I’ll take an ugly win any day over a pretty loss. And make no mistake, that game was ugly. Maybe you can claim it was memorable since it went to double OT and it was taut and tense in the final twenty minutes (10 minutes of OT and the final 10 minutes of regulation) and it closed out the Civic Arena for basketball. The counter is that after that game it is probably a good thing.

The only thing a game being that tight and going into OT guaranteed was that the national college basketball writers would take a break from the Big 11/ACC Challenge to take some notice of what was happening.

At least it was close: The Pitt-Duquesne game was hardly a classic to close out Mellon Arena, with each team turning the ball over on its last possession of regulation. But the game did have some drama and Pitt prevailed 67-58 in double overtime.

But, hey, at least the Stage Magicians got a good crowd.

Coach Dixon — and I really am not sure if he had his tongue firmly jammed in his cheek when he said this — found beauty in the game.

“This one will go down in history as probably the best (game here),” Pitt coach Jamie Dixon said. “Of course, that’s my version of it. Duquesne might disagree.”

Pitt (6-1), which never led in regulation, overcame a 16-point second-half deficit against a resurgent Duquesne team trying to beat the Panthers for only the fourth time in the past 31 meetings.

Pitt switched to a zone defense to cool off the hot-shooting Dukes (5-2), and Pitt sophomore guard Ashton Gibbs, who missed his first eight shots, made a game-tying 3-pointer late in regulation and added two 3-pointers in the second overtime to give Pitt its ninth win in a row over Duquesne.

Odds are Duquesne will disagree.

But when you are your own worst enemy, crazy things happen.

Chances evaporate, especially when your starting backcourt — the three-guard system of Monteiro, Jason Duty and Eric Evans — goes 7 of 34 from the floor and 2 of 15 from 3-point range.

Chances vanish when you have the ball at the end of regulation and your point guard, Evans, fumbles the basketball away without getting a shot off and instead of heading toward the basket, he heads for the sideline in attempt to save the ball — about 45 feet from the basket — from going out of bounds.

Chances slide away when, at the end of overtime, you have a fleeting chance to get a shot off, but instead of getting it to a speedy guard to try to make a mad dash up the floor, the 6-foot-8 Rodrigo Peggau throws up a desperation heave from halfcourt.

Chances slip away when Pitt goes into a zone and you don’t know what to do against it, looking lost beyond belief.

“They got into a zone,” Duquesne coach Ron Everhart said. “And we just kind of looked like a deer in the headlights.”

Chances slide away from you when your bench is thin and three guys — Damian Saunders, Monteiro and Peggau — foul out with Saunders being held to more than 10 points below his average.

“I thought our kids gave a great effort,” Everhart said. “I didn’t think we were the most intelligent team in the world, but our kids gave a great effort … as frustrating as it was, I thought we played hard.”

Pitt going zone for some 25 minutes or so was the big story by the end.

“That 2-3 zone kind of messed us up,” Clark said.

That would be an understatement. After halftime, the Dukes made just 9 of 41 shots from the field.

Pitt rarely goes away from its man-to-man defense, but Dixon decided to switch after the Dukes shot 48 percent in the first half and led, 33-20, at the intermission.

“They were in a rhythm and we weren’t,” Dixon said. “We had to change the pace of the game. I can’t believe I went to zone that long. It was tough for me to do. But it was working, and we stayed with it.”

There a lot of coaches that would not be able to get away from their fundamental philosophies for even a short time. Let alone that long.

It was weird. Pitt’s zone hardly looked aggressive — or even confusing. It just worked. That was as much on a clueless Duquesne team that their own coach admitted does not have a lot of  smart players. I wouldn’t count on (and I doubt Pitt does) the zone working that well and for that long too often.

The funny thing is that the zone is in part to help teams that have less players conserve energy on defense. So they aren’t chasing opposing players all over the court in man-to-man. But it was Duquesne that had the problem with enough warm bodies.

Pete Gillen was doing the color for CBS Sports and he was hammering on Duquesne’s lack of depth catching up with them from right after the halftime to the end. It was amusing to me — since it was directed at the Dukes.

They aren’t the deepest team and they were in major foul trouble late in the game. One of the more encouraging thing continues to be Gary McGhee.

He was offensively invisible in the first half battling Damian Saunders. But Saunders was Duquesne’s best player and while he had a bunch of blocks and finished with 8 rebounds, he didn’t do much scoring. Not just that, but McGhee was the one to get Saunders in foul trouble. Which really cost Duquesne as the game got deeper. McGhee found room inside and after a first half that saw him with 0 points, 0 shots, 1 block and 1 rebound, he was huge in the second half and OT.

