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March 4, 2010

LiveBlog: Providence-Pitt

Filed under: Basketball,liveblog — Chas @ 3:58 pm

Surprise!

While I won’t be running things tonight, Regular, Luke has volunteered to take the reins tonight. Go easy on him, I think he spooks easily.

The fun starts about 9pm, on ESPN2. The dulcet tones of John Saunders to give you the game along with Mike Kelley.

To tide you over until the game, check out another great story on Jermaine Dixon. Yeah, it re-covers some familiar stuff with his past, but it is still a fine, fine story.

As usual, the liveblog can be broken out of the site if you prefer by Clicking Here.

Otherwise, just look a little lower.





so now what? I never got the thing in my email and am clueless as to how to start it. Every other cil live blog i ran i started myself, so…..

Comment by Luke 03.04.10 @ 4:13 pm

Sounds good, I’m in!!!

Comment by Geo Busch Jr 03.04.10 @ 4:20 pm

I’m playing ball myself till 9:30, so doing the DVR thing as well. I’m sure the regulars will miss my wry observations, sardonic wit, petty backbiting, and inquisitive approach to the Sonic fast food chain. HTP.

Comment by SilverPanther in NYC 03.04.10 @ 4:45 pm

fry the friars !!!… ok ok lame.

Comment by Snala the Panther 03.04.10 @ 5:25 pm

I know this heresy on this site but Jaimie Dixon was outcoached tonight. There is no excuse when ending up with the mismatch of Gibbs or Dixon on Peterson under the boards. And then to call back to back TOs with 33 and 25 seconds left is just plain stupid.

One more thing … Gilbert Brown is a redhsirt junior with tons of natural talent … and this off and on play from him is pure BULL!!!

Comment by wbb 03.04.10 @ 11:06 pm

thank you ashton….what an awful defensive game by us….we got too wrapped up in offense, but i guess a win is a win is a win……sloppy though….

Comment by schoey 03.04.10 @ 11:10 pm

I may have to revise my “there are no ugly wins’ theory after tonight. Pitt deserved to get beat playing almost no defense in the second half and showing no rebound interest at all. Dribbles off feet, out of bounds plays back to Providence for lay ups…Pitt got very lucky tonight. This does not bode well for the NCAA’s. It will only take one of these nonchalant efforts to send us home early. Sorry for the attitude..I was yelling so lound in anger,my wife took away the scotch!
Hail (Mary)to Pitt…

Comment by Dan 72 03.04.10 @ 11:11 pm

I would agree – Jamie is a tremendous coach but I just didn’t get why Pitt starts switching every single ball screen and giving Providence seemingly the exact matchup they wanted every time down the court. There were no adjustments at all by Pitt – a little discouraging. Very frustrating watching that second half of basketball. This is one of the first times I can remember questioning his coaching and just yelling at the TV “what are you doing?”

I am happy we avoided the most embarrassing loss of the Big East season but we really didn’t deserve to win this game. Gotta get this D back on track – this is two out of the last three games where it has been really bad. If Pitt can get that tenacity back, then I think the Sweet 16 is a good possibility. No way however if we play D and rebound like we did tonight and against ND.

Comment by Mac 03.04.10 @ 11:12 pm

hahaha… that was just comical.

Comment by snala the panther 03.04.10 @ 11:12 pm

One last thing….A HORRIBLE Foul call on Dixon with 3.5 seconds…as a ref you do not ever make that call at that point in the game. Makes me long for Higgens and Burr

Comment by Dan 72 03.04.10 @ 11:13 pm

Gibbs saves Pitt from an embarassing loss. Hopefully this game will help for the first round fo the NCAA tourny. They cant go into any game thinking its a sure thing.

Comment by Matt D 03.04.10 @ 11:14 pm

Dixon – 24 pts and 12 rebounds! saved our as? tonight. a win is a win is a win – Johnny majors

Comment by TMGPanther 03.04.10 @ 11:17 pm

wbb – your last comment was “just plain stupid”

Comment by TMGPanther 03.04.10 @ 11:19 pm

We’re going to have one of these types of games in the Tourney. Buck up, boys.

