The Pitt-Cinci game was as evenly played and as close as I expected. Two teams that match-up very similarly and play a similar style. Strong defense, but not one that forces turnovers. Patient on offense. It showed. Pitt never led by more than 6 and Cinci briefly held an early 7 point lead. Most of the game, though, was played with a slight lead by Pitt.

Both teams had different players step up in each half. Pitt survived an early stumble because Nasir Robinson scored all 7 of his (and all but 2 of Pitt’s) points in the first 5 minutes. Ashton Gibbs scored 14 of his 19 points in the first half. In the second half it was Gibert Brown leading with 13 of his 17 and Dante Taylor getting all 7 of his points late.

It was just like that for Cinci. Yancy Gates and Lance Stephenson combined for 25 of the Bearcats 32 points in the first half, but were held to only 6 in the second half. Instead it was Deonta Vaughn going for 14 of his 17 points in the second half (his 3d straight game of scoring exactly 17 points).

Pitt was just a little better in this game. They were more efficient and patient on offense and they made slightly more plays on defense.

The Bearcats can now match the Panthers player-for-player when it comes to talent. But when the game was on the line Monday, No. 23 Pitt still had a little more moxie than the Bearcats, and walked away with a 74-71 victory before 8,699 fans at Fifth Third Arena.

The loss ended a four-game winning streak for UC (10-4 overall, 2-1 Big East). Pitt (13-2, 3-0) won its sixth straight game and ninth in its last 10. The Panthers have won four straight over UC and are 6-1 against the Bearcats since UC joined the Big East in 2005.

“It was a high-level basketball game and we came out on the wrong side due to our lack of ability to get the stops against Pittsburgh’s offense,” said UC coach Mick Cronin. “We played well enough to win on offense. We didn’t play well enough to win on defense. Pretty simple.”

I agree with this column on Cronin and Cinci. They have the pieces. I have them as one of the upper-half teams in the Big East this year. On a different night the result could have been different. I’m not complaining about Pitt only facing them once in the Big East conference schedule.

Coach Dixon credited his team with the win, but also echoed the sentiment that Cinci was close.

“I thought nobody lost this game, someone had to win it,” Dixon said. “This was a well played game and both teams had to make plays and both did throughout. The numbers would indicate it, high shooting percentages, good rebounding numbers, few turnovers.

“They are a good team and we are becoming a good team. We’re certainly improving.”

Unlike the Syracuse game, where Pitt rained down 3s, Pitt only attempted 7 of them. Granted there were something like 5 or 6 shots that turned out to be long 2s, but the offense really adjusted to how they were being played defensively. Whether it was Gilbert Brown and Ashton Gibbs taking shorter jumpers (stunning stat of the night, Gibbs only took — and made — one 3) after getting past a perimeter defender. More attacking the basket with Robinson, Wanamaker and Woodall when the opportunity was there. And even getting the ball inside to the bigs to finish strong — Taylor and McGhee each went 3-5. Offensively it was a very balanced game, and not depending on the 3s I think really had Cinci off-balance.

“They are not an easy team to defend,” Cincinnati coach Mick Cronin said. “(Brown) really broke our back. You can’t judge them since they got Jermaine Dixon and Brown back.”

The wins in the Big East after Dixon and Brown returned have started the run of how “Pitt is back” already. Arguably, though, the best compliment came during the game from Jay Bilas when speaking of how the team is doing so well with such a new cast said, “Pitt isn’t a team, they are a program.”

The continuity becomes a huge factor.

At the start of the season, the Panthers had seven new players, compared to four with experience. And so, while Pitt was needing zone defense to rescue itself against Duquesne and was slumbering through an uninspired loss to Indiana in the Jimmy V Classic, there was a surprising rush to judge these Panthers as inferior, unworthy of their legacy.

“We’ve been doubted this whole season,” Gibbs said. “We knew in that locker room what everybody can do. Everybody has confidence in each other, and I think it’s showing now.”

The Panthers are not as talented as many upper-echelon Big East teams, but with the exception of the DeJuan Blair/Sam Young years, that’s been the case for nearly a decade now. How many times did they play lottery-loaded UConn in the Big East final with teams composed of future D-Leaguers and noon ballers?