McGhee played 23 of the 30 final minutes. He went 5-7 for 11 points, grabbed 7 boards in that span and had 2 more blocks.

As encouraging as McGhee was, the guard play is a terrifying thing. Forget — if you can — the poor shooting of Woodall, Gibbs and Adams (combined 6-26). Adams continues to hesitate on shots unless he is absolutely and completely uncovered. Gibbs was flat, cold and frustrated.

Woodall really had me bothered. He has no confidence in his shot right now, and it appears to be translating everywhere. He only made 2-6 on FTs. He very obviously passed up open shots and Duquesne was completely playing off him to prevent penetration — preferring to dare him to shoot. His passing and running the show was horrid. Unable to work the ball inside and letting the shot clock run to the final seconds and forcing other players to hoist last second shots ahead of the buzzer.

Coach Dixon noticed. In the second half and 2 OTs, Woodall only played 13 of 30 minutes. He only played 27 minutes while Gibbs played 45 and had to shoulder a lot more of the burden of directing things. It’s not a good sign that Woodall let himself be so frustrated and essentially took himself out of things.

This season will be as much of a struggle as expected. The team will improve, but will also take steps back. If you are on the wagon or trying to cut back your drinking, this will not be the season for that.

Okay, you all know my feelings on the venue. The game is something different. This is probably Duquesne’s best chance to beat Pitt. They have more experience and probably better chemistry at this point.

If you want to break the liveblog out from the site. Click Here.

Otherwise, you can play along right down here. The fun starts around 7pm.

Don’t mistake my disdain for the venue for any lack of caring about the game itself. It’s the City Game, local bragging rights are always important. This game may no longer have the deep hate, but it matters.

It’s also a big game because Duquesne keeps improving under fifth-year coach Everhart, and Pitt is perceived as vulnerable in a rebuilding year. The Panthers have five new starters, while Duquesne returned four starters from its first postseason team in 15 years.

Still, Pitt is 27-3 against Duquesne since 1982. Pitt assistant coach Brandin Knight was a sophomore guard at Pitt the last time Duquesne beat the Panthers (December 2000).

Both teams are missing top players. Duquesne sophomore wing Melquan Bolding (wrist) is out, and Pitt senior guard Jermaine Dixon (foot) and junior forward Gilbert Brown (academic) will watch the game in street clothes.

Wanamaker believes because of their “nice little bond” with Duquesne, the atmosphere will be heightened tonight. The rough-and-tumble open gyms have forged friendships but also the harsh reality of bragging rights.

“This game is going to be even more intense,” he said, “because we are more friends with them.”

Duquesne actually has a player that could have played in the Big East.

Saunders came to Duquesne and the Atlantic 10 Conference as one of Everhart’s best recruits in 2007 after originally signing with Marquette. But former Marquette coach Tom Crean didn’t have a scholarship available when all-conference guard Dominic James opted to stay in school instead of leaving early for the NBA Draft.
…
“He’s going to be a pretty good challenge,” Pitt center Gary McGhee said. “I think right now he is leading the nation in rebounding. He usually starts out on the wing and just runs in and gets a lot of tip-out rebounds.”

Saunders, averaging 16.7 points and 15.5 rebounds, smiled when it was suggested that he’s becoming Pittsburgh’s marquee basketball player.

The scoring of Saunders aside, the major concern for Pitt will be the pressing defense from the Stage Magicians. Pitt has struggled with turnovers and there is no doubt that it could be a lot more costly in this game than against Youngstown State or Wichita.

“I was really disappointed,” Dixon said. “We need to improve in that area. We had rebounding issues early and we solved that for a couple games. Then our turnovers are a little bit higher now. We’ve got to get everything together here.”

Along with more patience on the offensive end, the Panthers need to move more without the ball. Too often there have been big chunks of the game where players stop moving. The guards may be struggling to move the ball inside, but that means they need more help. Not less.

Oh, the nostalgia. Oh, the games that have been played. Let’s reminisce about strange endings. Oh, give me a frickin’ break.

Good news. Crappy seats still remain.

I get it. The final City Game to be played at the Civic Arena. It’s a historic moment. An event. Whatever.

Pardon me for not getting all misty-eyed over this. Yes, there were some great NCAA Tournament games played there and some fantastic energy at points for those games. Yippee.