I thought the turning point of the game, against us, was Wanny’s two straight turnovers when they were making a run. He just freaking kills me sometimes. I hate to keep calling the kid out, but he really needs to play better in these stretches as a JUNIOR. I know, I know, he’s a stat machine. But he makes CRITICAL blunders in KEY situtions. Yes, he made a nice three late…but the team was starting to come unravelled with 8 to 10 minutes to go and he started to force it and just added to landslide. Lots can be critically evaluated on this game, but that stretch in the second half really was the key. Basketball is a game of runs, and great teams find ways to minimze the runs against them. We struggle with that (sans the Villanova game)…

On the brightside, we found a way to steal it with some timely shots at the end. Good teams find a way to close, and we have to give this team props for doing it time and time again.

Comment by Pauly P 03.04.10 @ 11:21 pm

Everybody chill out. This game means nothing. We won. That is all that counts.

Comment by TMGPanther 03.04.10 @ 11:22 pm

Pauly P: Wanny drives me crazy with the turnovers too, but he’s usually trying to make a play. He had 13 assists tonight and opened things up for Gibbs on the outside and Dixon on the inside by taking the ball to the middle. He draws multiple defenders, so turnovers happen. I just accept the bad as part of the good.

Comment by TampaT 03.04.10 @ 11:29 pm

Pauly, how can continually call out Wannamaker when Gilbert stinks it up so damned often? At the time of his 2 straight turnowvers, how far behind would we have been had it not been for Wannamaker?

Comment by wbb 03.04.10 @ 11:33 pm

The most obvious and glaring error I saw was the PG headline after the contest. To wit: “PITT WINS AT PROVIDENCE”. Come on gentlemen. Did you not realize the game was played IN Pittsburgh? As for the game itself—— as was said above, “A rose is a rose, is a rose”. Did Johnny Majors say that? I agree Pitt has played better basketball—and LOST. George from Columbus.

Comment by rev. george mehaffey 03.04.10 @ 11:36 pm

Great job, somebuddy!!! The error was noticed and corrected. My respect for the PG has been restored. Bring on Rutgers! GM

Comment by rev. george mehaffey 03.04.10 @ 11:45 pm

I got home during halftime and what a mess our interior was during the second half. We deserved to lose that game. I’m not upset though because this gives Coach Dixon a chance to point some things out.

Gibbs making that three pointer like that was amazing. That was the shot that gave us an extra day to rest and prepare. Of course this kind of thinking doesn’t always work out the way you want it but I will take it.

Comment by Panthoor 03.04.10 @ 11:47 pm

Not to pile on you, Pauly, but according to the box score, those two turnovers were his only two of the night.

Regarding the box score, I was amazed to see that Gibbs at 25 outscored Peterson’s 24 and Dixon tied him at 24. Seemed like Peterson had 40, but I guess his scoring came in bunches.

To wbb’s point, Brown was MIA again tonight at 0 for 5.

In reality, everyone except Gibbs, Dixon and Wanny were MIA tonight on offense and the entire team was missing on defense. They did not defend teh ballscreens correctly leading to mismatches inside and outside. Gibbs, Dixon and Woodall were repeatedly beat off the dribble by Council, Curry and Brooks. And, the bigs could not hang on to a defensive rebound to save their lives.

We were LUCKY tonight, plain and simple. But, every team that advances far in the tourney has a lucky game or two. Hope we didn’t use all of ours up already.

Comment by TampaT 03.04.10 @ 11:49 pm

Update on ESPN College Basketball Frontpage.

link to espn.go.com

Comment by Panthoor 03.04.10 @ 11:53 pm

Good stuff. Dana O’Neil has put out a few good Pitt reads.

Dixon took over the game in the latter part of the second half and did what a senior had to do. When we looked to have no options, he created them with his gritty play.

