It’s actually been a few years since Pitt truly asserted any domination in MSG. It sure wasn’t last year losing to Indiana and then ND in the opening round of the Big East Tournament. The way the 2K Sports Classic benefiting Coaches vs. Cancer is set, Pitt is one of the two veteran teams facing young/rebuilding teams.
“Pittsburgh is ranked where they are for a reason,” Maryland coach Gary Williams said. “They have great guards, you can start right there. Great leadership from seasoned guards is a pretty good combination most people don’t have. In college basketball veteran guards make a difference, like we had last year.”
After four years of turning to Vasquez for every big shot, pass or defensive assignment, the Terrapins (3-0) are trying to find an identity. They set a tournament record with 105 points in a 29-point win over Seattle in the opener, then survived a scare when freshman Pe’Shon Howard’s jumper with 4.6 seconds left gave them a 75-74 win over Charleston.
“I’m seeing some good things out of our young players,” Williams said. “We do have some veterans from last year, guys who have been there before. We need to get a rotation and a game like Pittsburgh gets you ready for the season.”
College of Charleston has been one of those good/dangerous mid-majors, so don’t read too much into Maryland needing a near-buzzer-beater to win. Afterall, Maryland has already learned that one of their freshmen guards has the stones to take and make that last shot.
That’s not to say Pitt doesn’t have plenty of youth on the team. The first three games have seen moments from redshirt freshmen Talib Zanna and Lamar Patterson, along with freshman J.J. Moore making it clear he wants to compete for playing time. While Coach Dixon waves the caution flag.
“Let’s wait and see how all these guys do when they go out on the road and play their conference opponents and see some of that,” Dixon said.
Well, this will be one of the early tests.
Maryland’s storyline isn’t simply youth, it is no longer having Greivous Vasquez. It changes the focus of the team from the perimeter and attacking from the wing to much more of an inside game.
“We lost Greivis Vasquez and two other players who are now playing professionally overseas in [Landon] Milbourne and [Eric] Hayes,” he said. “You get to play a certain way with guys. We’ve been trying to replace them. We tried to use the first three games as a way to get ready for New York this week. The Charleston game was a tough game for us. We were fortunate to win.”
Maryland’s best player is sophomore center Jordan Williams, who made the ACC all-rookie team as a freshman. Williams was only the third player in school history to score 250 points and grab 250 rebounds in his freshman season. The others were Joe Smith and Buck Williams.
Jordan Williams has recorded three double-doubles in the first three games, including a 26-point, 15-rebound performance against the College of Charleston.
“Jordan has really improved,” Pitt coach Jamie Dixon said. “Our strength will be that we have a number of guys who can guard him. He’s got the ability to put the ball in the basket. He has great hands, a soft touch, a big body. I think he’s a really good player. We have to rely on team defense.”
Vasquez was a loss to the Terps, but probably a bigger loss to sportswriters as Vasquez was a great quote.
Gary McGhee has talked in the offseason about wanting to be a better defensive player. This will be a great test of that.
Pitt has mildly surprised some with their eagerness to push the tempo this season. Maryland also likes to be up-tempo, so it will be another thing to watch. Whether Coach Dixon tries to slow it down on Maryland or not.
“I like how we are pushing it,” Dixon said, “but we have to continue to make better decisions and improve in that area.”
Maryland also pushes the tempo. The Terrapins are averaging 89.7 points per game and feature one of the top post-players in the nation, sophomore Jordan Williams.
Gibbs said the half-court defense will be the difference between two up-tempo teams.
“Whoever defends is going to win the game, because the offensive style is going to balance out,” Gibbs said.
I’m willing to bet that if the defense — especially the interior — isn’t strong in the first half you will see Pitt slow it down.
Maryland, though, has to be able to stop Pitt. Something that has watchers a little unsure of.
And as Maryland (3-0) prepares for its first meeting with the team since 1998, it’s difficult to identify a weakness to exploit among the Panthers, who are balanced and experienced.
Especially since the one area that has spelled doom for Pitt is something that Maryland doesn’t do well — shoot threes.
The Terrapins are only shooting 33 percent from deep this season, and if it wasn’t for Cliff Tucker’s 4-for-6 outing against Maine, those numbers would be much worse right now. They have survived so far thanks to Jordan Williams’ dominance inside and their ability to beat opponents off the dribble, but that’s not going to be as effective against Jamie Dixon’s stout interior defense. The most effective way to overcome their defense is with the long ball.
Last year Pitt was 1-7 in games where the opponent shot over 40% on threes.
Looking forward to this one tonight.
