“…he sucks too.” Chances are you’ve heard that if you’ve been to a Pitt home basketball game in the last few years. If not, let me explain: after each visiting player is introduced, the students yell “sucks!” and after the opposing head coach is announced they yell “he sucks too!” All while holding up a special Zoo newspaper in front of their faces.

Why bring this up? I got to thinking about it after reading “Over The Top” by Grant Wahl in Sports Illustrated. Basically it explains that excessive vulgarity and taunting by fans (mostly students) is getting out of control to the point where it’s become dangerous. Whether it be UAB fans angering Memphis players enough to almost make the players storm into the stands, or maybe the parents of a visiting player hit with objects thrown by fans (i.e. Indiana’s Eric Gordon whose mom was hit with a cup of ice in Illinois). There’s a line and it’s being crossed more and more.

How about in Oregon? Stan Love, father of UCLA’s Kevin Love, received a horrible welcome when UCLA played the Ducks.

Stan says his family was pelted with popcorn cartons and empty cups, as well as a barrage of profane ­insults (“every filthy word you can think of”), including screams of “whores” that made Kevin’s grandmother cry. “There were six-year-old kids with signs saying KEVIN LOVE SUCKS. It was the grossest display of humanity I’ve ever been involved with.”

Did I mention that Stan is #6 on the Oregon all-time scoring list?

“To think I’m sitting at the school where I played ball, and just because my kid ­didn’t pick Oregon he gets abused like that? I’ll never go back there.”

To put that into perspective, that would be like Pitt fans doing this to Brandin Knight (14th leading scorer in Pitt history) if he were to have a kid that played for Georgetown. Way to go there, Oregon.

So how about our very own Oakland Zoo? They got mention the the SI article:

There may not be nearly as many ­incidents of racism and anti-Semitism in college arenas as there were in the 1960s, but in the year 2008 many fans are waving anti-gay signs, which often appear on national TV broadcasts. Last month a Pittsburgh fan held up a BROKEBACK MOUNTAINEERS sign when the Panthers met rival West Virginia.

But is it really that bad if it’s not directed at one player in particular? Well it’s certainly better than singling out one opposing player, such as fans have done for Levance Fields (“taser!”) among others. Sometimes it is a bit much, even at the cheers directed at the entire team, especially if the f- and s-words are involved. At West Virginia last Monday, the “F— you Pitt” and “Eat s— Pitt” chants were audible through the television. Members of the Zoo have dropped occasional f-bombs but nothing to that extent.

Back to the “sucks” chant though — it’s been clear that the team and Jamie Dixon aren’t really the biggest fans of it. The Oakland Zoo spent some time trying to figure out something new to do during pre-game intros. Eventually they decided on singing the Victory Song which began on January 2 against Lafayette. The “new tradition” lasted for about 15 seconds.

The fact is that “sucks” just isn’t a vulgar word compared to other things heard in college arenas. The audio folks at the Pete have started to play music while the visitors are being introduced, which seems counterproductive in some way. There’s nothing like helping to get the other team pumped up while being introduced in your own building.

Maybe it’s because I’m not that sensitive to swearing that it doesn’t affect me as much. Sometimes the personal attacks can be too much though, but I also think sometimes people are too quick to call something “hurtful”. It comes with the territory of playing D-I hoops, especially in a big conference.

It certainly crosses the line when things are thrown at visiting fans and players’ parents. To my knowledge, nothing like this has happened in the Pete and I hope it stays like that. Also crossing the line? Throwing things onto the court, which happens much too often and recently in Arizona (video link). Lastly, it seems as though WVU prides itself on the reputation that a Pitt fan can’t walk around Mountaineer Stadium by themselves without having things hurled at them and possibly being punched. How far is too far? That is.

It’s been assumed since Mike Cook blew out his knee against Duke that he would eventually apply for a 6th year of eligibility. He has officially requested the extra year, but as of now, the chances are stacked against him. He played for two seasons at East Carolina, then used his original redshirt (per NCAA rules) because of his transfer to Pitt. Therefore this season he was a 5th year senior, and the committee rarely grants the extra year in situations like this.

