Pitt going to Madison Square Garden in November is not much of a surprise any longer. Coach Dixon has stated that he will do almost anything to make sure Pitt plays a non-con game there (or if need be in New Jersey) in the non-con.

Pitt was supposed to play in the Coaches vs. Cancer Classic last year, but cooperated with the Gazelle Group to shift to the other CvC in the midwest — with the understanding that in 2010, Pitt would be playing in NYC.

Sure enough…

Coaches vs. Cancer Classic will feature powers Pittsburgh, Texas, Maryland and Illinois.

Those four teams will act as regional hosts for the first two round of the event  from Nov. 8-12.

No matter the results from the regional games, the dynamic foursome will go matchup up at Madison Square Garden in New York on Nov. 18-19 to determine a champion.

Other teams participating in the 2010 Coaches vs. Cancer Classic are Charleston, Illinois-Chicago, Louisiana Tech, Navy, Rhode Island, Seattle, Toledo, and UC-Irvine. Toledo and UC-Irvine will host the subregional rounds.

Why announce it now?

Because the tickets for MSG, go on sale on Tuesday at noon. The tickets are through Ticketmaster, so be willing to pay service fees.

Well, that takes care of 3 games in the non-con and it is only a week into March.

That’s kind of what it feels like. Even as a fan, I was feeling a little of the grind of the season. No chance to sit back and look at things. Always having to look for the next bit of news and hint as to what is next.

Now, Pitt with several days off, and really just Big East accolades as the primary storylines. The other teams can start playing and I can just enjoy them for the most part.

Well, that and the status of Jermaine Dixon’s ankle. No news on that yet.

While, as expected, Pitt placed only 1 player in 18 spots for various levels of All-Big East, Pitt is in the running for some individual accolades.

Since the conference instituted the Most Improved Player award in 1997, five Pitt players have won — Sam Young, Aaron Gray, Carl Krauser, Brandin Knight and Ricardo Greer. During that span, only one other school has won the award more than once (Syracuse, three).

It is the postseason award that Dixon and his staff hold most dear.

Gibbs, a Scotch Plains, N.J., native, is averaging a team-best 16.2 points and enhanced his case with a 25-footer at the buzzer to beat Providence, 73-71, on Thursday at Petersen Events Center. Gibbs averaged 4.3 points per game off the bench as a freshman.

Other top candidates for the award are Providence junior Jamine Peterson (19.0 ppg, 10.0 rpg) and Notre Dame sophomore Tim Abromaitis (17.2 ppg), both of whom redshirted last season, along with Marquette’s Jimmy Butler, Georgetown’s Austin Freeman and West Virginia’s Kevin Jones.

Pitt also is in the running for other awards — all based on coaches’ voting — that will be announced today. Senior guard Jermaine Dixon is a possibility for Defensive Player of the Year and the Sportsmanship Award, and junior forward Gilbert Brown is a factor for the Sixth Man of the Year award.

Dixon will have to beat out players such as Rutgers center Hamady Ndiaye (4.5 blocks per game), Andy Rautins of Syracuse and Jerome Dyson of Connecticut to give Pitt its first Defensive Player of the Year trophy since the award began in 1982.

Syracuse sophomore forward Kris Joseph (11.0 ppg, 5.4 rpg) is a heavy favorite for the Sixth Man Award, ahead of Gavin Edwards of Connecticut, Dwight Hardy of St. John’s and Brown.

Well, the news is tweeted. Congrats to Ashton Gibbs.

Pittsburgh’s Ashton Gibbs was named the BIG EAST Most Improved Player.

Keepeing the streak of every other year for MIP going.

I figured Most Improved would be between Gibbs and Abromaitis. Peterson is hurt by how bad the Friars are and the skewing of offensive numbers. The edge for Gibbs is the extra exposure he has gotten. Abromaitis has spent most of the season in the shadow of Harnagody. Also, Gibbs has had to do a lot more in running the team.

Really don’t see Jermaine Dixon and Gilbert Brown winning Defensive Player and Sixth Man awards. Not sure that he will get it with all the games he has missed. As for Brown, well that one is almost certainly going to Joseph of Syracuse.

And yes it did. Also Hamady Ndiaye of Rutgers took defensive player of the year.

Then there is BE Coach of the Year. Again, have to expect Boeheim to take that one. I’m okay with it, but a tie would be nice.

For all of the well-deserved criticism the Big East gets for generally copping out when it comes to league awards — there’s a six-man all-conference first-team and a co-something almost every year — this is one time when co-Coach of the Year may be the only way to go. Boeheim took a Syracuse team tabbed for sixth in the coaches’ pre-season poll and led the Orange to the outright league title and a certain No. 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament. But Dixon took a Pitt team ravaged by personnel losses and picked for ninth in the pre-season to a tie for second — and the No. 2 seed in the Big East Tournament. Villanova and West Virginia have lower Big East Tournament seeds but will have higher NCAA Tournament seeds than the Panthers.

Basketball Prospectus breaks down the Big East Tournament in Log5 style to say Pitt is a distant 4th in best chance to win it. Seems about right to me.

Finally, while this has nothing to do with Pitt, recommended read is the NY Times examination of Seton Hall’s Bobby Gonzalez.

“He has a tremendous skill for being able to alienate himself from everyone,” said Emanuel Richardson, an assistant at the University of Arizona who has known Gonzalez since his days as a high school assistant 20 years ago. “He uses that as a mechanism to act the way he does. It’s his gift and curse. When I’d recruit against him he’d tell me, ‘You’re a shark, but I’m a great white.'”

