Welcome to semi-Big Monday. The game starts at 8:30. It’s an ESPN2 affair as there is still Monday Night Football. There’s also the chance of a delay because of the bowl game airing ahead of it.
This game is obviously a lot bigger than ESPN and the Big East thought it would be. Mainly on the UConn side this year. Middle of the pack to lower half of the Big East was the UConn expectations — like Pitt from last year. Instead, #4 national ranking. Perhaps a tad overinflated, but reasonably earned to this point.
As usual, moderated chat. Let’s try and stay focused on the basketball tonight.
If you need to break out the livechat from the site, Click Here. Other wise it is below.
Let’s go Pitt.
I thought this UCONN team was a but overrated but Dixon had such a good game plan. If you watched that Tennessee game, those guys were just on fire for more than 25 minutes. This team is going to be dangerous in the NCAA tournament. I know that’s a bit far off, but I just have that feeling.
Seton Hall, DePaul, Providence and Marquette should be looking elsewhere for a place to play.
Best comments, said several times, referring to the last 8 to 10 years, “this is a little early for the Big East’s power match up”, saying it non-chalantly, like that’s the way it is, and the way it’s been. I guess it has, but, can anyone believe, 15 to 20 years ago, we’d be mentioned as a national and Big East power (not just tonight, the past several years) so matter of factly when talked about.
I might also add, we’re talked about often, that “lack of respect” card is, and frankly, has been done for some years. Pitt is everywhere on ESPN and CBS hoops. Always mentioned in a positive light. I also know this first hand, from friends, neices, nephews and others from around the country, all I ever hear is, “why is Pitt always on”. “Everytime I turn the tv on it’s Pitt this or Pitt that”.
The best came from my brother n law in So. California, “I turn the friggin tv on, there’s Jamie Dixon pulling a guy out of a car”.
Someday, the final four and a championship, but to Ben and Jamie, couldn’t ask for anything more, the past 10 years have been a college basketball fans dream. Awesome, baby, awesome!!!
Goodnight!!!
Uconn isn’t as good as their #4 ranking indicated.
Nice job with the free throw shooting tonight.
isnore, I thought that you live in the NY/NJ area. Is that true? And you want to kick Seton Hall out of the BE??? Me? I enjoy going to the Prudential Center ever other year to watch the Pitt-SH game.
I’m not even looking forward to Gtown/Cuse/Nova. Providence beat us when we were #1 and if not for a 1/3 court bomb from Gibbs we’d be 0-2 the last two years.
Hail to Pitt!
Lamb and Napier are really nice freshmen, but those big guys stink. I mean stink. Calhoun lives and dies by his strategy of finding raw size and then polishing it, but good luck polishing those turds.
Solid game from McGhee, Wanamaker and Gibbs consistent, Brown the usual enigma, Woodall still right-handed and I thought Robinson had a very nice game.
Still wondering about the JJ Moore minutes. He took a three-pointer within seconds of entering the game, he was late getting in position on the Walker charge call, he could have been called for the foul on the Olander elbow, a tipped pass of his led to a turnover/layup and he unsuccessfully tried to split a double with the dribble on a play where most BE guards will pick him and go the other way.
It could be true that they’ll need his offense against better competition, so I’m not ready to jettison the idea of playing him, but he’d have to show me more in the few minutes he’s getting. I also realize that he needs to adjust to these Big East games, so I’ll reserve judgement for a while and see how it goes. But I can’t help wondering if we’ll all be wishing we had this year of his back a couple seasons down the road when I expect him to be a heckuva scorer in this league……
Does anyone remember a Pitt BB team that could shoot free throws? My wife and I were talking about some game at the field house (I want to say a trip to the NCAA’s was on the line). Sean Miller to shoot 2. 1 to tie 2 to win. They flash his lifetime free throw percentage on the field house scoreboard, it read “.927”. First one bounces out, the 2nd was a brick. Ugh. I can’t imagine what it is like to be a student there now…
From listening to them lose to St. Francis PA on the radio in some drafty Atwood St. apt in the early 90’s to watching Pitt beat top 5 teams is surreal.
