masthead.jpg

switchconcepts.com, U3dpdGNo-a25, DIRECT rubiconproject.com, 14766, RESELLER pubmatic.com, 30666, RESELLER, 5d62403b186f2ace appnexus.com, 1117, RESELLER thetradedesk.com, switchconcepts, RESELLER taboola.com, switchconceptopenrtb, RESELLER bidswitch.com, switchconcepts, RESELLER contextweb.com, 560031, RESELLER amazon-adsystem.com, 3160, RESELLER crimtan.com, switch, RESELLER quantcast.com, switchconcepts , RESELLER rhythmone.com, 1934627955, RESELLER ssphwy.com, switchconcepts, RESELLER emxdgt.com, 59, RESELLER appnexus.com, 1356, RESELLER sovrn.com, 96786, RESELLER, fafdf38b16bf6b2b indexexchange.com, 180008, RESELLER nativeads.com, 52853, RESELLER theagency.com, 1058, RESELLER google.com, pub-3515913239267445, DIRECT, f08c47fec0942fa0
January 20, 2010

So, That Happened

Filed under: Basketball,Big East,Conference,Opponent(s) — Chas @ 10:42 pm

Well this was bound to happen. I will say that I was unconvinced of the outcome until Chris [several expletives deleted] Wright scored with under a minute to go for his 27th points. That did it. 1 second left on the shot clock, Pitt’s best defender, Jermaine Dixon, on him. He just makes a little feint away and Dixon bites. Wright goes straight to the hoop for an easy lay-up on the inbound.

In a way this game was like being on the receiving end of the Pitt-Syracuse game. Remember that game? Pitt was killing on 3s. Syracuse was 1-13 out there. That played a role.

About halfway through the first half, I made a note that Georgetown’s jumpers were falling while Pitt’s just were not.

This was the game where Ashton Gibbs wasn’t just shut down, he had a bad night shooting — 3-16 overall, 2-8 on 3s). Yes, Georgetown was blanketing him most of the game. Heck, they kept him from getting good shots and blocked 2 shots of his. So that had a major impact. It’s also a game where we saw Gibbs miss 3 open 3s. He had the time. He had the space. They just were off. It happens. It doesn’t make it any less frustrating.

I thought Jermaine Dixon had one of his toughest games on defense. He just was not as crisp. He was late helping on switches. Got bumped off a lot of plays. He had the tough night. Austin Freeman he could handle, but Wright was having a hell of a game and Dixon could not contain him. Heck on offense, he may have had 14 points but he was 4-11 doing it. I don’t know what kind of spin he is putting on his shots but it was really a problem They rolled all over the rim but out.

It’s a shame Nasir Robinson couldn’t stay out of foul trouble. He looked sharp and confident on offense. But with only 16 minutes not a lot of time to act upon it.

Gilbert Brown’s career high 20 points went for naught. Wanamaker grabbed 13 rebounds and had 7 assists.

Gary McGhee looked good and bad at time. I mean, he was not a good match-up with Monroe, but still had to got at him with Robinson in foul trouble. That made it easy for Vaughn. The good was on offense, where on 3 slams he handled the passes cleanly and went straight up. No putting the ball on the floor. No bending over to gather. He just finished clean on all 3. Just from where he started in the beginning of the season this is significant progress.

More after I have consume more adult beverages — and then get sober.





Good take, Chas although I do think McGhee played Monroe pretty well at times. Thompson adjusted well to force Brown/Robinson back on him then sent him down low again. That turned out to be key in the G’town run at the end as Monroe became the distributor of several easy baskets.

It was not a good night for Gibbs. Looked like he was steering his shots rather than just letting them fly. Could be fatigue, G’town’s early pressure on him or a combination of both. If he hits either of those open 3s in the final minutes, the home streak might still live.

Still, a good effort all in all. We were in it until the final minute. Just didn’t go our way this time. 5-1 still looks pretty good.

Hail to PITT!

Comment by TampaT 01.20.10 @ 11:13 pm

I think you went easy on Gibbs tonight, Chas. Not only was his shot not falling, but he was forcing it. He was taking bad shots off the dribble, and on a few occasions he let the shot clock run down unnecessarily before pressing for a bad one. Dixon did it a few times too. He probably needs to shoot a bit less, or at least needs to be smarter with the shots he does take.

I also thought the defense was far too slow in trying to double Monroe the few times they did. If you do it quickly you force him to get rid of the ball, and put the pressure on him to find the right guy. They were too slow, and it resulted in some bad fouls on Monroe or the guys he was finding.