In a side story talking about his time at Manhattan, it sums it up.

…Athletic Director Bob Byrnes told a story about the bus company Manhattan used to travel to games.

“The guy who runs the bus company called me and said something to the effect of: ‘I have 131 drivers that drive for us. But we’re down to one guy that will drive for Bobby Gonzalez,'” Byrnes said.

I still cringe at the thought that Sonny Vaccarro — then at Adidas, the supplier of Pitt gear —  once pushed for him to get the Pitt job after Howland left.

There are mysteries that remain. Such as why Gilbert Brown is literally up-and-down from one game to the next.

There might not be another player in the country that has been as inconsistent as Brown this season. His scoring has fluctuated like the Dow Jones Industrial Average.

Since returning from an academic suspension that had him miss the first 11 games of the season, Brown has been Pitt’s leading scorer five times. He also has been held scoreless three times.

Some players get hot for stretches and then go cold for a period. What makes Brown’s inconsistency so strange is that you can set your watch by him. He plays well every other game.

…

It has gone on like that all season. Most recently, Brown was shut out by Providence Thursday night. So, of course, in the regular-season finale against Rutgers, he scored a team-high 19 points.

“I don’t know what it is,” Brown said. “I’ve been trying to figure it out. I swear it’s coincidence, but it’s not. It’s not pressure, me thinking about it, ‘OK I had a good game now I have to put another one together.’ It just happens. We have other players step up and play so well. Like against Providence, Brad [Wanamaker] and Ashton [Gibbs] put the bookbag on and carried the whole team on their backs. [Saturday night against Rutgers] was a different night when everyone got involved.”

With only 5 losses since Brown has come back, it is hard to truly say that how Brown goes, Pitt goes. In two losses (at USF and Georgetown) Brown was the leading scorer. In three losses (at Seton Hall, at WVU, and at Notre Dame) he scored a total of 10 points — including scoreless at WVU.

Don’t jump to the conclusion quite yet about the road being the difference. If you look at Brown’s numbers since he got back — 20 games — it is inconclusive. Using scoring and shooting percentage as the base metrics it is very bland.

I counted 6 good games at home, 4 bad games at home. On the road it was an even split of 4 good and 4 bad games. Two additional games — DePaul and at Syracuse were neither good or bad. Just there.

I wish I had a good answer. Is it simply psychological? I doubt it. It doesn’t appear to be match-up based since he against the three teams Pitt has played twice — WVU, St. John’s and Seton Hall — he has had good and bad games against each.

Anyone with a good theory that could actually be tested, broken down or analyzed?

I’m sure if I actually went back and reviewed some past liveblogs, I could find one that had less complaints and was more distracted by peripheral items than the actual game. But, I can’t remember one.

Pit never was threatened in this game. Other than a brief 5-3 RU lead, this one was never in doubt. From7 minutes into the game, Pitt held a double-digit lead. 33 of the 40 minutes.  As dominate as Pitt was, Rutgers completely rolled over.

The game ended. The regular season over, Coach Dixon got properly effusive about the team’s accomplishments — and that it isn’t over yet.

“It says a lot about this group and the character they have to finish in second place,” coach Jamie Dixon said.

“They weren’t picked second by anybody. But they’re a good group of kids, and I’m proud of them. This team has improved all year, and I don’t think we want to stop improving now. This team has improved more than any team in the country, more than any team, probably, ever has from November to March.

“Why stop now?”

Why, indeed?

Jermaine Dixon echoed those thoughts.

“I’m really proud,” senior guard Jermaine Dixon, the team’s lone returning starter. “I knew we could do it. We accomplished a lot this year, but we’re not done.”

Dixon hurt his ankle, but everyone seems to suggest that it was precautionary that he was kept out and he will be fine. Hope so. We have seen this year, how different Pitt is without him. Even without being able to have him practice with the team.

Now, with a few days before the BET begins, the usual argument will reign as to whether Pitt should put as much emphasis on the Big East Tournament. Whether it will risk leaving them drained or worse, injured for the NCAA Tournament.

My thought is simply that with a team like Pitt, they have to play hard and with the goal of winning the BET. They are not mature enough to be able to “turn it on or off.” Coach Dixon has to emphasize the goal of winning each and every game. If they fall at some point in the BET, then you can revise and say things like the NCAA is what matters. But right now, the team has to think about winning at Madison Square Garden.

For the record, I am totally in agreement with Gil Brown.

Pitt could play one of three different teams in the Big East Tournament quarterfinals — Notre Dame, Seton Hall or Providence — but Gilbert Brown wants another shot at the Fighting Irish.

Pitt lost to Notre Dame, 68-53, in South Bend two weeks ago. It’s the Panthers’ only loss in their past nine games.

“It would be good to play Notre Dame again, seeing how they handled us pretty well at their place,” Brown said. “It would be a great rematch at the Garden, and I’m really looking forward to it.”

The way the bracket is set, those are the three teams Pitt could possibly face. My feeling is Pitt under Coach Dixon just knows how to adjust when they get in a rematch with teams — Villanova last year being the exception. So as good as ND has been playing, I want to see Pitt with another shot at MSG.

Meanwhile Dante Taylor is looking and feeling a lot better these days.

