a one-point lead, 38-37.

For the remainder of the game, however, Pitt was excellent, opening leads of 18 points and playing with a flair they’ve often shown in the past.

But 12 good minutes against a struggling opponent is not a sign of excellence. So where does this leave the Panthers?

About where expected with 3 true freshmen and 1 redshirt freshman in an 8-man rotation. A bit unpredictable and uneven.

Take WR Vaughn Carraway off the potential Pitt commit list. He verballed to Temple. He wasn’t a need recruit so it isn’t a great loss. Plus, choosing Temple means he won’t burn Pitt later.

Media recap will come later today. Between high winds totally disrupting my internet service and sick kids in the house, it’s been hard to get enough time and connection to post.

From the beginning of the game, Villanova made a concerted effort to get the ball inside and attack the basket. This made sense on two fronts for them. One, they have absolutely been struggling to score with perimeter shooting being a mess. The best way to try and deal with that, is to try and get higher percentage shots. Make easier scores, get the players some confidence and open things up for better perimeter shots later. Two, attacking and going inside means better chances of drawing fouls — getting to the free throw lines and getting a thin Pitt team in foul trouble.

The flaws with that were that Pitt’s guards actually did a good job of staying in front of ‘Nova’s guards and preventing deep penetration — also protecting Blair and Young from early foul issues. There is also the fact that the Wildcats’ frontcourt isn’t too good. Pena’s a decent forward, but he couldn’t shoot in traffic — he got most of his points from putbacks.

Finally, and this was going both ways, it would take an absolute mugging inside for the first 10-15 minutes before the refs would call a foul inside. They weren’t just letting them play, the refs were letting some brutal stuff happen inside. Eventually the refs called more stuff as the game went on, but early that set a tone to benefit Pitt that if you went inside, be prepared to cope with some abuse.

While Keith Benjamin ended up with 7 assists, 4 rebounds and only 2 turnovers, his 8 points came on 10 shots. Especially in the first half, Benjamin was making me nervous because he was trying too hard to create his own shot and not passing and waiting for his shot. He was overdribbling and and starting and stopping. Generally, killing time on the shot clock and put Pitt in some rushed situations to hoist before the clock expired. That was cut back noticeably in the second half, so I’m guessing the coaches talked to him about that. He took 7 shots in the first half, and only 3 in the second.

Sam Young appeared to be continuing his Rutgers struggles/frustration for almost 3/4 of the game. He was 2-6 in the first half (meaning that Benjamin and Young took half the shots for Pitt in the first half). He kept drifting outside, away from the basket on the offensive end. He finally got a couple more baskets to fall when he attacked more and by the time he had the steal, slam and the foul (that he converted) it was as if some weight was off of him and his confidence was restored. That scream after the slam seemed as much about relief and release.

Wanamaker reminds me a lot of Benjamin in the first couple of years. So eager to try and show his skills on offense, that he just loses control and tries to go 1-on-5. Yes, he got hosed on that charge when Reynolds flopped, but in only 8 minutes of action in the first half he took 4 shots (missing all of them). No big surprise that playing that reckless, that he only saw the court for 2 minutes in the second half. Ah, youth.

Gilbert Brown has so much promise. He is playing within the game plan and definitely waited for open shots. He was 3-3 for shooting and played solid defense.

Ramon drew the assignment of trying to stop Scottie Reynolds. That got him in foul trouble as Reynolds had a great second half (6-7) attacking the basket and hitting his 3s. At the same time, one miss by Reynolds seemed to be the point when Pitt roared back. Reynolds had gotten a basket and drew the foul for the 3 point play. Villanova had their first lead, 38-37 and Reynolds was 4-5 at the line with 13:39 left in the game. He had scored the last 7 ‘Nova points and all momentum was with the Wildcats. Instead he missed it — preventing Villanova from setting up pressure defense.