I have nothing nice to say about Pitt playing basketball at the Civic Arena. It’s my bias, feel free to disagree and dispute. It’s a product of when I was at Pitt. The late-80s as those high-talent, underachieving Paul Evans teams were there. When Fitzgerald would be packed and sweaty. A completely dominating homecourt advantage. Student section right on top of things and a force.

But, the place was too small to make as much money as they could if they moved some of the bigger conference games to the Civic Arena. So, that’s what happened. The big conference games against Syracuse, Georgetown and even St. John’s were moved to the Civic Arena. The students had to pay extra for those tickets. Transportation was shoddily provided to get them there — and most of the time we just ended up ying and taking a PAT bus there in frustration.

Then they stuck the students under one basket — not right under. No, that was reserved for people that paid the good money. The students were shunted a section back. The athletic department of the time seemed determined to remove any energy and excitement from the student section. Keep them back, make it a complete chore to get there and it showed on the court. The crowds had no energy and Pitt would go from having a definite home court advantage to a 50-50 proposition. Take away the games against Duquesne, and Pitt was only 41-37 at the Civic Arena and 14-20 against the Big East teams. Yeesh. Tell me again, why this is great?

Yes, the athletic department has much more of a clue these days. I’m sure the place will be loud tonight. I just don’t share the nostalgia and see little reason to start talking about playing at the Con in another year for some games. Pitt has one of the great home court advantages in the country. Why waste it for the cash grab of a few thousand more seats?

I have to admit, I like bravado more than cliches. It’s refreshing and much more honest.

“We’re not playing for co-championships,” Kelly said Monday.

As they prepare for Saturday’s showdown against No. 14 Pitt at Pittsburgh’s Heinz Field in the fifth installment of the River City Rivalry, Kelly and his players are interested in only one thing: winning the league title outright and securing the automatic BCS bowl berth that goes with that title.

If the fifth-ranked Bearcats lose to Pitt (9-2 overall, 5-1 in the league), UC (11-0, 6-0) will share the league championship and will then have to hope to land one of the four BCS at-large bids, which could be an iffy proposition.

“You can put it any way you want and I’m sure it will go in the media guide that way,” Kelly said of the possibility of being co-champs. “But I know this: we’d be extremely disappointed. There’s only one thing we go into with a goal and that is to win a championship.”

Of course when it comes to the ND job, then cliches and non-denials are a different thing for Kelly. He’s been the rumored pick since last season. Though, the rumor mill seems to be swinging to the defensive minded pick like TCU’s Gary Patterson.

The Big East scheduled with the expectation that Pitt, Cinci, WVU and/or Rutgers would be fighting for the Big East title. Cinci Coach Kelly saw it coming.

“When I saw Dec. 5, I told our guys that we’re going to have to be at this all year,” the UC coach said. “This is probably going to come down to the last game of the year.”

And now Pitt has to see about not ending its season poorly.

Q: Paul, I think 10 wins is a must for this team and they have, or will have had three shots to get it. If that doesn’t happen would you consider the season a failure in terms of next steps?

ZEISE: I agree with you. If Pitt finishes 9-4 — with a loss in some non-descript bowl game to some mediocre SEC or Conference USA team — it will be a huge disappointment. I don’t know if failure is the right word, because they did win nine games — though the competition had something to do with that — but to me it would be a disappointment. Losing to West Virginia this year was not a good thing and there isn’t a positive spin to be put on it. I think if Pitt had beaten WVU, then the season is a success and this week is just gravy win or lose. But in losing that game, the Panthers really need to win this one in order to make a definitive statement about where the program really is and that it is indeed in better shape than it was six or seven years ago.

Ending the season on a 3-game losing streak would render all criticism that Pitt built its record on bad to mediocre teams completely valid. It would mean Rutgers would likely constitute the best win of the season and not a single win over a team that finished in the top-25.

There is no sense in worrying about a bowl game and what would happen there. Right now the attention is on Cinci.

“We want to turn it loose on Saturday and play as good as we can,” Wannstedt said. “We just didn’t make enough plays (against West Virginia), but we’ve kind of moved on.”

“This week, because it’s like a playoff game, I try to reflect back and give them a few scenarios of what I’ve been through — NFL playoffs and college championships. I tell them what we need to do to be ready. Right now, they have a thousand thoughts going through their minds. They all want to play their best game. They all want to win the championship.

“I want them to just clear their minds, and think of the one, two or three things we need to do to be prepared to win,” Wannstedt added. “Basically we’ll be ready to play as good as we can play. Obviously, the kids are excited. This is going to be a unique day.”