“It’s really out of my hands,” he said Friday afternoon. “All I can do right now is pray. If it happens, it happens. If it doesn’t, I’ll just have to go to Plan B.”

It’s likely that he won’t find out until after the NCAA Tournament and not any sooner, but either way he will be honored with his parents at tomorrow’s senior day festivities. Should he get the extra year, it would be interesting to see a player be honored on senior night for two years in a row.

Before he went down, he was averaging 10.4 points and 3.5 boards in about 25 minutes per game.

His rehab is expected to last anywhere from 9-12 months.

“Right now I’m just focusing on getting my knee better and getting back to 100 percent,” Cook said. “My rehab is going real well. I’m just taking it slow and taking it day by day.”

It’s been just over two months so far. Best of luck to him, and here’s to hoping he gets healthy soon whether we see him again in a Pitt jersey or not.

4-star center/power forward recruit Greg Echenique has been taking in a lot of schools in the past week or so. The native Venezuelan is a junior who plays at St. Benedict’s Prep (Newark, NJ).

On Wednesday he hopes to get to Miami for the Miami-Boston College game that will be shown on ESPNU. Then he plans to return for classes at St. Ben’s on Thursday and Friday before departing for the North Carolina at Duke game on Saturday. Then he would drive or fly to Pittsburgh for the Panthers’ Sunday’s noon game with DePaul.

This past Sunday he had been in College Park to see Maryland implode against Clemson. He holds an offer and has interest in Pitt.

There’s no sense as to when he will be making a decision, but Rutgers is considered a favorite because they have been to every one of his games and recruited him hard this whole season. Notre Dame, Duke, Maryland and Memphis all have offers for his service as well.

Sorry to be away for a couple days. With the conference tournaments and then the NCAA Tournament looming, I’ve been working on a bunch of things for FanHouse at AOL. Trying to get things ready on that end — and I’m not. Add in the usual offline chaos, and it’s been hard to get back to the mothership.

Media-wise, it doesn’t appear that there’s much new. There’s the recaps from the loss in Morgantown talking about the lack of defense, rebounding and players searching for answers.

There’s the sky is falling/no it isn’t stories regarding the NCAA Tournament.

There’s wondering about the bench struggles. Wondering why the team is suddenly just not playing well. And simply, what’s next?

When a team is struggling, I do understand the questioning of the coach and if he’s the right guy. I think the people now coming out 5 years later saying “we should have gotten Calipari,” have been waiting a while for another chance to complain about this. I find it kind of silly, since I think Calipari was mainly interested in using Pitt for another raise — as he usually does. It’s also worth noting the resentment many seem to have towards Dixon for being courted by Arizona State a couple years ago leading to a raise. Given how Calipari plays that game annually and often goes one better by getting his name floated for other gigs — I can’t even begin to guess the animosity he would have built as his salary is over $1.8 million these days.
Judging by the chat transcript, I’d say P-G beat reporter Ray Fittipaldo has gotten a bit sick of getting e-mails of how Pitt is on a downward spiral.

Ray Fittipaldo: I think people have become spoiled. Making the NCAA tournament is no longer a thrill. People expect it at the very least. The way things have gone the Sweet 16 has sort of become a run-of-the-mill occurrence. Like it or not, Pittsburgh is a city that has celebrated championships with all of its major sports teams. Pitt lives in the shadow of the Steelers, Penguins and Pirates (they’re still major, right?). People want to see Pitt take that next step. Dixon is charged with that responsibility. It’s not easy, but he and Ben Howland are the ones who created the expectations. I’m not saying it’s fair, but I think he realizes that coaching in a sports town like Pittsburgh there are certain expectations that fans have. It’s not a bad thing.

A program doesn’t just go up every year even when it is improving. There are steps back, and bumps (and injuries, can’t forget injuries). There were plenty who believed the program was going to go to seed after the 2004-05 season ended with a thud. The returning talent didn’t appear to measure up, and things were a mess.
The good news for Pitt is they have a needed break before the final home game — and senior day — against DePaul. Then a few more days before the BET. The team needs it (and I think we fans needed it as well).

A few items to get out of the browser tabs.

Spring practices are looming, Pitt’s gets underway on March 25. Auburn is already well underway for spring practice. USF was the first team to start spring practice in the Big East.