“It felt real good,” Taylor said. “I got some confidence back, and I was trying to be aggressive.”

Taylor said he lost some confidence after going scoreless in four consecutive games in mid-season and totaling two points in a six-game span from Jan. 24-Feb. 8.

“I tried to not let it get to me,” he said. “I still came out and played hard.”

He finished with 11 ponts and 7 rebounds and definitely looked more comfortable out there. Granted it was against Rutgers, but to use Herm Edwards’ lesser used quotes: We can build on this.

The Big East announced its All-Big East teams. The good news, the 11 player All-Big East teams are done. That does mean that only Ashton Gibbs made it  as a 2d team All-Big East player. No one else in the 3 teams or even honorable mention. Actually, though, that doesn’t surprise me.

It’s a reflection of how good Pitt has been as a team — and how shockingly well they have played. Realistically, the only players you could consider besides Gibbs on the All-Big East would have been Wanamaker and Jermaine Dixon. Dixon, though, missed most of the non-con with his injuries to make his stats smaller.

The battle between the two Big East teams mentioned as most likely to take Big 11 blood money if they look East.

Senior day. Honoring Jermaine Dixon and Chase Adams.

Game time is 4:30 on ESPNFullCourt, FoxSports Pittsburgh, MASN, MSG+ (starting 30 minutes late) and BrightHouse.

On the line, finishing tied for 2d in the Big East with WVU and Villanova. To say nothing for grabbing the #2 seed in the Big East Tournament. A loss, drops Pitt to 4th in the Big East.

As usual. If you need the liveblog separated from the site, Click Here.

Otherwise, look down.

When the Big East coaches pushed for all 16 teams playing in the Big East Tournament the official reason was that they wanted to make sure all Big East players had a chance to experience the BET. The unstated reason was to help/keep bottom feeding teams from firing their coaches in frustration. Then there are teams like Rutgers where everyone seems to have checked out on the final games. They have little hope. No one is bothering to show up at the RAC. With Rutgers’ butdget woes, no one seems to think they can afford to buy out Fred Hill and hire someone competent.

So media coverage is not there. Instead, a NJ paper does a feature on a NJ native on Pitt.

All you need to know about Ashton Gibbs is contained in one sentence by Pittsburgh men’s basketball coach Jamie Dixon.

“He’s probably the hardest-working guy we’ve ever had,” Dixon said last week.

At Pitt, which is known for producing hard-hat overachievers, that’s saying something. After playing a role off the bench for the Panthers last winter, the sophomore guard and Scotch Plains native is widely considered to be the Big East Conference’s most improved player. Rutgers will try to defend him in Saturday’s regular-season finale in the Steel City.

“My father always used to tell me, “The harder you work, the easier it comes,’ ” Gibbs said via phone on Wednesday. “That’s something I’ve taken seriously.”

The Syracuse Post-Standard has a casual media poll of Big East awards. The feeling seems to be it will either be Gibbs or ND’s Tim Abromaitis for Most Improved Player. Abromaitis might get it with his big numbers and the way ND has surged late w/o Harangody. Which reminds me of this silliness from Jay Bilas (Insider subs).

Not better: I am not a big believer that Notre Dame is better without Luke Harangody. I hear those who say the Irish are better off without him, but I just don’t buy it. Have the Irish collectively picked up the slack to overachieve for a time? Yes. Notre Dame is 3-2 without Harangody, but in the long run, it will really miss the big guy.

Here’s why it is silliness. There is no long-run left. The season ends today. Then it is time for tournaments. Time off, chances to rest. Now if this had been halfway through the season, I’d agree. The depth on ND was not significant before Harangody went down. Now, it is about 6.5 deep.

The local papers give Dixon attention and love. Time is the difference in them. Dixon feels so much better now.

It took 30 games into his senior season, but Dixon enters today’s regular-season finale against visiting Rutgers knowing he’s got his groove back. Suddenly, he’s regained the confidence robbed of him by a nagging foot injury.

“All year, I was pretty timid going to the basket because of my foot,” Dixon said. “But in practice, I took on contact and was able to finish — something I’ve been doing all my life.”

…

Rallying from adversity also was big Thursday night. Jermaine Dixon staggered to the bench with a sheepish grin on his face after putting up an air ball that was woefully short of the rim. He laughed at himself, then studied the Friars’ defense from the bench in hopes of finding a remedy for a Pitt offense that struggled mightily for almost every shot.

“You can’t mope, you have to move on to the next play,” Dixon said. “That’s how I am as a player. I missed a few shots, but I didn’t get down on myself. I’ve had 3-for-15 shooting nights, but it doesn’t bother me because you have to worry about the next play.

“I felt like we were taking too many jump shots. When I sat on the bench, I noticed we were swinging the ball around, and they were just sitting there (in a zone). I told Brad (Wannamaker) and Ash (Gibbs) that we needed to attack the basket.”

Early in Big East play, Dixon seemed to be driving to the basket more. Then he got banged up against St. John’s at home — further aggravating an ankle injury that had him missing practices. He missed the USF game and when he came back there was a lot more jump shooting and less attacking.

This was his first time dealing with injury. He didn’t publicly complain, but it bothered him and he still doesn’t feel completely back.

“It was tough at first, sitting out,” Jermaine Dixon said. “I tried not to complain. I had never been injured before in my life. So, it was something I wasn’t used to. It was tough getting back in a rhythm and doing the things I can do. I still don’t feel like I do things as well as I did last year, things like getting in passing lanes, getting easy steals and baskets for my team. I still feel like I’m a step slow.”