The C&P Pitt club still has some tickets to the G’town game.
Hail to Pitt!
Great win by Pitt…Dixon really had em ready to play.
I lived in Noo Yawk for more than 60 years, however, I am now in good old Pennsylvania.
“The Hall” is the only major basketball team in New Jersey (Rutgers pretends to play basketball).
The problem for Seton Hall is that it has a small fan base and has had a long string of very unproductive recruiting despite being located in an area with OUTSTANDING high school teams. The basic problem has been poor coaching choices.
Seton Hall offers a quality education, however, it does not have a campus or location that is “sexy” for potential recruits. Yep, I know the exact same words can be said on behalf of St. John’s, however, there is NO WAY that the Big East will ever drop the Johnnies (nor should they). I was simply trying to point out that the Big East is OVERWEIGHTED with basketball teams and in dire need for at least another quality football program to join the ranks.
The real Pitt Panthers showed up last night and coaching is the reason!!
Solid defensive plan from Jamie. He knows he doesn’t have a shutdown guy to stop quick guards like Walker so he made sure that was the only person who could hurt him. And the pinch made Walker work for every shot and forced him into a lot of bad ones.
Great confidence builder to start BE play, just like ‘Cuse last year.
Hail to PITT!
Thought we actually got some really good minutes out of Moore. Not an impressive stat line, but he didn’t make too many mistakes and hit those 3 free throws. He’ll continue to improve. It was nice to see him come into a big game and play fairly decent. It’s great to have a clone of Brown to put in there when he gets into foul trouble.
Free throw shooting was actually pretty good last night – 23 for 30, which comes out to 77%. I agree that Robinson and McGhee show terrible form from the line (and were 4 for 9 combined, which is below awful), but everyone else did well.
It was interesting to me that Patterson never got off the bench, despite the fact that at one point it seemed that everyone would foul out. I don’t like to think too much about the numbers game with the players coming in next year, but you have to wonder what the future holds for Patterson.
Everyone played well. McGhee made a huge difference making his bunnies and ferocious rebounds. Gibbs was spectacular. Robinson played one of his best games. Wanny and Brown were steady. Taylor’s rebounding has improved and it looks like he can make free throws. Everyone contributed. Passing was super. I thought Moore looked like he belonged defensively, which is why you get minutes on a Dixon team. This team is deep. It is hard to see them play any better.
Did anyone else think last night’s game was poorly officiated? Worse than normal. Too many whistles and inconsistent calls. They’d blow a call, then immediately come back with a make up call. Made a potentially good game, kind of hard to watch. That’s the way it felt sitting in the Pete, was it like that on TV? ESPN needs to figure out a way to make sure Jim Burr’s crew doesn’t do their games.
At one point, Jim Burr made one of his strange calls that only he can see, and a fan sitting in the courtside seats clearly said something not very nice loud enough for Burr to hear. Burr turned and glared at the fans, and appeared ready to throw somebody out, but couldn’t figure out who had said what. The next couple times down the court Burr made some strange calls against Pitt (including a foul under the basket that he called from almost half court and must have seen through at least 4 players, while the ref right on top of the play didn’t see anything). Coincidence? You be the judge.
I’ll be honest, I’ve long thought that Jim Burr and Tim Higgins are two of the worst officials in college basketball. I know that this flies against the grain of what the TV talking heads say, but they both seem too willing to insert themselves into the flow of a game. It also seems that when they feel disrespected by a coach or fans (as Burr obviously was last night), they will make “message” calls that needn’t be based on any observable fact. I don’t think Pitt gets hurt by this any more than any other team, but as a fan, I find it annoying.
Hey, easy on Zeise and his cold, he’s the hardest working man in sports today, just ask him, he’ll tell ya!!!!