A couple things from ESPN.com. There’s a “primer” on spring practices.

What to watch
• As a true freshman last season, quarterback Pat Bostick earned the starting job out of necessity after Bill Stull fractured his thumb in the season opener, but Stull will be back this spring to push him. Junior college transfer Greg Cross, who joined the team in January, will also compete for the job, along with Kevan Smith, who started two games last season after Stull got hurt, but lost the job to Bostick.

• Both offensive tackle positions are wide open, and it will be tough to replace Jeff Otah and Mike McGlynn, both NFL prospects.

• Former defensive coordinator Paul Rhoads, who directed the Panthers to the top overall defense in the Big East and the No. 5 ranking nationally, left after eight seasons to join the staff at Auburn. Can former SMU coach Phil Bennett maintain that success?

Ranking wise, I’m not sure Pitt will be #5 on defense. Consistency and overall balance, I think Pitt will be better.

A power ranking of teams in the Big East “based on what we know, and what we don’t.”

6. Pittsburgh Panthers

What we know: Two of the best players at their respective positions return in linebacker Scott McKillop, who led the country in tackles, and tailback LeSean McCoy, the leading freshman rusher in the country with 110.7 yards per game.

What we don’t know: The Panthers haven’t been an effective passing team because of the inexperience. Can this year’s quarterback change that, and who will it be?

How the Panthers can win the Big East: Find the balanced offense that was missing last year and play the same stingy defense.

Meanwhile, Rivals.com/Yahoo! have their own Big East spring practice preview.

Greg Romeus is listed among players expected to emerge. The QB spot should be the biggest battle for Pitt. Center Robb Houser

A CFN/FoxSports list of 25 players who will emerge from the “scout team” to impact players.

23. DE Myles Caragein, Pittsburgh: Caragein was born to play for Pitt, the type of blue-collar lineman that really gets Dave Wannstedt thinking nostalgic. An intense competitor and former wrestling champ in Pennsylvania, he’s got a non-stop motor and the size and power to move inside if asked. Caragein is an old-school Panther with the personality and work-ethic to be a big hit in the Steel City.

…

6. RB Shariff Harris, Pittsburgh: Obviously, LeSean McCoy is the franchise in Pittsburgh for the next few years, but it never hurts to have a complementary change-of-pace in the backfield. Harris flashes the potential to be that type of a back for the Panthers, a powerful, north-south runner that could have contributed last season if he was needed.

Finally, a profile piece on the sports psychologist who works with Pitt football.

I’ve got theories. I just don’t have answers.

Pitt’s defense has just disappeared, and it defies explanation for this sustained problem. It isn’t like they have played bad defense all season. It’s been the last 2+ weeks, but it hasn’t been fixed over the six games in that time. There have been brief moments. Even, perhaps halves where the defense started to look better. But it just keeps slipping.

It isn’t just better teams and players. There’s just something missing right now.

The sustained problems makes all of the theories weak explanations. They might excuse a game, perhaps 2, but this long a stretch renders them highly unlikely.

Theory 1: Levance Fields has returned.

The return of Levance Fields to the lineup meant the team’s rotation was changed again. Minutes — especially for the guards/small forward — are now very different. Spacing on the court, assignments and just reconnecting with the chemistry has to happen.

Mentally, the players relaxed on defense because with Fields back, order was supposed to be restored. The players were more concerned with getting the offense back up. To do more scoring and running. Not focused on the defense.

Theory 2: The Providence Effect.

Sometimes, for a team that has had to gut out games each time, nothing can be worse than having such an easy time of things on both ends of the court. Pitt just smacked around the Friars before the defense went to hell.

Providence is a horrible defensive team and really not too great on offense if the 3s aren’t falling. Pitt was able to do anything they wanted against Providence and didn’t have to work too hard on defense.

That filled the players with false confidence about what they could do. That they could score at will and sit back more on defense.

Theory 3: Too Much Gambling.

Pitt has continually been out of position on defense. Everyone has been screaming about the fundamentals. Pitt’s defense has been about solid fundamentals. Keeping good position and make a team have to take a contested shot. Nothing fancy. Stay with the man and don’t be leave the man for the ball.