Pitt could only tie the game on the ensuing possession, but the defense picked up against Villanova. That’s what allowed Pitt to get out on a 9-1 run over the next 4+ minutes. No scoring for ‘Nova meant no pressure defense and turnovers.

After Ramon got in foul trouble and had to come out, the one good thing was the way the rest of the team picked up on taking care of the ball. You could see the rest of the players making sure they came to whoever was bringing the ball up court to keep them from getting trapped or making a mistake. They need to do that more often when Ramon is still in the game.

I’m going to be limited in watching of this game. I’m DVRing it for closer watching later, but I have to keep an eye on the Cinci-WVU, Memphis-Houston and Kansas-K-State at the same time.

Both Pitt and Villanova are in dire need of winning this game. Pitt lost at home to Rutgers and can’t afford to drop a second straight at home. The Wildcats have lost two straight, and are below .500 in conference play. This could be a game that really dictates a lot about the rest of the season for both teams. Neither sets of fans can really disagree on this.

Pitt has been up-and-down while ‘Nova has flat out been in a slump.

The Wildcats have struggled at both ends of the court during their slump, but particularly on defense. They gave up 50 percent shooting to both Rutgers and Notre Dame and struggled defending hot-shooting guards for both teams.

Offensively, leading scorer Scottie Reynolds has felt the effects of the undivided attention of opposing defenses. He is 10 of 32 overall and 1 of 14 on three-point tries in his last two games.

Casiem Drummond, Villanova’s 6-foot-10 sophomore center who has played only briefly in one game since Dec. 9 because of a stress fracture in his right ankle, returned to practice Monday, but coach Jay Wright said he would be cautious about Drummond’s return.

Some of Villanova’s trouble can be attributed to the level of youth on the team.

Two years ago, a veteran Villanova team fell a win short of the Final Four. That team had a backcourt consisting of seniors Randy Foye and Allan Ray, junior Mike Nardi and unflappable sophomore Kyle Lowry.

Now Wright’s backcourt is run by sophomore Scottie Reynolds and a trio of freshmen: Corey Fisher, Malcolm Grant and Corey Stokes.

“Veteran guards in this league are important. No one’s benefited from that more than us,” Wright said. ‘We know that and we respect it when they have them on other teams.”

Pitt struggled against ‘Nova’s defense and pressure on the guards in the last meeting. Pitt players, though, are saying that was then and different circumstances.

Ramon and his backcourt mate, Keith Benjamin, each committed five turnovers against Villanova’s quick, guard-oriented attack. It was only Pitt’s second game without injured point guard Levance Fields (overmatched Lafayette was the first), and it showed with the new backcourt.

“That game is behind us,” Ramon said. “We came out with no energy. It was one of the first games with a new lineup out there. Guys weren’t stepping to the ball or stepping to the pass. We got better on that.”

Ramon and Benjamin weren’t alone. Everyone who played for Pitt that Sunday afternoon in Philadelphia turned the ball over at least twice.

“It was our first Big East game and really our first game without Levance,” said Brown, who had more turnovers (four) than field goals (three) in his second career start. “We had to get used to playing and that was the cause of all the turnovers. So I don’t think it’s going to be an issue.”

Yes, that means everyone will be watching to see that Pitt doesn’t turn the ball over every other minute.

“I think that was an aberration. At least, I hope it was,” Pitt coach Jamie Dixon said.

Dixon seems to be right. As Ramon and the Panthers have become increasingly comfortable with their new roles, they have cut down on the turnovers. In fact, they have halved the number to 10.6 per game since the Villanova loss, a span of five games.

Even in the Panthers’ shockingly bad loss to Rutgers last Saturday, they committed 13 turnovers. It was poor shooting and poor defense, not instability out front, that caused the upset.

Naturally, that will all start with Ronald Ramon. He has played much better at point. Not trying to do too much and making better decisions. Though, he does give his teammates credit for his improvement.

Ramon said his teammates and coaches have made the necessary adjustments in helping him become a more productive point guard.

The playbook was scaled back, giving the less experienced players less to comprehend.