Okay, fine. Might as well get this out of the way since Coach Wannstedt made the comparison. Coach Wannstedt had 3 appearances in the playoffs as a head coach — once with the Bears and twice with the Dophins. His overall playoff record is 2-3 and 1-1 at home. Take from that what you will.

That message of moving on and letting go of a disappointing performance in Morgantown seemed to be the team them.

While the Panthers gathered Saturday morning to sort through their issues before the Big East title game against No. 5 Cincinnati next Saturday at Heinz Field, they left Milan Puskar Stadium without pointing fingers.

Instead, defensive end Greg Romeus pointed toward what really matters. If the Panthers can survive the Bearcats, they can clinch a Bowl Championship Series bid.

“You learn from every game,” said Romeus, who had seven tackles and a sack. “We’re blessed to have an opportunity to win the Big East.”

Time to take that opportunity.

Looks like Pitt is looking to add some depth to the secondary and perhaps find someone else to return punts in 2010 (okay, I think it’s a given someone else will be returning puntis in 2010).

The newest commit is Saheed Imoru, who had the grades to be offered  a commission to West Point back in 2008, but decided that he would go to junior college and see if he could get better offers for 1-A football. Oklahoma State nearly offered him last year, but never pulled the trigger.

“My high school coach talked to me about how many people apply and how few are accepted to West Point,” he said. “But I just didn’t feel like it was the right opportunity for me. It wasn’t what I was dreaming of for my future. When I made the decision not to go, my coach wasn’t very happy with me. I understood, but it just wasn’t right for me.”

So late in the recruiting period, Imoru’s opportunities began to dwindle. Navarro called and he signed on, but to play cornerback and not his natural position of running back. Ironically, it was Imoru’s decision to make the switch. And he made it with a unique outlook about the future.

Rivals.com has him as a 3-star cornerback with offers from Iowa State and New Mexico.

Not much else on him. There’s this grainy 10-minute highlight reel from high school if you are so inclined.

Imoru doesn’t seem like a bad get from what little I can see. High character, and is the only JUCO to this point in the Pitt recruiting class. Won’t exactly move the needle on the recruiting rankings but he seems like a player that has the potential to help right away.

I would love to tell you about how my wife — a Cinci grad — and I have been giving each other crap about the game on Saturday. Unfortunately, my wife is a rather standard Cinci fan of her time. She only cares about how the basketball team is finally ranked. In fact when I have a Cinci home game on TV, she still mutters about how much money they wasted renovating Nippert Stadium when she was there. Needless to say, she is probably hoping Pitt wins on Saturday so that I’m in a better mood when I get home.

Not that I think many Cinci fans are that excited about their football team. Probably the same numbers that are thrilled that their mascot is a finalist in the Capitol One Mascot Challenge.

Still, how much should I make fun of Cinci fans when Heinz Field is still not sold out for Saturday —  1800 tickets left?

You want Coach Wannstedt banging on your door? He’s willing if you are a student.

Excuses of the noon start. Traffic and construction issues. Complaints about not being respected by ESPN. It has reached something of a breaking point for me.  It isn’t some chicken-egg thing. The only way it changes is by the fans showing up in force and Pitt playing well. Either show up or STFU.

Final thing on the noon start on Saturday. It’s a good thing. It is a pure national game on ABC. The most important one in the time slot. All the other official conference championship games were set and contracted before the season started. I have complained and I immensely dislike the Big East’s TV deal with the Mouse Monopoly on the football side. That said, this is not one of those points where it is working against Pitt.

Gary McGhee has been a pleasant surprise early in the season. He’s not making anyone forget DeJuan Blair, but he is playing far better than expected in his third year.

“We had a lot of confidence in him,” Dixon said. “You can see him getting better and better. I always talked to him about taking that step. All of a sudden, it snowballs once you get some confidence. We’re seeing that now with Gary. I talked to him about it when it happened to Aaron.”

Gray’s big improvement was part of the reason McGhee decided to come to Pitt. McGhee was not a highly recruited player out of Anderson, Ind., but he wanted to follow in the footsteps of Gray, who also was not highly recruited coming out of high school.

“I looked up to [Gray],” McGhee said. “I saw him play at Pitt. I saw him come along. They told me when they were recruiting me that he was a guy who didn’t do too much early on, but he worked real hard and became the Big East’s most improved player and an all-league player. That was something that drew me to the University of Pittsburgh.”