“You say it every year,” Cincinnati coach Mick Cronin said. “It’s like a broken record. But when you have continuity in your program … The best move they ever made was hiring Jamie. They’ve never had to rebuild. Once they won, they kept their winning ways.”

Some of that is simply what was seen. The two games before Syracuse and Cinci that got the most media attention with Pitt, were ESPN-aired Indiana and Texas games. Both losses, and very influential in the perception of Pitt.

That’s the nature of things. Georgetown loses at home to Old Dominion, Florida goes down at home to South Alabama and they are merely typical glitches and just one of those things that happen in the non-con. Not because of favorable biases towards those programs but because they were not national games few actually saw. So when in doubt fall back on the conventional wisdom — that is probably correct — that they were just a bad night for the home team and a really good night for the other team.

Pitt, though, suffered their losses on national TV for all to see, and therefore instead of being glitches for a young team they were treated as exhibits as to how far Pitt fell this year in talent and experience.

I repeat. There will be some more stumbles. Step backs and mistakes. Progression is not straight line. Enjoy right now.

I have been giving serious thought to bagging a liveblog or even open thread after Pitt’s win over Syracuse when I never had a chance to post ahead of it. Yeah, but that is a coincidence (or at least that is what I am telling myself).

Cinci is looking to do something it has never done in the Big East, start out 3-0 in conference play.

A win over the Panthers would leave Cincinnati 3-0 in conference play for the first time since the 2004-2005 season, when coach Bob Huggins’ last Bearcats team opened its Conference USA schedule with wins over DePaul at home and St. Louis and East Carolina on the road before losing at home to Louisville.

The Bearcats followed a last-minute win over UConn with a gritty (read: struggling) win over Rutgers.

For Pitt, this would be a tough road game at any point in the season. To have it happen 2 days after a big road win makes it harder as the young team has to avoid a classic letdown.

Cincinnati has perhaps its best team since the Bearcats joined the Big East five seasons ago. Coach Mick Cronin’s team is led by senior guard Deonta Vaughn and 6-5 wing Lance Stephenson, a New York City phenom who was named the Big East Preseason Rookie of the Year.

Pollsters have taken notice. The Bearcats were ranked as high as No. 19 in the AP poll in early December.

“We’ve got to be focused on Cincinnati,” Pitt guard Brad Wanamaker said.

Stephenson has started every game and has made an immediate impact as his team’s leading scorer. He is averaging 13 points, 5.0 rebounds, 2.8 assists and a team-high 29.4 minutes per game.

Vaughn has struggled with his shot for a good portion of the season but in the last two games has put up 17 points in each. Really, there is no doubt that this is the best team in the Mick Cronin era. It is also the first team to have some depth since the Huggy-Bear demolition. Yancy Gates is strong inside. Rashad Bishop is still there. Cashmere Wright is healthy. Ibrahima Thomas is eligible. Plus players like Dion Dixon (cripes 3 Dixons in one game), Larry Davis and Steve Toyloy.

On top of playing in Cinci, Pitt officially gets a target (beyond the one they have earned in the Big East for being one of the dominant teams of the aughts) for being ranked #23 in the AP poll.

The good news is that while Pitt is still offensively challenged, they have an identity. They are back to stifling defense. And they have a coach that won’t let them use their inexperience as an excuse (even if it is given its own chart for the media to use in the game notes, pg 5, PDF).

“The freshmen aren’t freshmen anymore,” Dixon said Saturday after Pitt upset No. 5 Syracuse in the Carrier Dome. “I declared them sophomores over the break. I took that away from them. I advanced them a year.”

It was another subtle reminder that his young players have to perform beyond their years if the Panthers are going to compete well in Big East Conference play. And two games into the conference schedule some of the young players are heeding their coach’s advice and growing up in a hurry.

More love and attention for Ashton Gibbs who takes home Big East Player of the Week Honors, along with ESPN.com’s Weekly Watch’s POY.

Ashton Gibbs should thank UConn’s Kemba Walker for staying home instead of playing for the United States on the Under 19 national team that won gold for the first time since 1991.

Gibbs was tabbed as the starter once Walker decided against returning to the squad for a second summer. Gibbs was the lead playmaker for U-19 (and Pitt) coach Jamie Dixon, and it is paying huge dividends for the Panthers this season.

And this bit about Pitt and Coach Dixon.