The players also are making sure Ramon gets help when needed. Even little things, such as stepping to the pass with authority, are helping limit turnovers

Of course, if Pitt is going to win this game, they need to dominate where they have the advantage. That is the frontcourt. Young has to play well, and so does Blair. Blair, especially, has to avoid the fouls. Something that has become a repetitive theme.

Practices went back to more intense, physical competition after the Rutgers debacle (is anyone doing a running count on the adjectives used to describe that performance?).

“If we would have gone non-contact today, guys would have been upset,” senior guard Ronald Ramon said after the two-hour practice. “It was definitely good, especially after a loss. Guys want to get after it and want to respond.”

Coach Jamie Dixon, whose practices are closed to observers, is trying to reignite some of the aggressiveness and intensity that seemed to be missing in the second half of the loss to last-place Rutgers.

“Our thing is built on intensity and toughness and physicality,” Dixon said, “You can’t help but lose some of it in some of the practices. Plus, that’s what the guys want to do. They want to play five-on-five. It was good today, and it will be good tomorrow.”

To lessen the chance for injury, No. 18 Pitt has been focusing mainly on skill work and conditioning at practice in recent weeks. The Panthers have held only a handful of all-out, five-on-five competitive practices since losing Cook and Fields in late December.

None of those practices compared to yesterday’s workout, in which redshirt freshman Gilbert Brown estimated “90 percent” of the session was the same five-on-five drills that have defined Pitt’s program for many seasons.

It helped that Pitt actually had enough bodies to go 5-on-5 for the first time in a while. Even if the injury situation isn’t completely good.

G Keith Benjamin reopened the gash on his right index finger in Saturday’s loss to Rutgers and had to get his stitches replaced. He practiced Monday with what coach Jamie Dixon figured was more tape “than he had the other two games.”

C/F Cassin Diggs returned to practice Monday, but only briefly. Dixon said that Diggs’ injured hip wouldn’t allow him to complete the session. Surgery is still not out of the question.

“He’s still struggling,” Dixon said. “He’s not even close … He doesn’t feel comfortable, doesn’t feel good out there.

Getting Diggs back for some of practice along with new walk-on Ryan Tiesi. It also appears that Dixon did give a closed door (and with Dixon there rarely is any other kind) “discussion” of the work ethic and effort after Rutgers.

I do love increased transparency. Both papers had features on DeJuan Blair and LeSean McCoy. Credit to Ray Fittipaldo and the P-G, though, for explaining exactly how this happened.

First, there were the photo shoots, then a television interview and finally another round of interviews with print reporters. By the time their media obligations were finished late morning had turned to early afternoon, but LeSean McCoy and DeJuan Blair seemed to be reveling in their new-found celebrity.

The Pitt media relations staff has been busy touting the exploits of their young superstars and a media blitz yesterday was done in part to showcase two of the school’s emerging stars. Both athletes, who are just as comfortable in front of a microphone as they are on the athletic fields, are embracing the pressure that comes along with star status.

“You know me,” said Blair, a Hill District resident and former star at Schenley High School. “I love the media. It’s excellent to get into the limelight.”

“When you have success, this comes with it,” McCoy said matter-of-factly.

It has been 30 years since two freshmen have made such a big impact on Pitt athletics.

The rest of the story focuses on the historical parallels to 1977 with Sam Clancy and football recruiting class Jackie Sherill brought in.

The Trib story plays it straight and does a Q&A with the two.

Good stuff and a solid idea to promote the two.  Not a lot more to really say about it, though.

Well if you want any of the Rutgers-Pitt game stories, the NJ media is out in Arizona following the Giants. The Star-Ledger got Ray Fittipaldo to do their story for them. What amazes me, is that no story about the game — even from the Rutgers perspective — mentioned how hot they have been shooting over the last three games. All the focus is on how bad they’ve been overall. Like this was the only aberration.