Still can’t believe that Gibbs shot. Ramon-esque? Is that a term we use now?

Comment by Panthoor 03.05.10 @ 12:07 am

Thanks, Panthoor. That’s a good story on Dixon and how close he is to his brothers, especially Juan.

On that note, several folks on the last couple of liveblogs have mentioned how Dixon’s defense has slipped. Ontario said he saw him live at the Garden on Saturday and he looked out of it. That story reminded me that Juan was suspended indefinitely from playing in Europe for steroid use. It just happened a couple of weeks ago. Wonder if that has anything to do with Jermaine’s play of late. It has to be tough on him mentally.

Comment by TampaT 03.05.10 @ 12:10 am

Dan 72 – Agree that it was a horrible foul call but don’t think I would ever “long for” Higgins and Burr – — those two would have called the foul intentional.

Fwiw, Gibbs got the #1 play on SportsCenter’s Top 10 tonight.

Comment by CalvinHobbes 03.05.10 @ 12:26 am

A Win is Win is a Win…not pretty at times, but they didn’t quit, and despite Providence’s record the Friars came to play. Every game in the Big East is a battle…Ashton’s game winner was great…when we were down, we found a way to Win—that’s what good teams do.

Hail to PITT!
-al-

Comment by Oregon_Panther 03.05.10 @ 12:27 am

That shot probably sealed the Most Improved Player award for Gibbs.

Comment by TampaT 03.05.10 @ 12:31 am

I guess my point on Wanny is that he is averaging over 30 minutes a game and nearly 3TO per game; and all of those TOs seem to be immature, freshman like, mind numbing, momentum killing TOs. My frustration with him goes beyond the stat sheets. Lets not even get into the last shot where he boned a bunny with too much time on the clock setting up the foul/FT… I could have a field day with that one but I won’t because that is just not fair to the young man. Cue the “But he made clutch shots against UL speech” from many of you…

You can’t compare GB & Wanny, wbb. Different positions, dfferent usage by JD, and quite frankly, JD doesn’t trust him over Nasir and I think that is in his head. Not trying to imply or put words in his mouth, it just seems like he is probably a fickle player that comes/goes based on minutes. Right, wrong or indifferent, his minutes are limited by JD. JD knows the team and BBall, I do not. So, in Jamie I trust. If Jamie has logic for the usage of Wanny, GB, and Nasir; good for him. I don’t see it. DT at 5 as a freshmen, I get it. Many others don’t. The love for Nasir over GB is ironic because Nasir’s A/TO ratio is subtropic… and that is usually a Dixon metric for minutes. Nasir’s style lends more to workmanlike, GB more gamechanging. JD like him off the bench. My money, he’s on the court 35+min. He is not and I have come to accept his on/off games.

But let me take your bait on a GB/Wanny debate, wbb. GB gets less minutes than Wanny. With more minutes, I think GB would do more with them then Wanny. Maybe not stat sheets more, but gamechanging and/or less WTF moments more… in comparison. When I mean game changing, BTW, I mean mainly offensive plays that break the backs of teams at opportune moments. GB is a far superior athlete and when he is on, he is a show stopper. With more time on the court, he could elevate us. Wanny, IMHO, is not that type of player. Sorry. Nice kid. Works hard. Just too much of a liability in key situations and key games.

Wanny is on the floor a lot. To me, I wish he wasn’t. I like the kid as a 20minute guy as maybe our 4th offensive option. He is not. Credit him for filling the stat sheets with all of his minutes and convincing some of you that he is the second coming of Sam Young. I’m not buying it. I have always stated that I think GB is our second best all around player (#1 athlete), and should be on the court in the 30+ minutes.