…Pitt is 2-0, and if the Panthers win eight more Big East games, assuming a few are against the upper echelon, Pitt is once again an NCAA tournament team. Never doubt coach Jamie Dixon and pick him ninth again, Big East coaches. Never.

Anyways, LiveBlog is around 7pm. The game is on ESPN. I need Pitt to win this game so I can reclaim some bragging rights from my wife.

You can break out the liveblog when you Click Here.

Otherwise it will be below.

Oh, good. Snow in the Cleveland area. The kid has an extra day of vacation and I get little productivity and extra shoveling. Yay?

Pitt-Cinci stuff later. Safe to say, though, that if the Bearcats even considered looking past Pitt (which I really, really doubt) they are not after Saturday.

Pitt upsetting Syracuse was probably bigger for Pitt than devastating for Syracuse. It was a much-needed confidence win and drove home to the players how important the defense has to be.

“We’ve been improving,” said coach Jamie Dixon, who improved to 8-2 against teams ranked in the top five of The Associated Press poll. “We’re not the team we were early in the year. We’re a different team. We’ve improved every game out. We had a lot of great performances, but I really loved how hard we played. I can’t say enough about our effort. We have to continue to do that every single game.”

…

“We’re a team that has gotten much better as the year has gone on defensively,” Jamie Dixon said. “You can’t give them transition baskets. We didn’t do that, especially in the second half. We guarded on the perimeter well. We didn’t want to give them opens 3s. And maybe we just caught them on the right day. Maybe it was just our day.”

Coach Dixon has been on the team about the defense, and this game really saw it come together.

Brad Wanamaker attributes his team’s tenacity to its head coach. Or more precisely, Wanamaker believes Pittsburgh plays with such heart and such determination because Jamie Dixon refuses to accept anything else.

“He’s constantly on us. He’s in our ear all the time – how we’re not working hard enough and things like that,” Wanamaker said. “After awhile you get tired of hearing that, so we go out there and do that.”

“That” is what unhinged Syracuse Saturday afternoon in the Carrier Dome. “That” is what disrupted the Orange men’s perfect string of games.

That game was also where Pitt finally showed they could handle the 2-3 zone. Against the team that probably does it more and better than any other team.

That’s the best anyone has shot the ball against the Orange this season and the most points any team has put up against SU in one half.

“You know, we practice it and work on it every day against the 2-3,” Pitt coach Jamie Dixon said, “but you still didn’t simulate it because of their size. I think our attack wasn’t as good early on, but as we got going, we got better as the game went on, which is what you want. We got better penetration, we got better shots. We got some drives, we got some kick-outs. And we passed the ball better.”

“We just got more comfortable,” said Pitt forward Brad Wanamaker. “Early on, we were out there getting a feel for how they were playing their zone. Second half, we knew what was going on. We knew the open spots and we got there and finished and made plays.”

Sometimes it is weird how things can work out. Davidson’s Bob McKillop pulls out from coaching the U-19 kids. Coach Dixon gets elevated from assistant on the squad to the top spot. There are a slew of top college kids who do not even accept offers to play on the squad. That leads to Ashton Gibbs getting a tryout mainly because, he was the coach’s player and knew the system.

“He became the point guard because we had so many people pull out,” Dixon said. “He became a leader on that team because obviously he knew our system better than the other guys and he knew what I was looking for.”

The unexpected summer experience prepared Gibbs for the bigger role that awaited him this season at Pittsburgh.

…

“Last summer really helped boost my confidence coming into this season,” Gibbs said Wednesday. “I knew if I could play with best payers in the world, I could play with the best players in the Big East.”

And…

“I think we got closer,” Gibbs said of playing for Dixon last summer. “It just helped me understand his system even better. I knew what he wanted out of players even more because I got to see it as someone who had played for him. He’s a great coach.”

Now, imagine if Gibbs didn’t get that time and experience. He wouldn’t have learned as much and spent any time with Coach Dixon. Yes, he would have spent more time with his Pitt teammates but that would not have prepared him for the role as a team leader that he had to assume. Gibbs found out he could be more than a cog or a role player on a team.  That confidence has continued all over his game and practice including at the free throw line where he continues to hit his free throws and get his name in the Pitt record books with 37 straight made free throws and counting.

