Not a lot of coverage of this game, even as an upset. On the same day that 4 other teams ranked ahead of Pitt also lost — UNC, UCLA, Texas A&M and Ole Miss — losing on the road to Cinci just becomes part of a checklist.
I guess on the semi-bright side of Pitt’s close road loss, is that it was close. A little break here or there. Something else and Pitt gets the win. Unlike, say Marquette which has lost all three of its Big East road games by an average of 17 points. Or Notre Dame that can’t stay within 19 of road foes. Or Louisville that blew several double digit leads to lose the Seton Hall last night. It’s frustrating, to be close but lose. I’d still take that to being completely non-competitive on the road as so many teams seem to be.
Not that the Pitt players and coaches shouldn’t be ticked about losing.
“This is the second one that we lost,” Benjamin said. “You give the other team credit for capitalizing, but, in this conference, you can’t just give games away. This is a game we gave away.”
The final possession was particularly frustrating for Sam Young. When Pitt lost at Villanova Jan. 6, the Panthers failed to get a shot off with a chance to win the game on the final possession. Young, Pitt’s leading scorer, also failed to touch the ball on that pivotal possession.
“We should have gotten a better shot than that,” Young said. “That was a terrible shot. I don’t know what to say about that shot. I really don’t think too much of it. It’s something we can learn from.”
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“We became too stagnant, looking at the ball, looking at Sam,” Benjamin said.
“We talk about getting good shots every possession, and I don’t think we did,” Pitt coach Jamie Dixon.
“I thought we rushed some things.”
But Dixon did not blame the end-game execution for the loss. Rather, he blamed a poor start to the game when the Panthers fell behind and were forced to battle their way back into the game.
They are taking this game a little hard.
“We were outhustled, outrebounded, and we didn’t perform well on offense,” Benjamin said.
“It happens from time to time when you play so well and everyone starts scoring. Everyone gets confident, and you forget what got you there.”
Part of it may be that the Bearcats played in a way that Pitt has played against teams at times. Very physical and gritty.
Keith Benjamin had stitches in his bloodied right hand. Sam Young sported a sore lip and large bandage on his forehead. DeJuan Blair and Tyrell Biggs were in foul trouble.
And, just like that, Cincinnati is ahead of Pitt in the Big East standings.
“They played us real physical and that kind of knocked us off,” Young said. “They really banged us up.”
DeJuan Blair wasn’t a major factor in this game for Pitt — by design by Cinci.
A major part of UC’s game plan was to try to get Pitt freshman center DeJuan Blair in foul trouble. It worked to perfection, thanks to Hrycaniuk, who took the ball right at Blair.
“We wanted to go at DeJuan Blair from the beginning of the game,” Cronin said, “out of respect for how good a player he is.”
Blair, who entered the game averaging 12.4 points and 9.8 rebounds, picked up his third foul less than two minutes into the second half. He finished with four points and three rebounds in 22 minutes.
Part of the learning experience for Blair.
Cinci knows it got a big win.
“That’s a benchmark win for us,” said UC coach Mick Cronin, “over a team that has really been the benchmark program in the Big East over the last nine years.”
From a statistical standpoint, the Bearcats won the game at the free-throw line, where they made 20-of-27 compared with 10-of-16 for Pitt (15-3, 3-2).
“They’re a team that doesn’t get to the free-throw line a lot,” said Pitt coach Jamie Dixon. “Today they scored twice as many as we did. We didn’t want to put them at the free-throw line, and we did.”
If there was one player they really didn’t want at the line, it was Vaughn, who makes 77.6 percent of his free throws.
The only UC player with a double-figure scoring average got in foul trouble and was bottled up for most of the game. He scored only two points in the first half, attempted only five shots the entire game and failed to make a 3-pointer.
But he made 10-of-13 free throws, including six in nine attempts in the final 4:46. He also converted UC’s only field goal during that time.
“It was late in the game, and we were in the bonus,” Vaughn said. “Coach just kept saying, ‘Attack, attack.’ “
Cinci won on the strength of its defense.
Lastly, when the Bearcats offense stalled late – they had just one basket in the last 6:32 – their defense flexed. The Panthers “ran everything at us” on their last possession, Cronin said. The game ended when freshman Rashad Bishop blocked a three from the right wing by Keith Benjamin. Benjamin got the ball right back in his face and launched a desperation airball that Warren grabbed beneath the basket. “A benchmark win for us,” Cronin announced afterward, after declaring “we’ve learned how to win.”
This game actually meant more than upsetting Louisville on the road. The win over the Cardinals was a rivalry, but could easily be considered a fluke. Beating Pitt, meant beating a ranked opponent and showed more than fluke.
It is also the first time Cinci has notched a win against Pitt in either football or men’s basketball since the Bearcats came into the Big East.