Comment by Pauly P 03.05.10 @ 1:50 am

Superb bit of penmanship by Ms. Dana O’Neil. Thank you Panthoor for calling our attention to it. The tale of Jermaine Dixon would make a good movie. Also, don’t overlook what the Panther coaching staff does with people’s lives. Win or lose, Jamie Dixon deserves high, perhaps the highest, praise for his labors with the 2009-2010 Pitt hoopsters. Bring on the “Big Apple”. George from Columbus

Comment by rev. george mehaffey 03.05.10 @ 8:07 am

I used to have the same mindset as Pauly about Gil Brown, but I’m past it. At this point in the season and his career, there is simply no excuse for Brown to have these types of performances. He is almost always hesitant on offense and nonexistent on the boards.

You saw Dixon last night in the second half: he got the ball and, boom, to the hoop. Brown could undoubtedly do the same thing, but he is so indecisive. There is a difference b/w letting the game come to you and watching it pass you by, and he too often does the latter. He seems to have no interest in trying to be a leader on the court. Maybe that is because of the whole coming off the bench thing, which makes sense – a floor leader is typically not a 6th man. But at times the effort, the desire, just doesn’t seem to be there. Robinson, despite his flaws, always is giving it the cliched 110%.

As for Wannamaker, the reason he is on the floor so much is because he does freaking everything, which I realize includes committing stupid TOs. But he rebounds, plays very solid D, is our best assist man and can be a scoring threat. If Brown could just be consistent on O, I’d be freaking elated.

Comment by Carmen 03.05.10 @ 8:24 am

Good take on Brown, Carmen. I love the guy for his potential, but he only shows it after a bad game. That’s why I think he’s on the every-other-game trend. He has a good game and doesn’t come out with fire the next, so he has a bad game. Maddening. And, when he’s off offensively, he often goes in the tank on the defensive end. That’s what got him yanked last night.

Pauly: Your minutes for Brown assumption compared to Wanny is incorrect. Do the math. I did. We gain 1.6 points and 0.7 less TO but lose everywhere else. The assist difference alone offsets that. But Wanny is just a “stat stuffer” I know.

Comment by TampaT 03.05.10 @ 8:47 am

Carmen, thanks for supporting my point. I agree that at this point in his career, there is no excuse for his inconsistency … he is not a freshman or even a sophomore .. he is a redshirt junior!

For Pauly to take major issue with Wanny over his only 2 turnovers (although I do remember a third)is downright laughable … and only proves his bias against Wanny (not to mention his reference of Wanny’s to ‘boned a bunny’ … Pauly, if you think a five footer surrounded by taller defenders is a bunny and if you think boned is having a shot go in and out of the basket, then tell me what you think about ALL of the WIDE open looks that clang on the rim from a shooter, Brown, who has shown a good touch man times. At least Wanny is focused most of time!)

Comment by wbb 03.05.10 @ 9:31 am

For some reason I’m feeling quite annoyed by this thread, so I will keep it going. Maybe it is the jet lag from a long trip…but,

I just want wbb and you Wanny lovers to explain his performance in the biggest games (versus tourney teams) this year?

Texas: 5/16 FG; 0/4 3PT;4TO,3FL,2A;6Reb;33min
Cuse: 1/7 FG; 0/2 3PT;4TO; 4Fl;6A;5Reb;27min
Gtown: 4/12 FG; 0/3 3PT; 2TO;3Fl;7A;13Reb; 37min
WVU: 0/4 FG; 0/2 3PT; 3FL;2TO;1A;4Reb;30min
VU: 1/4 FG; 0/2 3PT; 3FL;4TO;4A;3Reb; 24min

He’s a good kid, but please, stop looking at total year stats if you’re going to pop off. Look at the big games. What do you see? A lot of minutes with not a lot of production. Not to mention, lots of TOs and fewer than imagined Rebs/Assists that you guys love to glorify him over. Heck, not even a 3 pointer!!!

Good kid, don’t get me wrong. Plays hard, unselfish, good agains average teams. That’s about it. Don’t oversell him, okay. I don’t have a bias against the young man, I just think he is being overused.

Comment by Pauly P 03.05.10 @ 10:57 pm

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