Lately, there’s been a lot of aggressive slapping and poking at the basketball. Trying to get the steal and force the turnover. The problem with that is if you miss or don’t make a play, you go out of position. It means an easy pass or score. That seems to be happening a lot.

Theory 4: Exhaustion.

Physical and mentally, this team might just be worn down.

The physical side is obvious. They have been playing a 7 man rotation for most of the Big East schedule. They are a banged up team with off-season surgeries and physical rehab looming.

Then there’s the mental toll of playing short-handed for half the season. Especially with 3 freshmen and redshirt freshman seeing double-digit minutes. No chance to just feel like they can catch their breath or just plain stop for a minute.

Every body ready? There may be some gaps as I try to duck parental responsibilities to yell obscenities at the TV.

7:05: sloppy. You expect that to some extent from WVU on senior night early. But Pitt?

7:08: I know Smalligan is a senior in his last game, but they do have to call his fouls.

7:12: 13-9 highlights then Ramon burying the 3. Good times.

7:19: Nichols heading to the bench with 2 fouls. I’m shocked. This looks like a game where the officials will be whistling in favor of the home team.

7:25: Gilbert Brown playing with a lot more confidence and aggressiveness.

7:29: The Mountaineers are really going at Pitt’s guards inside. Getting the calls.

7:39: I can see Dixon getting a tech in this game with the way it is being called.

7:44: Unbelievable. I spend all season keeping cool about the refs. Trying to give them the benefit of the doubt — as long as there is some consistency and it isn’t too blatant in the homecourt sway. This one, though is killing me. Every aggressive move to the basket gets a foul called on the defense. Then it changes. Fields called for an offensive foul driving to the hoop.

29-25 WVU with 3:41 to halftime.

8:01: It’s halftime. Pitt trails 40-30.

Good news, Pitt has only attempted 4 3s. Bad news, they still haven’t made one.

Major foul issues in the first half. Blair, Ramon and Young with 2 fouls. Brown has 3. Astoundingly it is 12-11 in foul calls. Of course WVU has its foul calls a bit more diffused. I still haven’t figured out how the refs are calling this game.

Pitt’s bigger problem has been turning the ball over. 10 turnovers in the first half. Fewer opportunities for Pitt.

Despite being down 10, Pitt can take the second half. Blair has to stay out of foul trouble, though, and a couple 3s have to be knocked down. Not to mention make those easy buckets inside — go up stronger.

8:15: That isn’t exactly the start to the second half Pitt needed. Missing shots, Blair with a dumb offensive foul on a pick (late whistle, but it was a foul), too aggressive on defense leaving the WVU players with easy looks after a simple fake.

Now down 45-30.

8:20: The Pitt players are visibly frustrated. Dixon is going to have to use up all the timeouts in the first 5 minutes.

8:31: I don’t think I’ve ever seen spurtability in foul calling. They call several on Pitt. Then a few on  WVU.

Joe Alexander is killing it tonight for WVU.

Senior night for WVU on top of a desperation must-win game for them. Darris Nichols and Jamie Smalligan will be playing their last home game (unless they lose, in which case there’s always a couple NIT games).

As usual, going into a game that has so much pressure for the NCAA, the coach will try to pretend that it really isn’t that big of a deal and that the Mountaineers are in good shape.

“We need to win two so I’d feel a lot more comfortable,” Huggins said. “But I think we’re fine. I really do.”

I don’t unless they win this game. The Big East offices wouldn’t be thrilled, but Pitt has a chance to flush the NCAA hopes of another Big East team tonight.

For the Big East Tournament seeding, it likely will decide who will be in 6th place in the conference. The 6th place team plays the 11 seed and #7 faces #10. To say nothing of facing the #3 instead of the #2 in the second round. Odds are that the #10 seed will be Syracuse and Seton Hall will be #11 — assuming Syracuse beats Seton Hall on Wednesday.

Keith Benjamin says he looks forward to playing in Morgantown, while  — and I know this will be a shock — Coach Jamie Dixon is upbeat about the team.