Gibbs had no choice but to assume more of a leadership role with Jermaine Dixon out for most of the non-con. Now that Dixon is back, his defense has been intense as Syracuse — and specifically Wesley Johnson —  found out.

“I tried to stay in front of him,” Dixon said. “He’s the best player I’ve played against in my two years here. He goes to the offensive rebound hard. I gave up a few inches. He could shoot over the top of me. I tried to play him as tough as I could.”

Johnson tried to take Dixon down low, a move that resulted in some success. But Dixon never stopped pushing, holding and harassing Johnson.

“He wouldn’t let me breathe at all today,” Johnson said. “He was right in my jersey. He played tough defense today.”

Johnson still scored 19 points, but they were not easy baskets and his teammates struggled to find him in the game. Yeah, I remember when Johnson transferred from Iowa State. Pitt was on his list, but he never got past Syracuse. Damn shame.

But having Dixon lead on defense has been big. And along with Gilbert Brown back, allows Coach Dixon to drive home the point that defense first gets playing time.

“He (Dixon) emphasizes it each and every day in practice,” said Gibbs, a sophomore from Scotch Plains, N.J. “Defense and rebounding and not backing down from anyone.”

And the players take it to heart.

“You’ve got to buy into it if you want to play,” Gibbs said. “If you don’t rebound and play defense, he’s going to say something, and it’s not going to be good.”

You have to imagine that Pitt is somewhat in the heads of Syracuse players. They had the big edge on experience, but it has been uniformly bad. No player on the ‘Cuse roster had beaten Pitt in the Carrier Dome. Pitt is on a 12-3 run against the Orange dating back to the Big East Tournament in 2001 — though to keep things in a larger perspective Pitt is still only 37-61 all-time vs. Syracuse.

The Syracuse perspective/spin is that this was the “wake-up call” or simply, it’s the Big East, baby.

“We’re going to see a lot more of these teams,” said coach Jim Boeheim, whose team will try to rebound at home Wednesday in a non-league matchup with Memphis (9-3). “We’re going to have to get tougher and more physical if we’re going to be successful.”

“Learning experience” seems to be the theme that Syracuse went with.

As for Pitt and Coach Dixon, he is now second on the all-time coaching wins list at Pitt in just 6 1/2 years. Nothing would be better than to have him move to #1 sometime in year 13+.

Since I have refused to let myself get too down after the losses and some disturbing wins, I am not letting myself get too high after a win like this.*

Here’s an attempt to look at the good and bad of the game from an individual player viewpoint.

Ashton Gibbs has willingly shouldered the load. He is one of the three leaders that are on this team. He is the guy the team looks to on offense. He is not a point guard, but he is the leader on the court and knowswhat Coach Dixon wants done. He was on with his 3s today, but he also was the effort guy on defense. Not letting Syracuse get things on the perimeter. Tracking the ball on shots to position for rebounds (8). The scariest thing for Pitt will be games where his shot isn’t there.

Jermaine Dixon played 36 minutes and had his best game. On offense he scored 21 points. 4 assists and only 2 turnovers. He helped turn things in Pitt’s favor when he started attacking the basket. He shredded Syracuse’s zone.  But he was even better on defense. He helped shut down the Orange on the perimeter. Pitt had 7 steals and Dixon had 5 of them. As a senior he would be looked upon as a leader, but he has embraced it. Effort first, especially on defense has been significant as he has been able to play and practice with the team. There is no coincidence that Pitt’s defense has helped to pick up with his return. Both by his game and showing the other kids that is how you get the playing time.

I have a working theory that Brad Wanamaker may be the most divisive player for Pitt fans since Carl Krauser. Wanamaker and Gibbs have made the biggest jump from last year to this. Yet, Wanamaker is almost despised in comments here and on message boards at times. He led the team with 6 assists, grabbed 5 boards and was 10-14 at the free throw line because he and Jermaine Dixon were the most aggressive attacking the zone. Yet Wanamaker also had 4 turnovers and only managed to go 1-7 shooting. Good and bad. Wanamaker, though, is an integral part of the team and along with Gibbs and Dixon a definite leader on the team. You can see the other players look to him as well. His game will never be refined, but he gets results more often than not.