The partial loss of his physical gifts has not affected his ability to be a leader, and his teammates identify him as their emotional leader. Jamie Dixon has said “this is Jermaine’s team.”

“I learned a lot from him as far as his leadership skills on and off the court,” sophomore guard Ashton Gibbs said. “He’s been like a real role model to me. It’s something I really cherished and it’s something I’ll continue to take with me.”

Jermaine Dixon will play the final home game of his career at Pitt this afternoon when the Panthers play host to Rutgers in the regular-season finale at the Petersen Events Center. After struggling with discomfort in his foot and other injuries throughout the course of the season, Dixon is playing his best basketball as the postseason approaches.

Those of you going to the game, get there early to celebrate a great guy and Pitt player on senior day.

Another article featuring the three overachieving teams in the Big East.

Liveblog later today.

Thanks again to Luke for running the liveblog. I scored significant brownie points with the wife for letting her go out with friends while I took care of the kids and delayed my watching. I’m cashing in those points to force the whole family to take a day trip to Pittsburgh in April for the Blue-Gold scrimmage/fanfest/whatever they are calling it. The indoctrination program for my kids must be reinforced.

So, on the gamewinner by Gibbs was a big story.

Ashton Gibbs stood for one fleeting moment in silence, his arm still raised in the same position it was when he took the shot.

Frozen time thawed soon after, as Gibbs’ Pitt teammates performed a collective embrace that pushed Gibbs from one end of the court to the other. The Petersen Events Center was again teeming, just like it had against Louisville, just like it had against West Virginia.

It’s been one of those seasons. Pitt has had things go its way more often than not. The question still has to be asked as to how Providence could give Gibbs such a clear line for a shot.

Player trying to keep rolling: Why anybody would let a guy who shoots 40 percent from 3-point range catch the ball, fly uninterrupted up the court and get off a 3-pointer in the final seconds is beyond me, but that’s precisely what the Providence Friars did Thursday night, and it cost them because Ashton Gibbs drained a long jumper at the buzzer to lift Pittsburgh to a 73-71 victory. The sophomore guard was 9 of 13 from the field and 6 of 9 from 3-point range. It’s doubtful he’ll need an effort like that Saturday to get Pitt past Rutgers. But it wouldn’t hurt, and I’m sure Jamie Dixon would welcome it.

Gibbs seemed nonplussed — not simply at the shot going — the defense.

“They backed off a little bit, but that’s what you expect,” Gibbs said of the final play. “I just wanted to be aggressive with it. It felt good as soon as I let it go.”

Which was Providence Coach, Keno Davis’ explanation.

Providence coach Keno Davis said the plan was to keep two defenders close to Gibbs but not to foul one of the nation’s best free-throw shooters.

“You don’t want any body contact,” Davis said. “The last thing you want is him going to the free throw line. You need to make him make a tough shot and we did — and he made it.”

Yes, but I found this bit of twittering from Andy Katz instructive.

Pitt’s Ashton Gibbs with the game winner. Adrian Branch here at the U made a great point on the difference between MSU-PSU and Pitt-PC.

MSU made PSU’s Talor Battle change direction, Providence didn’t do that for Pitt’s Ashton Gibbs. Gibbs made shot, Battle did not.

Gibbs was able to go straight into his shot, squared away to shoot. The shot may not have been right at the 3-point line, and there was  a Providence defender trying to distract by flying at him. But they never altered his line. It’s a subtle difference.

Providence didn’t play great defense, but they were more aggressive at trying to force turnovers. As expected, all the piling on for their lack of defense played a roll.

Coach Keno Davis said he felt his team has taken some unfair criticism from the media over his team’s defense in recent days, and despite Pitt hitting 53 percent from the field, he was happy with an effort that made the Panthers work hard and also forced 15 turnovers.

“We’ve gotten some unwarranted publicity about our team and our defense,” said Davis. “When you’re playing top eight teams every night, they can exploit you. We’re learning how to play defense and we’re getting better. Some of our young guys are going to have big, breakout years next year.”

Asked about PC’s defense on the winning shot, Davis said, “if I had to do it over, I’d do the same thing. You want two guys on the best player but you don’t want any body contact. You need him to make a tough shot and he did. You tip your hat to him.”

The guy who Pitt may see in nightmares was Jamine Peterson who exploded especially in the second half. In the first half, he scored 7 points of the Friars first 9 points but did grab 6 boards. The second half he had 17 points and 12 boards. He had a double-double in one half.

“He hurt us, no question,” coach Dixon said. “He’s very good. He hurts everybody.”

Then there was Jermaine Dixon having a big night on offense. Finally driving to the basket once more.

“Coach Dixon told me he wanted to see me drive more to the basket,” said the guard, who had 24 points on 11-of-18 shooting. “I haven’t been doing much offensively, but if I could get in and get a lay up or find somebody else open, it would help.”
…
“You can just see Jermaine is just starting to get more comfortable driving, slashing and finishing around the basket,” said Jamie Dixon.

All but saying that, yes, Dixon’s ankle and/or foot had been an issue lately.

Side things. Pitt was 20th in the ESPN.com power poll and 14th for SI.com — done before yesterday night’s game.

I’m going to go ahead and assume Luke did a fine job with the liveblog. As you can tell from the timestamp, I did not start watching until very late. So, I haven’t looked things over at this point.