For coach Jamie Dixon, things are going according to plan. He said the final two weeks of the season were when he wanted the Panthers to be hitting their stride. He knew Levance Fields would need time to get back into playing shape, and he knew the team would have to readjust to playing with Fields again.

The Panthers are not hitting on all cylinders — their defense has been shoddy at best the past five games — but Dixon believes his team is starting to round into form.

“I’ve been pointing to these last couple of weeks,” Dixon said. “We got Levance back. We don’t have [Mike Cook, Austin Wallace and Cassin Diggs]. This is who we’re going to have. This is the team we’re going to be.

“We need to get better down the stretch. Our goal was to be better the last four games. That’s really been the goal the entire time. We’ve been pointing toward this stretch.”

Other articles. Ronald Ramon: Hoopie killer.

Ramon has averaged 7.9 points per game throughout his career and made 39.4 percent of his 3-point shots.

In seven games against WVU, he’s averaging 10.1 points and shooting 50 percent (15-for-30) from 3-point range. In two victories against the Mountaineers last season, Ramon was 5-for-5 from the floor, 4-for-4 from 3-point range and 6-for-6 at the foul line

He’s been a force defensively, too, and used to give Mike Gansey trouble when they played. Gansey averaged 14.4 points and shot 53 percent in his two years with WVU. He averaged 8.8 points and shot 33 percent in five games against Ramon and the Panthers.

“He gets right up on you and gives you no room,” Gansey said in 2006.

Pitt has won four in a row against WVU and five of eight since Ramon has been eligible. With Ramon in the lineup, the Panthers are 5-2.

Sam Young is getting vocal, and Gilbert Brown took a knee to the hip in the Syracuse game.

It’s a good thing Syracuse Coach Jim Boeheim doesn’t give in to hyperbole or anything. Starting in upstate NY, there was an admission that Pitt never quit — and it was impressive.

What Brown did Sunday was drain two 3-pointers in the final three minutes of the game to thrust a dagger deep into the pulsing postseason hearts of the Orange men.

Brown was hardly alone in providing the Pitt heroics.

His teammates poked away balls from Syracuse dribblers or clamped them in a trap. Levance Fields sank eight free throws in the final 3 minutes and 30 seconds. Pittsburgh smothered Syracuse shooters and forced SU to seek supporting Orange men to make plays.

And suddenly, a Pittsburgh team that trailed by 11 with 3:49 left in the game, had beaten the Orange 82-77 in a breathless, bewildering final few minutes.

Jim Boeheim was a moody fella after the game. He took 30 minutes after the game before showing up for a press conference. At that point he spoke for all of 98 seconds and walked away.

“It’s the most disappointing game I’ve ever been involved with. To play that well — we really haven’t played well in a long time — and to play that well against a very good defensive team was a tremendous accomplishment,” Boeheim said.

“But the entire game we kept turning it over and at the end when we had the lead and just had to take care of the basketball we made three just unbelievable turnovers and that’s the game. There’s nothing more to say.”

There was more. He did not mention getting a technical foul which made it a two possession game after Fields sank those FTs along with the two he sank after grabbing the missed shot. You know, doing his part to kill any chances. He also put the blame on his players and their “youth.”

Young guys are going to make mistakes. They knew we had timeouts. Donte Greene didn’t call it when he threw the ball to Ramon. He had timeouts and plenty of time to make the call.

As the Syracuse blogger noted, it’s not like Boeheim was prohibited from calling the timeout. Is he saying he didn’t recognize his team was in trouble there?

The coach wasn’t willing to take any blame or talk, but a sophomore stood up for the Orange. Paul Harris has always been a guy willing to take the blame when his team doesn’t do well, and this was no exception.

“No, I wasn’t fouled,” said Harris, certainly one of the straightest talking players you’ll ever run into. “I take the blame. I’m not going to blame anyone else. I panicked.”

Damn shame the kid picked Syracuse over Pitt. His friend and point guard for the Orange was rather candid about how hard this loss was for the team.

“This is going to be a hard one to get over,” said Syracuse guard Jonny Flynn, who tied his career-high with 28 points. “I’m not going to say we can get over this one right when we leave the locker room. This is a game that we had. We had this game won.”