Naturally, with this inexplicable loss, there’s lots of questions and theories about what happened. Rebounding or lack thereof in the second half was the big theme.

A closer look into Rutgers’ second half surge — the Knights used a 15-4 run over nearly 10 minutes — reveals that the Panthers not only couldn’t shoot, they couldn’t get more than one chance at the basket. Of their 13 missed shots during that span, Rutgers got rebounds on 12 of them. Rutgers, on the other hand, had three offensive rebounds in that 10 minutes, only one less than the Panthers had defensive rebounds.

The Panthers, incidentally, were 1 of 14 (.071) from the floor in that time. Rutgers was 8 of 15 (.533).

“When you’re not shooting well,” Dixon said, “you got to win it with rebounding and defense. We didn’t do that.”

There’s the belief that you almost have to expect Pitt will be up-and-down the rest of the way.

And, maybe this performance smacked of the inconsistency predicted when Levance Fields and Mike Cook went down with injuries at the end of last month. Since the two left the starting lineup, the No. 13 Panthers (16-4, 4-3) have won five of their eight games. They made a huge statement against then-No. 5 Georgetown, but followed that was a lackluster loss at Cincinnati, a better team but hardly a Big East force.

Last Wednesday, with questions about the Panthers’ ability to win away from the Petersen Events Center, they dominated St. John’s in Madison Square Garden. Then last night, they passionlessly allowed Rutgers, the Big East’s worst team that was beaten by Rider this season, to outplay them on their impenetrable home court.

Highs and lows. Ups and downs. Get ready for the roller coaster until Fields returns to the lineup.

The panic button is about ready to be hit by some after this game.

It’s not unusual for effort to occasionally be lacking in a road game, or for a stretch here or there against an inferior opponent. These kids are human, and they are kids, and college coaches will tell you that the effort needed at this level is something that often has to be learned. So it’s understandable in the context that it happens to everyone. And frankly, it happens a lot less in Pitt’s program than in most others.

But two times in three games—in the span of just seven days—is enough to raise some red flags. Is it a major concern?

It certainly appears as though it could be. You don’t solve this kind of an issue all of a sudden. Even a bounce-back game against Villanova (another team really struggling) on Wednesday won’t prove anything. After all, Pitt rebounded perfectly at Madison Square Garden earlier this week in a surgical dismantling of a bad St. John’s team only to shut the engines off mid-flight Saturday evening.

They apparently did not learn any lessons from the Cincy loss; or, more accurately, they learned them enough just to pass the next test and then quickly forgot them. That’s disturbing. You cannot get by with rote memorization or crib sheets at this level – you can’t “cheat” in the Big East Conference.

Is the team struggling right now? Yep. It’s not totally surprising. Actually losing the Rutgers game that badly was, but to have the team be up-and-down, inconsistent isn’t.
Coach Dixon, while still supportive of the players didn’t deny that the effort from the players was tremendously disappointing.

“You’re not always going to shoot it well,” Dixon said. “Usually we can still find some ways to win. We didn’t find the ways [Saturday]. Really, that was the most disappointing thing to us. We didn’t find those ways to win.

“You have to rebound and defend better. Those have to be constants and they weren’t [Saturday].”

Not to mention, not take any game in the Big East for granted. Still, at least we aren’t in Syracuse’s situation. They are down to 7 scholarship players at the moment.

I’ll be the first to admit that I usually over-react to Pitt athletics. No other sports team/program has done this to me, and I think it’s mostly because of writing for this blog. When we win I’m at the highest of highs and I think Pitt is the greatest in the world. When we lose, however, I tend to think the sky is falling.

The loss 13-point-destruction at the hands of Rutgers doesn’t do that to me though. I think Chas gave plenty of reasons to calm down a bit. Hey, it’s the Big East — even the teams near the bottom can surprise you. They’re definitely on a hot streak and we’re banged up pretty well. All we need to do is hold the fort down until Fields gets back and we’ll be in good shape. Plus, more and more news keeps coming out of Fields returning sooner than originally thought.