Last year, it was a bit simplistic — but not necessarily incorrect to say Pitt was a 3-man team. And that they could win games that way. This year… not so much.

Yet, tonight they pulled it off. Dixon, Wanamaker and Gibbs were essentially the team.

This is one of those games where the box score doesn’t lie.

McGhee had a hideous night. In fact, somehow he manage to get a break by only being dinged with 2 turnovers. I counted 3 by him in the first 3 minutes. He really struggled with the ball tonight. Not squeezing rebounds and getting caught out of position too often.

Gilbert Brown had yet another alternating night and this was the bad one. I want to curse, but find myself laughing at how disturbingly symmetrical he is with one game on, one game off. Scoreless. Minimal rebounding.

Nasir Robinson and Dante Taylor were about what was expected, but that comes off as damning with faint praise. Not sure how Woodall gets credit for 1 assist and 0 turnovers, but he did not handle this game well.

No way in hell, though, am I complaining too hard about Gibbs hitting the gamewinning 3 and Pitt coming away with a 73-71 win after this game.

It bears repeating. This was a 3-man game.

Player      FG-FGA FG-FGA FT-FTA OF DE TOT PF  TP  A TO BLK S MIN
Gibbs....... 9-13   6-9     1-1    2  2  4  2  25  3  1  0  0  37
Wanamaker....4-9    2-3     0-1    1  4  5  3  10 13  2  2  1  35
Dixon...... 11-18   0-3     2-5    2 10 12  4  24  4  5  0  2  35

59 of Pitt’s 73 points. 20 of 24 assists. all 3 of a pathetic FT shooting night. All 3 steals and all 8 3s made. Even 21 of the 36 rebounds.

Survived a potentially embarrassing game. Clinched the double bye. Regroup and beat the hell out of Rutgers on Saturday.

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.

Looks like no liveblog tonight. Wife has some things late, so I’m with the kids until an undetermined time. So, despite the 9pm start time, I probably won’t be able to start watching until at least 9:30 so I’m just going DVR delay and will set up an open thread then some post-game comments after I watch.

I’m increasingly working my way into a crazy fantasy that the berating of how Providence can’t/won’t/are unable to comprehend the concept of defense has been so batted around that Providence will actually put an effort into it and completely stun Pitt because no one saw it coming.

What they’re saying is true, of course. PC is allowing 85.7 points through 16 Big East games. Unless something changes quickly, that will be the worst defensive showing in conference history, eclipsing the 83.5 given up by the Friars’ 1990 team that advanced to the NCAA Tournament in Rick Barnes’ first season as coach.

In all games, PC’s defense ranks 332nd among 334 Division I teams, at 81.2 ppg.

The evolution of the defensive woes stems from when Keno Davis was hired from Drake in April of 2008. The newly minted national coach of the year came to town with a run-and-gun style that relied heavily on the 3-point shot and firing many more attempts than the opponent. But it’s not as if Drake played no defense in its run to the Missouri Valley championship. That team allowed just 62.1 points a game.

Davis says he’s far from a proponent of run-and-gun, Loyola-Marymount-type basketball. It’s just that mixing his new recruits with the leftovers from the Tim Welsh regime hasn’t worked, at least on defense.

Last year’s team allowed a hefty 76.7 points a game. This year’s is averaging 82 points a game, second in the Big East and in the top 10 in the country. But defense is another matter.

As you would expect with a team like this, they like to push the tempo and run. They do a surprisingly good job at getting offensive rebounds — but do a horrible job at the defensive end with rebounding — allowing a lot of offensive rebounds and second chance points. Which isn’t surprising with their defense in general. Half the team seems to be sprinting the other way even before a rebound is secured when having to play defense.

Players like Ashton Gibbs are saying the right things about remembering being smacked in the mouth by the Friars last year, and the team is talking about having to play defense.

“We just have to play our game,” Pitt senior Jermaine Dixon said. “They’re a good team, even though they have struggled. They have stayed in there with some of the big-name teams. They get up for the competition. We’re at the top of the Big East, so they’ll have their A game. We have to control their 3-point shooting and rebound.”

Providence attempts almost 25 3-pointers per game, the most of any team in the conference. The Friars make 33 percent of those and lead the conference in 3-point field goals made per game (8.2).

The top 3-point shooter is senior guard Sharaud Curry, who has made 42.2 percent of his 3-point attempts in conference play.

“They really shoot the ball from 3,” Jamie Dixon said. “That’s the thing you have to be concerned about. They seem to be in every game. They seem to go through runs where they give up points, but, sometimes, they score in bunches, too.

The major force on the Friars is redshirt sophomore forward Jamine “Greedy” Peterson.

Peterson has come out of relative obscurity to average a team-high 19.3 points and 9.9 rebounds. The 6-foot-6, 230-pound forward has notched a Big East-leading 14 double-doubles this season — four more than Pitt has as a team — as well as a bunch of highlight-reel dunks.

“He’s a tough matchup,” Pitt coach Jamie Dixon said. “He’s strong enough to play inside and versatile enough to play on the outside.”

But that hasn’t been enough lately. Providence went 0-for-February and has dropped eight in a row since beating Connecticut, 81-66, on Jan. 27. With a win, Pitt will assure itself of a top-four finish in the Big East and earn a double-bye at next week’s Big East Tournament.