The Orange had the game won because of Flynn’s 28 points and six 3-pointers. Because of Harris’ 18 points and six steals. Because of Greene’s slump-breaking 23 points on 10-for-18 shooting.

Instead, the final 3 minutes and 30 seconds will go down in Syracuse lore along with Vermont, Richmond and “Manley Field House is officially closed.”

That’s some great company in the annals of painful Syracuse losses. Pitt has now beaten Syracuse 4 straight times at the Carrier Dome. The only other team to do that was Villanova from the 89-90 season through the 92-93 season (PDF).
The box score is something. Outside of Green, Flynn and Harris the rest of the Orange took 6 shots for 8 points — Onuaku had 5 of the shots and 7 of the points.

Pitt had 5 players score in double digits — Young (19), Benjamin (17), Fields (13), Ramon (12) and Brown (12) — plus Blair had 8 points.

The Pitt players don’t deny being a bit stunned that they pulled it off.

“That’s probably the best comeback I’ve ever been involved in,” Young said. “We were down 11 with three minutes on the clock. That’s incredible. It shows the confidence we have in each other. Coach says to play all 40 minutes, and we did.”

…

“I don’t think we did everything right for 40 minutes, but we did for the last three minutes,” Dixon said. “We seemed to do exactly what we wanted to do.”

Coach Dixon didn’t even pretend that he expected the Pitt comeback.

Pitt coach Jamie Dixon called it perhaps the “most unconventional or most unforeseeable” victory he’s ever witnessed.

“There haven’t been many endings like that,” Dixon said.

Ron Cook lauds this Pitt team for still winning games despite all of the injuries.

“Coach Boeheim was telling me he’s never had a season like this in his 32 years because of their injuries,” Dixon said. “But we’ve had twice as many guys hurt. We’ve had four [including reserves Austin Wallace and Cassin Diggs]. And the list of injuries we have that guys are playing with is endless.”

Dixon said Keith Benjamin wouldn’t be playing with an infected finger if Pitt’s bench wasn’t so short. He also said Brown and Ronald Ramon probably are looking at shoulder surgery after the season. He didn’t even mention Blair, who has a bad shoulder and a bad knee.

“Coach Dixon told us that other coaches told him he should just pack it in this season and think about trying to get ready for next year after Mike and Levance went down,” Benjamin said. “But he and our other coaches never stopped believing in us. The guys in our locker room never stopped believing …”

And then when they lose, we question their heart and toughness.

I rarely bother with something like this, but Jay Bilas ticked me off enough on College Gameday with his statements that Young fouled Harris. It seemed that he was trying to make some broader point about Big East officiating and went back to the ‘Nova-G-town game. It was a completely scattershot in whatever his point was (and let’s just abstain from the whole “Bilas hates Pitt” stuff — he doesn’t). The replay showed that Harris had lost control of the ball and that he and Young were both going for it. Young got there first and then the contact.

Paul Harris made no excuses.

“I basically let them take the ball from me,” Harris said. “That’s all it was. They didn’t foul me or nothing.”

‘Cuse fans aren’t saying he was fouled.

It’s also very clear that Orange fans are more than a little frustrated with a team of talented 5-star players. This will be the first time since the 1980-81 and 81-82 season that a Syracuse team doesn’t go to the NCAA Tournament for 2 consecutive years.

On another note, I don’t think we need to recruit so many 5 star, shoe camp All-Stars. Let’s get one or two and surround them with solid, gutsy, hard-working, intelligent ballers (ie: Pace, O. Hill, Moten, E Thomas, L. Sims, Warrick, etc). Enough loading the team up with slack-ass, idiotic playmaking, no-desire-having, all-talk-no-action, waste-of-talent, looking-for-scouts-in-the-stands type of players.

Talent or not, it’s a team sport.

Probably a little over the top in reaction, but there is a point. Chemistry and playing as a team means almost as much as talent. There are no steadying influences on the court for Syracuse. They have no players on the floor who can tell them what to expect in the situations. At this point in the season. UConn went through it last year as well, despite all of their talent.
Interesting thing when Dixon called the second last timeout with 3:37 left.

As he gathered his team around him, he told them that they might not win Saturday’s game, but that he would not permit them to quit.