Unlike football where one loss can completely ruin a season, this is basketball. Everything will be alright — step off the ledge…

So, it’s a little more than a week to National Letter of Intent day. Also known as, make sure those servers are ready for the millions of hits and refreshes for Scout.com and Rivals.com.

Pitt headlined an East recruiting recap on USA Today. Stuff already covered numerous times.

Scouts, Inc./ESPN.com has Pitt #21 nationally in recruiting.

19 verbal commitments, four ESPN 150 prospects

Despite still not leading Pitt to a bowl game Dave Wannstedt remains a top recruiter, especially in Western Pennsylvania. Four ESPN 150 prospects include the big, talented wide receiver Jonathan Baldwin (Aliquippa, Pa.).

Pitt is far and away with the best recruiting class in the Big East.

Class highlights: Besides Baldwin, running back Chris Burns (New Wilmington, Pa./Wilmington Area) offers promise. The Panthers already have the exciting LeSean McCoy, but Burns could offer a wonderful second option. He combines workhorse qualities with scatback, change-of-direction skills.

The offensive line also receives a boost with the addition of the big, athletic offensive tackle Luke Nix (Jefferson Hills, Pa./Thomas Jefferson). Wannstedt has recruited well, but Nix offers his best land yet at the offensive tackle position.

Pitt also landed talented in-state quarterback Tino Sunseri, the one-time Louisville commit. A coach’s son and a gunslinger, this could prove to be a great pick-up a little down the road. Mike Cruz (Johnstown, Pa. / Bishop McCort) is a big tight end with deceptive athleticism who catches pretty much anything near him. The defense also recently got a good addition with the commitment of Shayne Hale (Monroeville, Pa./Gateway) a linebacker prospect who will likely develop into a defensive end. A pair of talented athlete prospects, A.J. Alexander (Altoona, Pa.) and Cameron Saddler (Monroeville, Pa./Gateway), have potential.

Could see the field in 2008: Wide receiver Baldwin, running back Burns, tight end Cruz, athletes Alexander and Saddler (in a variety of roles and special teams), Hale (likely as a back-up) and JUCO OC Rob Houser (Chico, Calif./Butte College).

Looks like A.J. Alexander is back with FSU. Of course, there is still a week left for him so don’t hold him to it.

There is a grayshirt addition and a preferred walk-on.

Central Catholic running back Andrew Taglianetti made a verbal commitment to Pitt on Sunday. His brother, South Fayette quarterback Jon Taglianetti, accepted an opportunity to be a preferred walk-on for the Panthers.

“My brother was one of the reasons,” Andrew said. “Pitt is one of the top educations you could probably get, the best one I was able to get. I love (Pitt defensive line coach Greg Gattuso), and all of my friends that I played with and against this year, they are going there.”

Andrew, who said he will likely play defensive back or safety, chose the Panthers over Louisville and Toledo. He made the decision after his official visit to Pitt last weekend.

Article on top questions for 2008 in college football.

18. What team will follow Wake Forest of 2006 and Illinois of 2007 as the “surprise” team of ’08?

Pittsburgh hasn’t posted a winning record since 2004, but that could change unless injuries take a devastating toll again. The Panthers could even challenge for the Big East championship. Why not? They beat Big East champion West Virginia in Morgantown this past season, and the Panthers return eight offensive starters and seven defensive starters. That includes tailback LeSean McCoy, who rushed for more than 1,300 yards. The defense ranked among the nation’s top 10, and leading tackler Scott McKillop returns. Also, the Panthers will play Big East rivals West Virginia, Louisville and Rutgers in Pittsburgh.