Peterson, who averaged 4.7 points and 2.9 rebounds as a freshman in 2007-08 and redshirted last season for the senior-heavy Friars, won a starting job and made an immediate impact this season. He grabbed 22 rebounds against Mercer in his third career start and posted 27 points and 14 rebounds against Alabama five days later.

He owns the only 20-20 game by a Big East player this season (29 points, 20 rebounds against Rutgers). He has 48 3-pointers and averages a Big East-leading 4.2 offensive rebounds per game.

The story says they call him “Greedy” for the way he grabs offensive rebounds. Providence fans, quietly acknowledge that Greedy also fits his offensive game in that he has 444 shot attempts and is not much for ball sharing — only 31 assists to 47 turnovers.

So if he grabs a board, odds are he’s going back up with it. How Pitt contends with that will be interesting. Can Nasir Robinson handle him inside? McGhee will be contending with their forward-center Bilal Dixon (6-8) and a leaper like Greedy would get McGhee in foul trouble.

The Friars are not a particularly big team so there are no big match-up probles for Pitt, but as we saw last week against ND teams that can drive and shoot from outside can be more of a problem for Pitt. Regardless of their overall size.

That’s a credit to Pitt’s Associate AD for Media Relations, E.J. Borghetti and his staff making them happy.

The Football Writers Association of America polled themselves to find out which sports information departments really stood out.

The Football Writers Association of America has announced its first “Super 11” field of sports information departments, which were deemed the best in the NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision during the 2009 season.

In alphabetical order those 11 schools are: Buffalo, Clemson, East Carolina, Georgia, Nebraska, Pittsburgh, Rutgers, San Jose State, Southern California (USC), Texas and Utah.

“There are clearly many outstanding sports information departments across the country,” said Tim Griffin, 2010 FWAA President and chairman of the Super 11 Committee. “But our group felt there was a smattering of schools that merited commendation because of their exemplary work above and beyond the call of duty. This is our first collection in what will be an ongoing process.”

I can attest that E.J. Borghetti does a fantastic job at dealing with people. He knows how to engage them and makes them feel like he is on their side/helping them. All the while he is putting Pitt, the team, the players and the coaches in the best light possible.

Just some assorted things relating to football that I’ll lump in a short link-dump.

The rest of Coach Wannstedt’s interview with ESPN.com’s Brian Bennett. Kevin Harper will at least take over kick-off duties it seems. Mike Cruz comes in as the #1 tight end with Devlin #2. Mason to no one’s shock will be MLB.

How about the offensive line? You lost three starters but it seems like you’ve been grooming some young guys to take over.

DW: Center will be the biggest position. Left guard will be fine. Chris Jacobson, he started the bowl game and can play. He’s a big, talented kid. Three years ago, he was the most highly recruited offensive lineman in the state of Pennsylvania. So he’ll be fine. There’s competition at right guard and the same thing at center. So we’ve got to fill two spots, but we’ve got some young guys who’ve been waiting for that opportunity. We’ll see. I’m not sure how it’s going to pan out.

Not even a hint as to who will be competing at the center spot. Meanwhile Robb Houser, who did a fine job in his brief time, is gearing up for Pitt’s pro day to show he can play in the NFL.

A major inspiration for him has been former Pittsburgh teammate C.J. Davis, now a guard in the league with the Carolina Panthers. Davis wasn’t drafted last year and like Houser doesn’t have exceptionally imposing size.

Being from the Pittsburgh system evidently provided quite a lift. Dave Wannstedt, with his 22 years worth of professional experience as a former NFL coach and player, runs the program and has been preparing college players well now for the business.

“C.J. couldn’t believe how simple it was when he had to first study the Carolina play schemes,” Houser said. “They’re very complicated at Pitt, it took me a year and a half to get down. I think that some of the coaches and players at Carolina were amazed how C.J. was able to master that system quickly and I’m not surprised because I know how complex the plays we run (at Pittsburgh) are.”

Former players from the school now in the NFL include New York Jets defensive back Darrelle Rivas, Philadelphia Eagles running back LeSean McCoy and Carolina Panthers left tackle Jeff Otah. Those three are considered among the league’s best under 25 years of age and were manufactured by Wannstedt during their college careers.

Needless to say, Houser is hoping to join the tradition…

“Manufactured?”

Nate Byham gets discussed among TE prospects at the Patriots site.

“Smash-mouth football, the kind of guy who’s down in the trenches doing the dirty work,” was how Byham described himself and his game Thursday. “Not too many tight ends are known for getting all gritty and moving d-ends and throwing linebackers. That’s why I take pride in being able to get down there and maybe get out in the pass when people least expect it.”

Byham also pointed out that his head coach at Pitt, Dave Wannstedt (a long-time former NFL assistant and head coach) has been instrumental in molding him into a prototypical NFL blocking tight end. Scouts, he said, have told him that they can see how much more developed he is as a blocker than other college players at his position.

This article on Dickerson raising his stock at the combine also provided unintentional insight as to why Coach Wannstedt struggled with figuring out the right place to play him.

Still, it remains to be seen if he improved his draft stock because, at 6 feet 2, 226 pounds, Dickerson will have to add at least 15 pounds to be a flex tight end or H-back in the National Football League. If so, he thinks he can be a tight end on the order of Dallas Clark of the Indianapolis Colts or Vernon Davis of the San Francisco 49ers.

“They’re smaller type tight ends,” Dickerson said. “That’s what I classify myself as, a smaller receiving-type tight end.