Against probably the best front court Pitt has faced since Texas, Dante Taylor had a solid and effective game. 10 points and 8 rebounds with 1 block and 1 steal. While the stat line hardly seems like much, Taylor did more than hold his own out there. His defense was excellent. He held position well, and frustrated Onuaku and Jackson. Whether it was raising his game to the competition as can happen, or really starting to get what he is supposed to do. Taylor played 27 minutes because he earned the minutes.

It is still a little hard to fairly evaluate how Gilbert Brown is doing. He definitely provided a spark when he came into the game in the first half. Brown helped set a tone on defense, but was not particularly great at actually executing. Getting in quick foul trouble. In only 17 minutes, he picked up 4 fouls. He had 2 assists but 3 turnovers to go with 3 boards and 6 points.

Onuaku has quietly been one of the best big men in the Big East the last couple of years. Gary McGhee did not fare well against him. McGhee’s stat line was almost stunning. 2 points (going 2-2 on FTs but 0-1 on FGs), 0 rebounds and only 1 foul in 15 minutes. He had no turnovers, mainly because he really never got the ball. He struggled to be open against the 2-3 zone and let Onuaku back him down a lot. The good was that he did not hang his head in the game. One of the big moments about how hard Pitt wanted that game was when he and Nasir Robinsonson were on the floor around a still standing Orange player diving after a loose ball barely 4 minutes into the second half.

If Pitt wasn’t so offensively challenged this season maybe Nasir Robinson would be looked at in a kinder light. A gritty defensive role player that works hard and does what he can to help the team win. Unfortunately, Pitt needs all the points it can get, and Robinson leaves his more than his share behind. Even in a game where he only had 3 attempts, the inexplicable missed lay-ups and not even close FT attempts stand out more than his 7 rebounds and frustrating the bigger, wider Jackson most of the game.

Chase Adams has not been the defensive pest expected. His offensive confidence is lacking. As such, Coach Dixon seems to have little confidence in Adams as he only played 3 minutes.

Seven minutes into the game I had confirmation that the “Big East Network” analyst for the game, Mike Kelley, had not seen a Pitt game all year. Upon Travon Woodall being inserted into the game, he commented, “Woodall has had a nice year.” I hate to rip the redshirt freshman, but he has not had a “nice year.” His minutes continue to fall — only 18 minutes today. Only 2 assists but 4 turnovers and 4 fouls. He looked visibly frustrated out there and the body language when he struggled in the first half (3 turnovers and 0-2 shooting in 9 minutes) was surprising and disappointing. He has not worked out well running the point as the competition has improved. I have not seen consistency in court vision or crisp passing.

_{*As long you think running around in the backyard in 19 degree temperatures without a coat, whooping it up and screaming “F**k, yeah!” is keeping it cool.}

Apologies for the lack of posting the last few days, without explanation. Unplanned break. End of the year. Family visiting. Lots of work around the house, and maybe a little too much to drink.

Anyways, I did catch the Pitt-Syracuse game like I hope many of you did. An 82-72 win that I think even the most negative and half-empty Pitt fan has to feel a bit encouraged. This is not to say that it means Pitt is winning the Big East, or even assured of making the NCAA Tournament — just consider how Pitt was destroyed in Providence last year.

What it does mean, is that Pitt is capable of winning games against the best of the conference. It means that Pitt is improving as the season progresses.

They faced the 2-3 zone has flummoxed them often this season and adjusted to it. They moved the ball. Worked it around, got it inside at points and made the Orange pay. They faced a full-court press and while staggering back from it for a bit, they figured it out. Again, adjusting coping and making the Orange pay.

Pitt was able to take control of the tempo early. Even when Pitt was down 6-0 and even 20-10, the game was moving at Pitt’s pace. They forced Syracuse to play half-court and would not let them run like the Orange has successfully done this season.  It frustrated Syracuse. Forced them to be patient, and they couldn’t. They rushed shots, they got frustrated the more they struggled to get points.

As much as “the shots just weren’t falling” for Syracuse, it was because Pitt was contesting everything. Even without the same kind of size and length, Pitt’s defense was always there. Hindering, bumping, Just there. It really was a classic Pitt defensive effort. If you still have fond memories of those Pitt teams in 2000 and 2001, then this should feel good.

The kind that frustrates the other team. Syracuse committed frustration fouls and could not maintain the same energy Pitt had. The kind of game that has fans of the other team fuming about the officiating, even as they know their team was just being outplayed.

More shortly..