…

20. What player returning from injury will give his team the greatest boost?

Pittsburgh receiver Derek Kinder. McCoy was extremely productive as a freshman tailback, and that was without a solid passing game to ease some of the pressure. Pittsburgh averaged fewer than 180 passing yards and ranked 104th nationally in passing offense in 2007. At least part of the reason for that futility was the loss of Kinder, who suffered a knee injury in August and missed the entire season. Kinder led the team with 57 receptions for 847 yards and six touchdowns in 2006, but last year no Pittsburgh receiver had more than 37 catches. Kinder’s return will give the Panthers a legitimate receiving threat, which in turn should enhance the running game.

Last week, Smizik had a column that rehashed how much that one win over WVU turned everything on its head for Pitt and WVU. As did Gorman on the same day. I’m actually tired of these, and right after NLI day, you can bet we’ll see them again.

Then Ron Cook gave his support for Greg Gattuso to take over as DC. Now, I’m in favor of this as well. The cynical side of me, of course, has to observe that of course the local news media folk would want this promotion. They already know him, have a relationship and don’t have to try and build a new relationship to get info from a key coach.

O-Line Coach Paul Dunn had to go. Arguably the O-line was not particularly strong when he started and between injuries and depth there were lots of excuses. The problem was that players didn’t seem to develop much. There was talent, but not much was done with it.

Consider that the O-line will almost certainly have two players drafted in the 2008 draft. Mike McGlynn will get picked up by somebody on day 2 (Insider subs.).

Pitt’s Mike McGlynn runs from drill to drill like his hair is on fire. It is hard to miss a 309-pound offensive lineman running at full speed down the field to get to a drill. While hustle and “want to” are great traits, he needs to settle down a little bit. McGlynn is an intriguing prospect because he could potentially fill in at every line spot in the NFL with the exception of left tackle. At this point, he is a master of none, but does have some upside, particularly as a guard. McGlynn is also able to deep snap, which adds to his versatility. If he gets the opportunity to snap for punts — it is a safe bet that McGlynn will hustle down the field.

Right now the speculation is 3d to 4th round, but more likely would be sometime in round 5 or after once the combines, scouting and measurements really happen.

Jeff Otah is the other, and everyone is putting him in the first round.

Mel Kiper, Jr. puts him at #13 to the Carolina Panthers (Insider subs.).

Don Banks at SI.com has him at #15 and the Detroit Lions (poor guy).

Todd McShay at ESPN.com/Scouts, Inc. puts him all the way at #23 and the Steelers (Insider subs.).

The Steelers could use two of their first three picks on offensive linemen. They have bigger holes to fill inside at center and guard, but with his combination of size and skills Otah is far and away the best lineman available in this scenario. G Roy Schuening (Oregon State) and C John Sullivan (Notre Dame) could also become Steelers in later rounds.

Now Dunn did help develop Otah and McGlynn. Of course, by the same token, despite having two seniors who will be on NFL rosters next season, the O-line was still a joke and never got better.

So in that respect, it’s hard not to believe that new O-line coach Tony Wise has to be an improvement. Teaching and coaching wise, he better be. He’s been at the NFL for the last 18 years, and it’s hard to imagine he’s going to bring much initially to the recruiting side of things.

There are several ways to look at this, and I am trying to see as many different views on this as possible. Mainly because there is always a combination of factors that go into this sort of loss.

First there is the fact that Rutgers is a young team that is on a hot streak. They were bad in the non-con portion. They started even worse in the Big East. This is a team that through their first five conference games averaged 49.8 points/game; shooting percentage of 34.8% (93-267); and 3s were 27.5% (22-80).

Over the past three games, however, they have been a different team on offense. They averaged 77.3 points/game; shot 55.0% (82-149); and 3s a stunning 53.3% (24-45). If Pitt had faced this team a week and a half earlier or — very likely — a week later there is every possibility that they would be back to struggling with scoring and not shooting as well.

Arguably, this happens with a lot of teams. I remember a couple years ago when St. John’s beat Pitt, they had just knocked off Louisville before beating Pitt and then put a scare into UConn before a second half fade from injuries and no depth.