“I think they’re going to look at me as a flex tight end. I’m probably going to put on some weight. I’ll be used in the slot and as a wing, all the H-back stuff. I think that’s how I’ll be used. But some teams might want me as a bigger receiver, I don’t know yet.”

Because of his athleticism and unique skills, Dickerson lined up at a number of different positions at Pitt, including wide receiver, H-back and running back. Nate Byham, who also attended the combine, was more of the natural tight end, primarily because he is a better blocker than Dickerson.

They apparently don’t know where to play him or classify him. It really seems to be an issue in the NFL as to body types and “prototypical” sizes. Coach Wannstedt (and to some degree former OC Matt Cavanaugh) with an NFL background struggled to recognize the potential at the TE spot in college until late.

At SI.com, Andy Staples managed to put together a team of top players who were so missed by the recruiting sites that they had 2-stars or less. Dion Lewis didn’t make the cut because even he got 3-stars. The only Pitt player, Greg Romeus.

Romeus played basketball for most of his life and didn’t take up football until his senior year at Coral Glades High in Coral Springs, Fla. The school was playing its first year of varsity football, so it wasn’t a destination for college recruiters. Romeus was set to sign with Central Florida, but Pitt made a late push and snagged a raw athlete who would grow into a fearsome pass rusher.

Former Big East Commish Mike Tranghese got $30,000 for six months consulting work to Memphis for how they can get into a BCS conference. Tranghese did not have to produce a written report, and his informed, measured advice seemed to boil down to: win more football games.

Sometimes I think gimmee games make me more nervous than the big, tough ones. I am finding myself getting increasingly edgy the more I think about Pitt playing Providence. You would think that Pitt players would want revenge and  still have the memories stuck in their heads from last year at the Dunk.

“We’re just going to move the ball,” Panthers guard Ashton Gibbs said. “We’ll continue to be unselfish and penetrate and dish and look for open teammates. That’s what we’ve been doing, and we’re going to continue to do it.”

Twenty-nine players have scored at least 20 points against the Friars this season.

South Florida’s Dominique Jones scored 46 points against Providence — the second-highest point total in Big East history — and Georgetown’s Greg Monroe became the first Big East center to record at least 10 assists in a game when he had 12 against Providence.

The Friars can turn ho-hum players into high-scoring stars.

DePaul’s Mike Stovall, who averages 6.6 points, scored 30 against Providence. Cincinnati’s Cashmere Wright, averaging 5.7 points per game, netted 24.

Still, Pitt can’t take the Friars lightly. The No. 1 Panthers started out “lackadaisical” at Providence last season and lost, 81-73.

“We came out really lazy, and they took advantage of it,” Gibbs said. “Before you knew it, we were down 20.”

What has me worried is that Providence plays such bad defense. Expending all its energy on scoring. It is a hard temptation for players to resist the urge to just try and match the scoring and slip on the defensive end.

Consider this: Marquette Providence is riding an eight game losing streak. In four of the games they had a halftime lead (USF, G-town, Syracuse and Marquette). One game was tied (Cinci), and in three games where they trailed at the half (WVU, Nova, Cuse) two of them had the Friars within 5 points. Only WVU blew them out of the water in the first half and shut down their offense.

It took for most of these teams a halftime of their coach getting in their faces to remember to play defense and not let Providence dictate the tempo. Considering the offensive funks Pitt can fall into, it does have me a bit concerned.

You add in just the level of public humiliation Providence is taking over their defense. Plus second year coach Keno Davis seems to be losing his honeymoon grace period with the play.

But they aren’t, and there are no repercussions coming from Keno.

“There’s a point where guys make mistakes,” he said the other day, “and as a coach you can sit them, but are you ruining your chances of winning a game?”

Last time I looked, the Friars had lost eight straight conference games, and 10 of their last 11.

Because Keno is soft on his players, they play soft defense.

Can you picture Jim Calhoun or Jim Boeheim, Jay Wright or Jamie Dixon, Bob Huggins or John Thompson III, putting up with efforts they felt were insufficient and unacceptable?

Keno Davis’ quote came from his discussion of lack of depth on the squad that benching the guys won’t help the team win. It’s a tough line. Will the players actually respond to the benching? Just quit?

I know the broader point being that they were going to lose anyways so at least do so witha  message. As I pointed out with their first half, they were actually leading or still very close. Only one game was a blowout from the start. That’s what has to make it so hard. For at least a half, they were in these games.

Well, at least we know Jermaine Dixon will do what he can on defense and to keep the team in line. He has a goal.

Dixon, a 6-foot-3, 200-pound guard who came to Pitt from Tallahassee Community College last year, can complete his two-year career at Pitt with a 36-1 home record if the Panthers can win their final two games Thursday against Providence and Saturday against Rutgers.

“That would be big,” Dixon said Tuesday after practice. “I told them I never wanted to lose in the Pete. But we took one loss this year. Not losing [another] game in this building would be great. It’s something I want to do.”

The team from a year ago became the fourth in school history to complete a season with a perfect home record. The current team can join select company by finishing the season with only one loss at home.

Since the Petersen Events Center opened in 2002, four teams finished undefeated or with one loss. The 2008-09 and the 2002-03 teams did not lose at home. Coach Jaime Dixon’s first team in 2003-04 and the 2005-06 group finished with one loss.