“It wasn’t called to chew nobody out. It wasn’t called to be negative,” said Pitt guard Keith Benjamin. “It was just called to let us know the bench was fighting for us. And we gotta keep playing.”

Dixon ordered the press, something he’s rarely done this season. The defense, said Pitt guard Ronald Ramon, energized the Panthers.

I don’t think Pitt can do a press for very long, but in short spurts it has it’s place.

— Syracuse completely handed us that game, but I think it should give our players plenty of confidence. We put ourselves into a deep hole and, with much help, pulled out of it. According to the SU blog from the Post-Standard, Pitt outscored the Orange 18-2 in the last three and a half minutes. That said, even with Syracuse choking, it should be noted the Pitt players never gave up.

— It was easy to tell the exact moment where SU decided to play the clock management game; obviously not the best decision of Jim Boeheim’s career. Apparently his players took “kill the clock” to mean “sit on the ball for 30 seconds then rush for a crappy shot in the last 5 seconds you have”. Whoops. It didn’t help the Pitt shooters started to get hot, relative to how they had been the previous 37 minutes.

— You know you found yourself laughing after Boeheim got T’d up.

— Pending a run into Friday and Saturday of the Big East Tournament, we likely knocked the Orangemen into the NIT.

— Don’t try to pile all of our frustration on the refs. Sure we get called for a lot of fouls, but many of them were actual, true fouls. Reaching in, hitting a driving shooter on the hand, etc. The most likely cause of this is the fact that Syracuse and other teams have such an easy time driving to the hoop. Once you get beat as a man-to-man defender, your last chance to stop an easy layup is to foul.

— Not that we had a huge amount of turnovers today but it was still frustrating the way many of them came. Our guards not connecting a pass to another guard and the ball going out of bounds (Fields, Ramon, Brown, and Benjamin are all somewhat guilty of this), and other stupid things. Some turnovers are acceptable, but four or five of the ones we saw against the Orange were stupid,

— Is our full-court press really that good or was Syracuse just that bad at breaking it?

— The possession in the last 25 seconds where Brown went deep into the corner and threw up a bad shot was probably the worst thing that could have happened at that point. Simply put, against a 2-3 zone you attack the red areas and stay away from the black.

Lots to get done in the morning to get to back in time.

This will be a rough one for Pitt.

12:06: Steal, but Sam Young puts up a mid-range jumper? Syracuse returns with Flynn on a 3.

12:10: Syracuse has a big advantage beyond simply being at home. Nearly a full week off. The only team in the Big East that has starters playing more minutes than Pitt. Ramon hitting an early 3 promising. Donte Green and Jonny Flynn doing the same — not so much.

Is it just me, or does it take Sam Young about 5-10 minutes to get his head fully in a game?

12:19: Sam Young being surrounded by ‘Cuse on the offensive end. If Pitt can’t penetrate or make 3s, that won’t change.

12:21: With the perimeter size with Harris and Green, Gilbert Brown should see a lot of minutes today for defense.

12:25: Crap. Blair has 2 fouls with over 10 minutes in the half.

12:30: McGhee in the game, but he was completely ignored in an offensive sequence down low. Orange playing off of him, but still they didn’t pass to him. Probably a bit of fear that he takes too long to gather for a shot.

12:37: Onuaku has been the most improved ‘Cuse player from the start of the season to this point. He’s developed quickly and very well. Just abusing Biggs and McGhee. At least Onuaku doesn’t hit FTs. He’s now out with a couple fouls with 4 minutes to halftime.

Pitt now leads 29-28 with 4:11. Brown doing a lot on defense. The refs are allowing a lot on the perimeter which helps. Brown had 3 fouls in only 10 minutes versus Cinci.

12:47: Flynn is abusing Ramon. Going in and getting brutal screens to get wide open 3s.

Young is getting aggressive on the offensive boards.

12:50: Not sure how there was no foul on Ramon or Young, but no complaints here.

Pitt trails 37-35.

Missed a big opportunity to at least tie the game. Not horrible to be down only 2 with Blair out for 10 minutes with foul troubles. He’ll at least be reseted for the second half.