Second, Pitt was overconfident about this game. They certainly played that way — especially at the start of the second half. The Panthers seemed to expect the Scarlet Knights to fold and were not prepared to really put full effort in the game. There was a lot more interest in hoisting shots rather than find the best shot. Probably one of the most frustrating things. Leave the overconfidence and stupidity to those of us who don’t play.

Third, Sam Young was enjoying the limelight and wanted to demonstrate how much game he has at small forward. Unfortunately, Young didn’t show any penetration continually floating out on the wing. Rather than drive and attack, he was content to drift and throw up jumpers. I guess to show his range.

It really seemed like he had read his own press clippings and thought he could do anything he wanted

Fourth, Pitt is getting worn down. The lack of bodies is starting to take a toll on them. There were a lot of moments where Pitt just seemed a step slow, or were looking to the bench to get a blow especially in the second half. Young, Benjamin and Ramon have averaged 36, 34.8 and 35.8 minutes over the prior 4 games. They played 36, 37 and 38 in this game. Young and Ramon are already averaging over 30 minutes/game for the whole season and Benjamin is up to 24+ since the volume of injuries has risen. Even Gilbert Brown has been averaging close to 30 minutes/game since Fields was lost. Blair would be up there as well, but for his foul problems.

Have there been players on Pitt teams that have averaged more for a season? You bet (PDF, pg. 159). Does it seem like a particularly good idea? Not to me. Especially when Brown is only a redshirt freshman, Ramon is fighting through shoulder injuries, Young has to worry about his knees and Benjamin has never played this many minutes before.

The closest analog would be the 2003-04 team (PDF) that had Krauser, Page and Brown all average over 34 minutes/game. Page and Brown were seniors and Krauser was almost as old as them. Keep in mind that Page never was able to get fully healthy and had a disappointing season. Plus, by the end of the season, they were worn down. Still, they were probably more physically able to take the burden.

Now, just a couple other things remaining from my notes on the game. Pitt, in the first half, was doing what they could to keep Blair out of foul trouble. You wonder why they kept leaving the 3-point shooters open? It was because there was a lot of help defense being played in the first 10-15 minutes. They were dropping down to collapse inside, so Blair could stay in front of the frontcourt players and not get in a bad position. Of course, Rutgers burned Pitt on that strategy by hitting 6-8 on 3s when Pitt played off of them.

When Pitt finally stopped and stayed on their man, was when Pitt went on an 8-0 run to halftime. Rutgers committed turnovers and didn’t get the good looks, as they were forced to put it on the floor. Unfortunately, coming out of the half, Blair was not able to avoid making the fouls without the help inside. He committed two so quickly, in the second half he had to be pulled.

Pitt also came out in the second half looking horrible. This seemed to be the overconfidence. They felt they got Rutgers best shot, adjusted and had them now. Instead, Rutgers made the decision to commit to going at Pitt. N’Diaye, who spent a lot of time on the bench in the first half with his own foul troubles, was much better in the second half, and really played well. With Blair out with foul trouble, it meant a frontcourt of Biggs and Young. Was it any wonder that Pitt was completely destroyed on the boards in the second half?

One of my favorite things in post-game articles is ESPN.com’s Game Flow chart. I think the chart from yesterday’s loss to Rutgers really shows our scoring droughts well.

The notable non-scoring streaks are circled. Sure, RU had a few but not as many as us. When we didn’t score, they took advantage, went on big runs, and kept the score close until the end where they really pulled away.

We’re here now, relieving Chas for the night. I don’t expect this one to be too exciting anyways. The game is on ESPN Classic which you probably don’t get, so follow along here.

6:09 pm: Two baskets by way of Blair pounding in the middle and Keith Benjamin with a beautiful three point stroke. Rutgers answered right back with their own 3 though. The fingers continue to stay crossed that Blair stays out of foul trouble. He has one personal foul already.

6:12 pm: If you’re watching, prepare to see “Send it in, Jerome!” at least 5 times.