From the start of the season to this point the biggest thing that is standing out is some increased confidence the more he plays. It isn’t just that he’s no longer worried about being yanked if he fouls or makes a mistake, it is clear that he has a better understanding about what he is supposed to do and how to do it.

By contrast, there seems to be some frustration and grumbling that freshman Dante Taylor hasn’t lit things up. As is oft-mentioned, he’s Pitt’s first McDonald’s All-American since John Calipari was recruiting for Paul Evans. Taylor is averaging 5 rebounds and 6.2 points per game and only playing a little more than 16 minutes per game.

More troubling was that in Pitt’s first two national games at the CBE in Kansas City, Taylor looked lost and unsure of himself at times.

You expect, from a 6-9, 240 pound tower of quickness who won the skills competition prior to the McDonald’s All-America Game, a battery of floor-running, ball-handling, quick-shooting that separated him from the best of the best, something well outside the standard Panther muck-and-grind.

But you might not get it for awhile.

And that’s good, actually.

As the Panthers invade Kansas City for the completion of the O’Reilly Auto Parts CBE Classic just as the Steelers depart, Dante Taylor appears more content to practically rebuild his game from the Dixon foundation up.

“I’m happy just to contribute, to just play,” Taylor said. “Get rebounds, play defense; I’m not tryin’ to score every time down the court, but yeah, that’s definitely a big adjustment for me because in high school I was always the main guy, getting the ball on every possession, getting a bunch of touches. But here I want to play the way they play.

“Coach always says, play wide, play long, and run the floor.”

Taylor just did not look comfortable out there. Very tentative at times. A reflection of a player that is unsure of what he should be doing. SOmething that makes sense, since Taylor is playing out of position. He is a power forward playing at center. He is trying to learn on the fly while meeting big expectations. It’s not instinctive and automatic.

Unlike DeJuan Blair — against whom he keeps being compared — the 5 isn’t where Taylor played in high school. Blair wanted to and did keep playing center. He was comfortable there and had much more confidence at the spot. Also, never forget how special Blair is. Blair is a freak in wingspan and the size of his hands. And of course desire to get boards.

In the 2009-10 College Basketball Prospectus, Ken Pomeroy devotes a chapter to chart just how spectacular a force he was for Pitt’s offense. It’s not something anyone is going to be plugged in and replace. Not even close.

As for future big men, Pitt’s ability to develop big men is a big reason why Maurice Walker is still hoping Pitt will have room for him come the spring.

Maurice Walker, a 6-foot-10, 270-pound low post force, told NBE at this weekend’s National Prep Showcase at Albertus Magnus College in New Haven (CT) that he currently is looking at a college list of Pittsburgh, Kansas, Connecticut, Georgetown, Arizona and Marquette, but he knows where he wants to go – Pittsburgh.

“I like what they’ve done in the past with players like me, you know, DeJuan Blair,” Walker said. “The atmosphere there is almost like the atmosphere at home. I’ve met the coaches and I like them, I’ve met the players and I like them.”

Walker did show the talents reminiscent of some of the recent Panthers in the post this weekend. The Canadian-born big man is a big body who takes up plenty of room in the paint at both ends of the floor. Offensively, he is more athletic than one would imagine, as he demonstrated some nice spin moves and even stepped out to a shoot a jumper. Walker gets offensive boards and can finish around the rim with both hands. He also gets tremendous position on the block against opponents. Defensively, Walker blocked shots and dominated the glass for the most part.

“Someone will have him lose weight and then yes,” a mid-major college assistant coach replied to NBE recently when asked if Walker could make an impact in the Big East in the future.

When asked why he has not committed to Pitt yet, Walker responded: “I’ve been talking back and forth with the coaches there, but they haven’t gotten back to me yet.”

Which is because the academic status of J.J. Moore is not one that will be certain until later, plus Pitt is already 1 over the scholarship limit to offer.

Then there is 2011 recruiting class where Pitt may be looking at a Kiwi by the name of Rob Loe. A 6’11” center, who appears to be heading to the IMG Academy for a year of prepping.

Loe averaged 18.8 points, 7.0 rebounds and 2.5 assists per game in four games at the 2009 FIBA U19 World Championships last summer. Pitt coach Jamie Dixon, who is hot on Loe’s trail, was the head coach for the USA’s U19 team that went 9-0 in the World Championships, which was played in Auckland, New Zealand.

The IMG coach compares him to “Brad Miller in his prime.”