On the plus side, Gil was outstanding in the second half.

Oh well, it was due to happen, too bad it happened at the Pete. But hey, 4-1 through the toughest part of the schedule. Hail to that.

Comment by 85 01.21.10 @ 12:08 am

You can analyze this game all you want, but it really all boils down to the fact that Pitt lost because Chris Wright had the shooting game of his life and Gibbs was cryogenically frozen (and some of those threes, oy, were they ever ugly shots). Nothing to get too worked up over. We had to lose sometime, and now we get three games we should expect to win.

Also, I try not to rag on the zebras too much, but the blatant no-call after the steal where Brown (I think?) basically got tackled on a break that would have dropped the deficit to four with a couple minutes left or so was utter garbage. It was probably worse than the no-call on the foul on Gibbs at the end of the Louisville game.

Comment by Aaron 01.21.10 @ 1:03 am

Let’s not lose sight of the fact that we knew this season would have some dips in the roller coaster. Wright had an outstanding game, simply put. We’ll move on from here and keep our eyes set forward. This team is in store for some great stuff up ahead.

HTscriptP

Comment by Cool Hand Nuke 01.21.10 @ 2:24 am

I saw three things that led to this loss:

1. 4-16 from beyond the arc.
2. Failing to capitalize like 5 or 6 times late when up a couple with the ball.
3. Free Throws through the middle of the game. I know we lost by ten, but had we not gone like 5-12 or so at the line through the middle of the game the last few minutes would’ve gone differently.

Comment by Ben 01.21.10 @ 6:18 am

This is game where Pitt didn’t lose the game so much as Georgetown won it. Give tehm credit for making adjustments and switching defenses flawlessly. On offense, obviously Chris Wright was unconscious much of the game shooting, while Gibbs looked like Brendan Fraser before Sean Astin and Pauly Shore found him. Pitt played well enough to win, but Georgetown simply played better the last 5 minutes. It was bound to happen, now lets beat seton hall an forget this loss!

Comment by Wannstache 01.21.10 @ 7:55 am

our best player had his worst game of the season, the other team shot lights out, and we still only lost in the final minutes to a top 15 ranked opponent…cant be mad at that….

the only thing i didnt like was gibbs forcing up jumpers early in the shot clock…i hope he learns from this game that the ball isnt going to automatically go in for him….if the shots not there, dont take it…..

very very impressed with wannamaker and gil attacking the hoop……

Comment by schoey 01.21.10 @ 9:07 am

If someone would have given me our national ranking and record to this point in the season a month ago, I would have taken it in a heartbeat. This is the BE, and good teams lose on certain nights and evidently this was our night. The key for me will be the way we respond after a tough loss. It appears the schedule now leans in our favor, but the Steelers thought the same thing after a good start, and we all know how that ended. I am sure J. Dixon will remind his team to stay focused and not to take any of the upcoming games for granted. On any given night any team in the BE can upset someone. So for me, the next couple of games are key now that a little air has been let out of our tires.

Comment by ltl49 01.21.10 @ 9:59 am

ltl- great take. tough loss. it hurts to lose at home, but georgetown and chris wright played really well down the stretch. i think woodall maybe should have been given some more run in this game. the team had some energy when he was out there, and he is the only guy on our team with the quickness to handle wright. don’t know if he would have, but he has the athleticism. gibbs was definitely forcing some shots. 16 shots is a lot even when you are shooting well. and there weren’t a ton of possessions in this game, so he was definitely letting them fly. regroup and get ready for seton hall. that will definitely not be an easy game on the road.

Comment by Omar 01.21.10 @ 10:11 am

Omar, I must hand it to you. Your man Wannamaker is actually turning into a player. If he would only stop turning the ball over too often and play a little more undercontrol at times, he may become that all conference player you predicted. His decision making drives me crazy at times, but his toughness and focus are real keys to this teams success. Now that doesn’t mean I don’t want to throw a brick at the tv. when he screws up in certain situations, but I’ve come to appreciate his overall contribution to Pitt’s success. Good call Omar, because noone was a big doubter than me to Wannamaker being able to succeed in the BE.

Comment by ltl49 01.21.10 @ 10:49 am

thanks ltl. wanny can get to the rim on anyone. that is his strength. he needs to start hitting his jumper. teams are playing him for the drive. the jumper is open. he needs to hit a couple and force teams to respect it. that will make him an even better player offensively.

Comment by Omar 01.21.10 @ 11:24 am

Powered by WordPress © PittBlather.com

Site Meter