Levance Fields and DeJuan Blair ended up with double-doubles. Blair had 18 rebounds and 13 points. Fields is now in a rush to get those 500 career assists. 14 assists and 11 points. Pitt came away with the 75-62 win.

A little frustrating on the defensive end. Pitt did a good job early with turnovers, then that went away. What remained consistent was making South Florida work for their scores. Yet they did. They had to use a lot of clock, but they did a great job of scoring. Gus Gilchrist showed why teams pursued him despite the flakiness.

I hate. I mean, I really hate complaining about officiating. I’ve avoided it to date, but this game was called horribly. The refs were letting anything go inside, but guards driving to the baskets they call touch fouls. Obviously, the problem for Pitt against a team like USF that relies on the backcourt to score the officiating benefits USF while killing Pitt. Blair and Young were getting mugged and hacked inside, while Dominique Jones and Chris Howard for USF merely had to dribble towards the basket and get a call. If this officiating crew is calling the game when Pitt faces Marquette or Villanova, I don’t like Pitt’s chances.

In the last two games, Sam Young has opened the game by draining a 3 in the corner. Then he proceeds to struggle shooting the entire game. Overall, though, on the offense there was just tremendous patience for most of the game from Pitt. Just waiting to find the best shot.

Tyrell Biggs was huge in the first half. He finished with 16 points to lead Pitt. He has stepped up in his senior year to be the player he was recruited to be. Following the senior step-up of the past few years from Graves to Benjamin to Biggs.

Meanwhile, Brad Wanamaker really seems to get it after a disappointing freshman year that had people writing him off. Another solid performance off the bench.

Three point shooting was absurdly good. I just fear that will mean come Saturday, we will see some 3-20 performance from the perimeter. At the very least, though, it will make Louisville concerned that they can’t just dare Pitt to shoot the 3s, and let Pitt get inside.

Idle thought of a negative mind: on what scale of devastation would an upset by USF tonight hit? At the very least, it would make that upset by USF back in 2002(?) look minor.

There is a target on Pitt, Louisville is looking forward to it. So are the Bulls.

“One is unique,” University of South Florida coach Stan Heath said. “The other [rankings] are impressive, don’t get me wrong. No. 1 has a little more uniqueness to it.”
…
A USF victory against No. 1 would be “a tremendous step forward, just a huge accomplishment, something that would resonate nationally and even throughout our community,” Heath said. “It’s a tall order for us, but a great opportunity. Why not embrace it?”

USF has not defeated a team ranked higher than No. 15 – and that was 17 years ago at No. 15 Tulane – but sophomore guard Dominique Jones is looking forward to the challenge.

“It’s really exciting, everybody is kind of pumped up for it,” Jones said. “I think some people are kind of nervous, but that’s only normal. For me, I think it’s an opportunity.”

The emphasis on the Bulls is their guards. Why? Because Gransberry graduated and they don’t have a replacement.

Jones, a 6-foot-4 sophomore who ranks ninth in the Big East in scoring, has four 30-point games in his brief career. Last season, he became the first Big East freshman to have back-to-back 30-point games since Allen Iverson 13 years ago. Jones rarely leaves the floor, averaging a Big East-leading 36.4 minutes per game.

But Jones and Verdejo aren’t consistent.

Jones was 0 for 12 from the field against Wright State and 1 for 10 against Louisville. But he made 7 3-pointers in a 36-point outburst against Iona and hit 5 3-pointers against DePaul.

Verdejo went 0 for 10 from behind the arc as part of a 3-for-17 disaster against Syracuse, but he shot 9 of 15 against DePaul.

“They are streaky,” Dixon said.

South Florida coach Stan Heath said Pitt’s three top scorers — Sam Young, DeJuan Blair and Levance Fields — can’t be stopped.

“You have to pick your poison,” he said. “You’re not going to stop them, but we have to slow them down. We can’t let them go nuts on us. No one can stop them.”

There are ties between Sam Young and a couple USF players.

Chris Howard and Sam Young won two state championships together in high school, and it’s a rare day that the USF point guard doesn’t trade phone calls or motivational text messages with Pittsburgh’s athletic forward.

