Rivalry games. You gotta love ’em.
— Especially when Pitt wins. That makes it 4 in a row in hoops over WVU.
Just some assorted notes.
The look of anguish on Wellington Smith when Ramon hit that game winning 3 was a delicious topping. Smith was the Hoopie who came to help on Benjamin and left Ramon to plant in the corner.
Did someone forget to tell DeJuan Blair that Hasheem Thabeet was not guarding him any longer? He was 3-13 with the only baskets coming when there was no one in front of him. Everything else he shot looked like he was trying to aim it around people. He was altering his own shot. The early bad/cheap/questionable offensive foul he picked up versus Smalligan very early may have gotten in his head.
Technically, Blair’s 3-13 was more than offset by Joe Alexander and Da’Sean Butler’s combined 3-20 and 3-8 on free throws for a grand total of 11 points. Not to mention Alex Ruoff only adding 5 points. That’s 16 points from WVU’s top 3 scorers.
Of course what kept WVU in the game was Darris Nichols 16 points and Joe Mazzulla going for 15 on 6-7 shooting (3-4 on 3s). Damn those streaky jump shooters. Nichols and Mazzulla were 12-22 for 31 points. The rest of the Hoopies were 7-31 with 23 points.
Benjamin came up with some big moments late in the game. The inbound slam when Blair slapped it right to him — sweet. Then there was the dribble penetration in the closing seconds that brought the other defender off Ramon freeing him for that beautiful, game-winning, open 3.
That said, Benjamin has no confidence in his perimeter shooting right now. He was 0-4 and became increasingly afraid to shoot it. WVU practically dared him a couple times in the second half, by staying off of him. You could see him literally freeze as he started to square-up for a 3 and change his mind.
I’m going to give Sam Young the benefit of the doubt on the issue of pouting. His facial expressions generally range from grim to sullen. He just doesn’t do a happy face real well. He was understandably frustrated by the early foul trouble and having to sit for 13 minutes. And if it was a little pouting, well his second half effort was 3-3 (2-2 on 3s) and 3 rebounds in 19 minutes.
Between Young’s early foul trouble and Gilbert Brown’s second half foul issues, Bradley Wanamaker played 23 minutes. Definitely showing more patience on offense, but his court awareness of defenders not directly in front of him is, um, lacking. I find myself holding my breath any time he brings the ball up court with any defenders trailing behind him. He doesn’t keep the ball particularly close to his body when he dribbles which makes him prone to those turnovers and steals. His defense, though, is his strength. At the very least, he looks to be a defensive specialist. Of course, he is only a freshman and raw. I can see him developing steadily in his career as Antonio Graves did.
As a team, I wasn’t thrilled with the rebounding. Pitt was only +4 on rebounds despite the volume of brick-work by WVU. I know part of that was the fact that WVU spread the court and took a lot of jump shots. That meant only Blair seemed to be around the basket, surrounded by those new jerseys of the Mountaineers. Still, it seemed that WVU players were getting after the ball a lot more. A definite hallmark of a Huggins coached team.
Show of hands of Pitt fans holding their breath or screaming in fear at the sight of Levance Fields charging off the bench in that walking boot when Ramon hit the game winner?
Question: Did Fields’ velour sweat suit (what color was that? Chocolate?) top or tie the sweat suit Aaron Gray busted out for the game last year at Seton Hall that he had to sit out with his bum ankle?