Considering how hot the Orange were on 3s (5-8) I do like them to cool down in the second half on that front. Yes, the ‘Cuse are shooting well, but Pitt is getting lots of turnovers for a 3d straight game — that limits shot attempts — and makes it a bit of a trade off for Pitt.

Seeing better attacking of the zone as the game went on. Really hope Pitt can somehow shoot better on 3s. Yes, I know that would be novel these days, but…

1:03: Pitt has 11 more shot attempts than Syracuse in the first half. +6 on offensive rebounds and +5 on turnovers will do that.

Almost seems strange how Pitt’s defense has changed so much. From a team that didn’t gamble on turnovers and just made teams take tough shots to more gambling on turnovers and letting teams get out for easier scores when missing. Is it worth considering that Pitt has adjusted the defensive style to the players at this point. Trying to keep Blair out of foul trouble by being forced to defend as much inside? Young and Brown with their athleticism?

I don’t know, but the turnovers Pitt has generated have been directly related to the poor fieldgoal defense.

1:22: Suddenly Pitt is hitting some of those 3s. Syracuse actually cooling down on 3s, but they are now getting buckets inside. Pitt with a 57-56 lead with 10:44 left.

1:35: What the hell? Suddenly Pitt can’t pass the ball on the perimeter? Down 6 with under 7 minutes and a slew of throw aways that boggle the mind.

1:40: No coincidence that the Orange are even hotter offensively with Brown out in the last few minutes. That limping hopefully was worked out. Down 70-62 with under 6 minutes.

1:50: Whoah. Fields with a couple FTs. A block, Brown finally drills a 3 and then Ramon steals and lay-in on the inbound and it is now 75-71 Syracuse with 2:33.

1:59: Ugh. Brown got himself trapped and just tried to get a foul. Nothing there.

2:01: Oh, my god!!!!!!!!!

2:03: Pitt WINS???

I love Pitt, and they never gave up but…

This was a Syracuse Choke job. Snatching defeat from the jaws of victory. It went Pitt’s way — and we all think Pitt was due for something go their way. Unbelievable.

82-77 Pitt

FINAL THOUGHTS: I’m sure most of you noted the article that it isn’t just Ramon with a “partially torn labrum muscle,” but Gilbert Brown also has one of those. Considering how Brown ended up redshirting last year due to injuries and mono — I am already scared that Brown might be as snake bit as Ramon has been with nagging injuries that keep him from ever getting to where his talent tantalizes.

Today, though, was Brown showing so much of the potential on defense and some great efficiency on offense. He was the guy on the perimeter to shut down who ever he was on and prevent penetration.  He finally hit some 3s. Not waiting and lining them up, but just popping to a stop and firing (“Don’t think meat, just shoot”??).

Levance Fields was abysmal shooting for 37 minutes and then just made the big plays.

Keith Benjamin found his shot today.

I think Ramon takes a lot of grief defensively at times. He isn’t a great defender, but he has been playing against the best offensive guards in the Big East for the past 2 weeks.  Jonny Flynn also had a week to rest for the first time in a month. It showed as he finally found his legs.
A bit surprised that Wanamaker saw 0 minutes today. Especially when Brown had to come out with whatever was bothering his hip and Fields had 4 fouls. Given the way Pitt was turning the ball over in that stretch, it’s not like he would have made things worse. Defensively, at a minimum he would have been some extra fouls to give.
Syracuse did a tremendous job of taking away Blair. Only 8 points and 6 rebounds in 26 minutes. He was someone they continually surrounded — sagging in on their zone so there were always 3 white shirts around him. Blair, however did have 4 assists as he mostly passed out of the bad situations.

I’m very torn on Sam Young these days. I sometimes feel like I am being hypercritical of him. He is Pitt’s best offensive players and I think Pitt fans (including me) can be extra hard on the primary offensive weapon if he isn’t perfect — see, also: Gray, Aaron. He had 19 points, 3 steals and 5 rebounds. At the same time he was so weak on defense — especially  early — that it was really frustrating. Add in, the fact that he often shows little interest in even pretending to pass out of a situation when he has no good shot and at the minimum, a little voice whispers “selfish”  and upsets.