“That’s my best friend, like a brother to me,” Howard said. “We talk every day, communicate maybe four or five times a day.”

…

When Howard and Young were seniors at Friendly, USF F Gus Gilchrist was a freshman. He remembers the work ethic Young showed in high school.

“Sam was the hardest worker I’ve ever seen,” said Gilchrist, who saw Young at open gyms when he was at Maryland last summer. “Sam motivated me when I was younger, seeing a senior win back-to-back championships. Their hard work was instilled in me.”

A win tonight and Coach Jamie Dixon passes Paul Evans to move to third on Pitt’s all-time wins list. Coach Dixon has done a lot in a short time.

For the fourth time in his six seasons as head coach, Jamie Dixon has taken the Panthers into January without losing. If No. 1 Pitt beats South Florida tonight, this team will own the third-best start in school history.

Amazingly, of the top 10 starts to a season in the 101 years of Pitt basketball, Dixon has coached six of those teams. Dixon’s first team in 2003-04 started the season 18-0 before losing at Connecticut. The 1927-28 team finished the season a perfect 21-0 and will forever own, or at the very least share, the best start.

“We have the best record in the Big East over the last eight years,” Dixon said. “It’s not even close. And we’ve had the best record overall. You’re going to win a few games in all of the months of the calendar that we play in.”

UPDATE ON THE GAME: It will tip-off at least 10 minutes late on ESPNU. USF had trouble reaching the Pete. ESPNU showed them filing into their lockerroom live at 6:40pm.

Well, it’s official.

“When I signed with Pitt out of prep school, I didn’t know what to expect. I just knew in my heart that God had given me a second chance. As a result of a season-ending injury my senior year, I learned a humbling lesson. Nothing is promised to us and it can all be taken away in a moment.

“During my two years at Pitt, I have received an overwhelming amount of love and acceptance, starting from my first visit to the university all the way through the end of this season. I have been treated with respect, class and consideration. For that I am incredibly grateful.

“Recently there has been a lot of speculation regarding my decision to either stay in school or enter the NFL Draft. I have frequently played both choices in my mind. I have considered my alternatives — and I have prayed. I have made my final decision and will forego my junior season at the University of Pittsburgh to enter the NFL Draft.

“I will always cherish the opportunity Pitt has given me. I wore number 25 with pride and tried to represent my coaches, teammates, staff and Panther fans with class. I would like to thank everyone involved with the Pitt football program for a wonderful two years in Pittsburgh.

“On a personal note to Coach Wannstedt: Thank you for your support, guidance and counsel. I take a part of you with me. Although I will be wearing a new jersey next season, I will forever be a Pitt Panther.

“One of my goals in coming here was to help my teammates and coaches bring Pitt back to its rightful place among the prominent teams in college football. We made big strides in that journey, and I believe Coach Wannstedt, the coaching staff and my teammates will continue that upward climb next season and into the future.

“Hail to Pitt!”

Good luck to LeSean McCoy. Please don’t get drafted by the Patriots.

It’s worth noting that over the two years at Pitt, he carried the ball 584 times. No other back in the country carried the ball more over those two years. I hope he is at peace with the decision.

I also hope he eventually takes advantage of the chance to finish his education. Pitt does allow its former players who leave for professional sports the opportunity to come back and finish their undergraduate education at no cost.

It’s nice that a “source” says Lance Stephenson has an interest in Pitt. I mean, if a blue-chip, 5-star, presumed 1-and-done player wants to come to Pitt it’s hard to say no.  I just don’t see it happening unless DeJuan Blair leaves after this year. There’s the lack of the scholarship to actually give him at the moment. There’s also a sense that this is just a little passing fancy thing. Pitt has made attempts to recruit him, now Pitt is #1, so there is a little reconsideration.

It’s worth watching, but I’m not going to expect anything. Hmm. Apparently that is also what Dokish is saying (and lots of other recruiting stuff).

Plus, Pitt is pursuing a top player out of Ohio. Adreian Payne is a big man, that Pitt had identified previously and now pushing harder.

Of other interest is whether Travon Woodall is going to redshirt or apply for a redshirt. Apparently they feel he’s had enough little injuries to make a case for a redshirt.