Trying to catch up to things.

I guess it was a little unrealistic to assume Pitt would just flow immediately with the return of Fields. Even Louisville struggled to get things right when David Padgett returned. They lost to Cinci in Freedom Hall in his return, but were lucky enough not to not to be playing the best of the Big East to get things together. UConn had a stretch losing 3 of 4 including a 12 point loss at home to Providence when Calhoun was not on the bench for half the time because of the flu. I guess that’s why I’m not too freaked. There’s still time. The only thing that this is costing Pitt is seeding and some pride. They aren’t on the bubble.
The defense had been huge for the team while Fields has been out. It hasn’t been up to snuff the last few games, but it is much more correctable.

This is only the second 3-game losing streak in 5 years under Dixon. Pitt had been the only team in the Big East not to lose at least 3 games in a row in the past 3 seasons until the Louisville loss.

Jay Bilas joins with Pitt fans in wondering “what if” for this year.

Pittsburgh: It is impossible for me to watch Pitt without thinking about Mike Cook, and just how good Pitt could have been with him and a healthy Levance Fields for an entire season. It is a real tribute to that team and program that the Panthers will be in the NCAA Tournament, but the injuries have really affected what could have been a truly special season.

And in another year, only Pitt fans will remember the whole “what if” aspect.

Card Chronicle had a good recap of Louisville perspective of the win. He’s right about the number of open looks for both teams.

Generally, the Louisville view is that this was a big win especially because of how well the offense looked. Nevermind that Pitt — as we all know — has been struggling defensively in the past week, and that Pitt wasn’t bothered by their pressure defense and picked them apart. I’m not saying they shouldn’t feel good about being the first team to beat Pitt twice at the Pete, but they’d be foolish to read too much into it right now.

Overall, Pitt just needs to get more from the guards. The backcourt is a struggle.

Young and Blair each scored 20 points for the Panthers, but the guards once again failed to do their part from the outside. Pitt was 6 for 21 from 3-point range and is 14 for 57 from behind the arc in the three-game losing streak.

“I’m shooting bricks,” said Fields, who was 4 for 13 from the field and 0 for 4 from 3-point range. “I couldn’t make any shots on the perimeter. [Young and Blair] did everything they were supposed to do down low. They gave us everything we needed to win this game. As a point guard, I didn’t come up big for them down the stretch.”

Reality and stats collide.

When an opponent shot better than 40 percent from the field against Pitt in previous seasons it raised some eyebrows. Now it has become a common occurrence. Ten of the first 14 Big East teams have shot more than 40 percent.

Um, last year opposing teams shot .407 versus Pitt. This year it is .416. Oh, and in 11 of 16 Big East games, the opposing teams shot more than 40% (PDF).

The players aren’t happy about losing. Go figure.