Least of all, Sean Miller.
“In terms of this NCAA Tournament, the focus is really on our players and our team, for us to be back in the Sweet 16,” Miller said. “That’s the story of this game. That’s really where the focus should be.”
But Miller, who starred at Blackhawk under his father John Miller and was recruited to Pitt by John Calipari, admitted he will never forget his days in Oakland.
“I had a great experience,” he said. “I was treated like you would want to be treated. The friendships that I have today, so many of my close friends really stem from that four-and five-year experience there.”
Then he turned the attention back to his Atlantic 10 regular-season champion.
“And it really stops there as well,” he said.
Ah, would that it were that simple. If it were, everytime a job on the west coast opened up, Coach Jamie Dixon’s name wouldn’t be bandied about. This is a storyline. A dramatic point to pound at until fingers are bloodied because no one can really hit the nail when no one wants to talk about it.
While the Panthers are the top seeds in the East, facing No. 1 seeds is nothing new to Xavier. This is the third straight year that the Musketeers have faced the top seed in the tournament.
“We’re just looking at it as a great opportunity to make another big stamp on our season and the program,” senior C.J. Anderson said.
“Everyone has seen a lot of Pitt and is familiar with the players and their program.” Anderson added.
For the record they lost both of those prior meetings with a #1 seed.
Coach Dixon figured he’d speak to a Big East coach in Cinci coach Mick Cronin about Xavier. He’s expecting a good game.
“It’s going to be a great game,” Cronin said. “I really think Xavier matches up well. They’re physical, they rebound and they defend. A lower-scoring game is going to favor Xavier.”
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From Cronin’s vantage point, the Musketeers’ strength is their defense, which he calls the best he’s seen from an XU team under Sean Miller.
“They’re very consistent with their defense,” Cronin said. “They’re athletic. They have size and strength, and their depth allows them to keep fresh bodies on the floor and helps them maintain their defensive intensity.”
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Of the three, Blair, the Big East co-player of the year, presents the most difficult matchup.
“He’s relentless,” Cronin said. “There’s no other way to describe it. It’s hard to keep him down for 40 minutes. When the game is on the line he’ll find a way against four guys to grab the ball and put it in.”
One thing in the Musketeers’ favor, Cronin said, is that they have 10 fouls to give in 6-foot-9, 255-pound Jason Love and 7-foot, 265-pound Kenny Frease.
And Cronin believes that XU is strong enough up front to hold its own on the boards against the Panthers.
“I think this is the best rebounding team Xavier has had in a long time,” Cronin said. “That’s how they beat us. That’s an area where they can definitely compete with Pittsburgh. That’s important because Pitt has had games where they don’t shoot the ball well but they dominate you on the glass.”
He also thinks their guard-foward B.J. Raymond is going to have to have a big game for Xavier to win.
Of course, Sean Miller has an A-10 coach that is quite familiar with Pitt in Duquesne’s Ron Everhart. Unlike Cronin who feels a low scoring game favors Xavier, Everhart feels differently.
“If they can make it an up-and-down game and force Pitt to constantly play transition defense, it’s the only time (Pitt center DeJuan) Blair and any of their guys are vulnerable,” Everhart said Tuesday. “The more possessions they have, there will be more fouls called, more trips to the line, more action — more chance to get a team that relies heavily on four to five guys into foul trouble.”
Everhart, one of four coaches to oppose both teams this season and the only one of that group to beat either, is convinced Xavier’s size, shot-blocking ability and outside shooting could prove troublesome to Pitt.
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“Xavier might have an edge in depth on Pitt, but it doesn’t have an experienced senior point guard who has played through four NCAA tournaments like Levance Fields,” Everhart said. “He distributes the ball and gets guys shots, and teams that traditionally win national championships are built like Pitt. They have multiple seniors, one of whom is a point guard, and they know how to win close games.”
Then he said this about getting to coach against your alma mater.
Everhart coached last week against his own alma mater, Virginia Tech, in the NIT, and he believes there is something about going against your own school that can’t be quantified or analyzed.
“Maybe you prepare with a little more intensity, you’re sharper and more organized — you want your guys to be prepared to play your alma mater,” Everhart said. “For whatever reason, it does mean something. But Jamie (Dixon, Pitt’s coach) always has his guys ready to play, and I’m sure he’ll coach this week with a little bit of an edge, too.”
For the record, Duquesne lost to VT in OT. I could live with that as Xavier and Miller’s fate.
So what do we have. A coach that favors slow, plodding games things such a thing favors Xavier. Another coach that likes up-tempo sees that as helping Xavier. Thanks guys. Glad the two of you could help clear that up.
It isn’t surprising, though, that Pitt is favored and most are picking Pitt for this game. Of course, the Pitt players swear they are focused on just the game in front of them and getting past that barrier.
Pitt, which has never beaten higher than a No. 6 seed in the NCAA tournament the past seven seasons, has been ranked at the top of the polls and is one of the favorites to win the national championship, but the Panthers know all too well how those dreams can die well before the Final Four. Pitt players are determined that the Sweet 16 won’t be another Groundhog’s Day for the program.
“All we’re focused on is the next opponent,” senior forward Sam Young said. “That’s the only thing on everyone’s mind. We’re not saying we’re going to get to a Final Four or win a national championship. We have learned from that.
“When I hear someone talking about the Final Four I stop them right there. We have to worry about the Sweet 16. We can’t worry about any other game. We have to worry about today’s game. If we don’t pay attention to who we’re playing now we might be watching the Final Four.”
The concern these days is not the offense, but the defense is not what it has been. But, it is not dead, yet.
But recent numbers — Sunday’s first half notwithstanding — point to a resurgence in Pitt’s perimeter defense. In the Panthers’ final regular-season game, Connecticut shot just 4 of 14 from 3-point range (28.6 percent). West Virginia duplicated that number in the Big East Tournament. Last Friday, East Tennessee State put a scare into the Panthers in the first round of the NCAA Tournament, but not from the arc; the Buccaneers were just 4 of 22 (18.2 percent) from the perimeter.
And in the second half Sunday, Oklahoma State was 2 of 12 (16.7 percent).
“In the second half, though, we were getting out with our hands up,” Brown said.
Take out the Cowboys’ first half, and opponents are shooting a mere 14 of 62 (22.5 percent) from 3-point range. Overall field goal percentage during that span, again subtracting the 17-of-27 performance of Oklahoma State in Sunday’s first half, is an impressive 36.3 percent (78 of 215), about 5 percent lower than opponents shot over the season.
Maybe the new anomaly was Sunday’s first half.
“I felt like we were playing (defense) pretty good in the first half,” Wanamaker said, “but in the second half we really contested their shots.”
Hot shooting hurt as well.
I’m going to make a prediction about the game. I expect something good from Brad Wanamaker. I know he’s had some bad games in recent weeks. I’m of the opinion that he has made great progress, but is at his worst when playing against teams that press on defense. His court vision and ball handling is just not there to handle defenders in too tight. He dribbles too far away from his body too often because he is looking to keep the option of driving to the basket available. It means having to corral the ball when trying to pull up for a shot or stopping the dribble. I think against a team like Xavier that does play more of a half-court game, Wanamker will have some space and will be able to do some good things.