6:18 pm: Gary McGhee shot what was probably the ugliest foul shot ever. It barely made it 3/4 of the way to the hoop. Rutgers already has five turnovers and their best big man on the bench with two fouls and they only trail 14-12. Rutgers is already at five team fouls — hopefully we hit our foul shots…or at least get them to hit the rim.

6:25 pm: RU gets the Pitt lead down to a point and then goes to the 2-3 zone. Passing quickly and effectively will be important. The Scarlet Knight’s best chance is obviously to black the passing lanes and make Pitt spot up for threes. Blair still at 1 PF and 4 points.

6:27 pm: Tied 20-20. RU nailed a trey and Dixon was halfway on the court to call a timeout before it even fell. He’s not entirely pleased by what’s going on…

6:39 pm: Bill Raftery on the phone to talk about what else, the Jerome Lane dunk. Nice pickup by Keith Benjamin to take it coast-to-coast followed up with a volleyball type of hit by Blair to put it in. Benjamin drops another three and Rutgers answers with their own, yet again.

Benjamin’s stroke reminds me of a young Ronald Ramon — we’ll call it “Ramon Pre-2007”.

Usually a team like Rutgers playing against a ranked team (such as Pitt) is not able to continually answer with big shots. Once Pitt gets over that hump and breaks out the double-digit lead, we’ll just need to hope Rutgers stops the clutch shots.

The announcers mention something I’ve found to be true — other than the Zoo, the other fans at the Pete don’t usually get really into it. Panthers on an 8-0 run, the lead it 7.

6:51 pm: Pitt 39 Rutgers 32 — Halftime

The nice perimeter shooting (until the last few minutes of the half) is what’s keeping this game close. They have a poor inside game, so expect more defense on outside shots. In Dixon We Trust — he’s shown he’s one of the best halftime-adjusting coaches in the nation. Let’s come out very strong right after the half — it would destroy Rutgers’ waining hope and life.

7:04 pm: Panthoor in the comments: “Did Bucky Waters just say that when he coached at WVU, he loved playing against PITT because Pittsburgh was like Paris?”

Pittsburgh > Morgantown

7:12 pm: DeJuan Blair, this is the bench. Bench, this is Mr. Blair. Please sir, be kind to him, for he has three personals.

7:15 pm: Rutgers slowly but surely getting colder from the field. Gil Brown takes a few seconds to get up, and walks away limping. Super…

7:26 pm: We haven’t scored in 5 minutes. Tonight Pitt has either been at one of the extremes: hitting shots at a very good clip or else throwing up a bag of bricks. Tied at 49, 9 minutes left to play. Hand it to Rutgers, they haven’t lost their poise and composure yet.

7:35 pm: The Knights are confident, probably aided by the fact we’re shooting 25% on FGs in the second half. Gil Brown has 10 points, which is a nice sign, but he’s gone cold (like the rest of the team). Rutgers 58 Pitt 49. My finger moves closer to the Panic Button.

7:40 pm: We’re down 10 and forcing ugly shots. Crap.

7:45 pm: One field goal in our last 16 possessions. Barely any good looks, mostly by virtue of our horrible focus and hurried shots. Overheard in te comments: “Crap.” “Unbelievable.” “Holy cow.”

Benjamin has disappeared, no points yet in the 2nd half. As I write that, he makes a basket.

7:52 pm: Commence the intentional fouling. RU is in the double bonus. Let’s at least salvage this somewhat and keep it from turning into an embarrassing blowout. As if the loss wasn’t embarrassing enough.

7:56 pm: Game, set, and match. It’s a tough loss to take, but perspective needs to be kept. We’re playing without two starters and a shallow bench. Sometimes the shots just don’t fall — we’ll recover.

The game is on ESPN Classic.

I’m bouncing between the game, kid duty and other things around the house. Not quite a full liveblog, but not just an open thread. Spurtability will be the issue in the commentary.

6:04: Pitt down 5-2, and I’m tossing it to Dennis for the liveblog duties. Check for a new post.