Not that he’s actually seen the court much — and now the presumed odd guy out to make room on the next recruiting class — Dwight Miller has reinjured his heel that was the official reason for his redshirt last year.

In other stuff, Gary Parrish lists his top-eight candidates for National Coach of the year. Tough group.

In a dubious distinction for Coach Dixon, he gets mentioned as the “best coach never to make the Final Four.”

Coach Dixon has been doing the media rounds and on the Dan Patrick show he engaged in hyper-conference partisanship.

“I think we’ve got like 11 teams that are NCAA tournament teams,” Dixon told Tony Bruno, a fill-in host for Patrick.

“I think this conference is actually stronger this year from top to bottom, I really do,” Dixon said. “I don’t think we’re as top heavy this year, but top to bottom there is just better teams.”

But Dixon acknowledged that the league likely won’t actually get that many bids to the Big Dance.

“Now I know that many aren’t going to get in. It’s just pure numbers, plus beating each other up,” he said.

Dixon also remained lukewarm on conference expansion.

A little administrative issue. Especially around this time of year there’s a lot of contests and promotional events centered around the NCAA Tournament. As most are internet based, they look to market them beyond simply advertising. A lot are going to “grass roots” campaigns. These consist of sending a flattering e-mail to relevant sports blogs to ask/suggest/recommend/submit for consideration posting on the promotional events.

They never seem to include any financial incentives for the blogger, so I get nothing out of these things.

This also goes on during football season for bowl promotions and other events.

Occasionally I’ll pass some along, but I seem to be getting more so I thought I’d see what the rest of you think. In the form of a simple poll question.

Okay, spare stuff.

I’ve said it before, seeding will take care of itself. That doesn’t stop the conversation, and wondering whether Pitt’s personnel issues will be considered to swing it upward.

Maybe the one factor that’s missing is an unknown to most: how the selection committee will take the absence of Jermaine Dixon and Gilbert Brown into consideration.

Dixon missed the season’s first eight games rehabbing a knee injury and sat out the Panthers’ loss at South Florida with an ankle injury. Brown missed the first 11 games under academic suspension.

With Dixon, the Panthers’ shutdown defender, in the lineup, Pitt is 15-5 (.750) against a schedule that included 15 games against the RPI top 100. Against the RPI top 50, the Panthers are 6-2 with Dixon, a number better than Pitt’s overall mark vs. the top 50 (7-3). The numbers are similar against the top 100.

It’s a nice point, but I’m guessing it won’t get much weight considering the whole team improved into the season. Pitt’s run in the Big East will give it plenty of weight — assuming they take care of the next couple of games.

Lots of Coach Dixon love as the Horizon League player in the year, Gordon Hayward, is still giving love to his U-19 coach.

Hayward is fourth in the league in scoring (15.8) and third in rebounding (8.5). He credited Butler strength coach Jim Peal and USA coach Jamie Dixon of Pittsburgh for improving and expanding his game.

Dixon was “on me from day one” to rebound, Hayward said. “He was exactly right. Sometimes I would just sit on the perimeter and get ready to go back on defense.”

Then there is this interview with Coach Dixon.

SNY.tv: What sold Jermaine, and so many other young athletes, on Pittsburgh?

JD:: When we talk to a player and player’s family, we make them a promise: you’re going to improve as a player, as a student, and as an individual. That’s what a coach’s job is. That’s what we put our efforts and our energy into. It’s about helping young people improve. When their time as a student is finished, I want them to be a better player, but ultimately, I want them to have their degree and to have become a better human being.

Speaking of interviews. Here’s his interview from yesterday with Jim Rome.

Lot of good stuff including wanting to be at a place where the fans aren’t satisfied (boy, is he at the right place). Plus he stated (at least for public consumption) that he felt the ND game was just one of those games where ND wasn’t going to lose to anyone. I can somewhat agree. The fact that it was a blowout loss, though, was on Pitt playing a step slow.

For the record, nothing undermines complaints about not playing zone when the example is against a ND team drilling 3s.

Speaking of defense, Providence does not seem to be playing any. Their coach is frustrated.

Up at PC, it is Spring Break, so the Friars’ campus is quiet. The one exception is inside Mullaney Gym, where Davis is still stinging from the 99-93 loss to South Florida. In the heated moments after that game, Davis could be heard from behind closed doors laying into his team. After pleading with his players all season for defensive basics such as closing out on shooters, getting back after made baskets, and halting penetration, the coach now seems to be swallowing hard, shrugging his shoulders and thinking a better defense won’t appear until next November.

“We need our returning guys to improve defensively or they won’t play as much or at all,” Davis said Monday in the toughest remarks he’s made all season about a defense that is allowing 81.2 points, the third-worst total in the nation. “Some of our players have offense as their strength and their weakness is on defense. That’s going to change or they won’t be playing.”

Davis insists he knows how to teach defense. He considers it a priority, although this team seems to regard it as an afterthought. He’d like to hold his weakest defenders more accountable for their misdeeds, but says a lack of depth has prevented him from making those moves.

“There’s a point where guys make mistakes, and as a coach you can sit them, but are you ruining your chances of winning a game?” Davis said. “I’m always about winning each game. Accountability comes down to flexibility. With our top six or seven (players), you have to fight through their faults.”

It will be interesting to see if they respond to having a national game and absolutely being embarrassed. Last night, during the Georgetown-WVU game Jay Bilas called Providence the “Worst defensive team I’ve ever seen in the Big East.” Yow.