UPDATE: Tip-off pushed to 7:40
There might be room for optimism after playing better than Pitt has in this losing streak against Marquette. Yet it was still another loss. Now Pitt is facing the #1 team in the country. A team yet to lose a game. This is likely going to be an ugly game.
Yet it is hard not to have at least a touch of hope as one other factor is in play. For whatever reason, Pitt has owned Syracuse in the last few years. Even when they looked better and were ranked higher, Pitt has found ways to win. Whether at home or the Carrier Dome. No I don’t know that it will continue, but at the very least it has to be in the back of the players and Cuse fans minds tonight. Right? Right?
It is still Big Monday. A 7:30 pm prime time game on ESPN.
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It remains speculation as to exactly what and who he was talking about. I guessed in previous comments that he and Taylor competing for the 4 spot and that Gibbs is playing like he’s trying out for the NBA were big chemistry issues. JJ moore mentioned a week or so ago that guys turned on each other when the going got touch too.
My comments were called inane and wild guesses. Admittedly, they were to some extent but I think its coming into a little more focus what has been dogging this team (and my guesses as to the specifics apparently weren’t THAT crazy. just saying). Chemistry and getting in sync.
Marquette showed that maybe, for whatever reason, these things are improving. I’m keeping an eye out for any signs in either direction and who’s helping vs hurting the team’s rhythm and chemistry. Particularly Gibbs and Taylor. Mr Gibbs had a great night at MU.
Not expecting a win, but not completely ruling it out. We’ll know if they have a chance within the first 5-10 minutes.
But you really can’t trivialize the fact that at least a few people who were or are on the team or around the team have said explicitly and implicitly that there is or was some dischord among the team and that it comes from there being among some players a perception of that certain other guys are selfish.
…and I suppose its reasonable that you apparently trust Zanna’s word (that Birch was crying) but not Birch’s.
Here’s hoping Gibb’s plays within the game tonight and someone ANYONE else steps up.
We could use his pull up J from the foul line as well against the zone. Don’t think anyone in this group has that skill down yet.
While the Marquette game might be encouraging, I think Pitt is still sadly lacking in ball handlers and an inside presence-well, and defense too. The only way it’s close tonight is if Syracuse plays down to the competition. They’re probably still thinking about the 19-0 run we started with them last year. The Orange have plenty of motivation to blow us away tonight.
Can we continue to develop throughout the season?
Free throws….same old story…..fouling Nasir is a strategy for winning against Pitt. Put him on the line and watch him throw bricks.
Zanna showed heart and the will to win, however, he just does not have good hands near the basket.
Taylor///forget about it.
I think Pitt will get off the schneid and win some games and hopefully have something positive to think about going in to next year. NCAA//NIT
it ain’t gonna happen this year.
HTP
It’s too bad that Pitt didn’t figure out until late in the second half that Talib Zanna was a better option than Nasir Robinson at the foul line when attacking the zone. At least Zanna will take that shot and apparently can make it. Also, if he is fouled I have a lot more faith in his free throw shooting than Robinson’s FT shooting. When Robinson got the ball at the foul line they dared him to take the shot and he didn’t. That’s one reason I keep hoping Jamie Dixon will play Malcolm Gilbert. He may not have post moves, but Pitt doesn’t have a truly good post player anyway. Gilbert can shoot from 15′ in. I’ve seen him do it in shoot-arounds. His rep coming in was that he can provide rebounding and shot blocking (another major need).
I thought Pitt played better overall in the second half for a change. They cut down on the turnovers. If Robinson and Lamar Patterson hit their free throws (6-15) Pitt takes this game to the wire.
Syracuse might be undefeated but 18 of their wins have come against unranked teams. They aren’t that good, had we shot just a little better, we win that game.
As the ESPN idiots said, PITT missed countless ‘point blank’ shots. That would be mainly Sleepy (2-11) and Zanna (3-10). Had we had any kind of a post game, we win that game as well.
If Syracuse gets to the Final Four I’ll be shocked. But who knows, with the way they can make brackets favorable for one school and unfavorable for another school.
Comment by upittbaseball 01.16.12 @ 7:50 pm
Looks like you lost, lol.
When bets or lines look that easy, you know they’re not.
One last point…we went 12-24 from the foul line and lost by 9. At some point in the next ten years, can we please fix the foul shooting? The last 10 have been abysmal.
Really makes you wonder about what was up with the Rutgers fiasco.
Keep working Jamie and team, when you hustle and care, it shows, it shows very much!
As for Dakota Conwell, losing him to Arizona is the best thing that could have happened. He would not have played at Pitt and he won’t play against the fast boys from LA either.
So what, have fun in the land of the Sun and no water. If you think it gets cold here, it gets really hot buried on the depth chart in AZ. See you in “what was the name of the kid who played at”.
Taylor went 2-7. Zanna 3-8. Oh, Nas went 1-5.
I know we’re all disappointed in Taylor, but let’s not exagerate and blame everything on him. His scorring was off, but he was also playing against an NBA lottery pick center in Fab Melo. And everything else he did was pretty solid, even being in the center and facilitating the zone break occasionally was pretty strong.
And if you look at per minutes stats, Taylor was better than Zanna (who was in turn better than Nas… i love ya Nas, but you’re bringin me down.)
Taylor was 2-7 (not 2-11). Zanna 3-8. Nas 1-5.
I know we’re all disappointed in Taylor, but lets not exaggerate. He was playing against a pretty nasty front court. Taylor did almost everything else pretty well except his characteric occassional lapse on defense. Even playing the middle of the zone break on offense occassionally.
And before we all get carried away, statistically Taylor played better per minute than Zanna (who in turn played better per minute and by any metric than Nas).
Don’t get me wrong, I was very happy with Zanna. I’m just a bit of a Taylor apologist i guess….mostly because hope springs eternal that he’ll someday soon live up to the hype.
Dixon does not have the luxury this year to annoint a medicore guard as the actual coach of the team (Krauser, Fields and now Gibbs). He has to read Gibbs the riot act about palying for Pitt not for a future NBA contract he will never see.
He has to coach Taylor and Zana to use head fakes when attempting to put up offensive rebounds. He has to let them step away and face up to the hoop and take a shot when receiving the ball down low since neither is a post player with any power moves.
Defensively work on help out defense when guards are beat. Not overplaying your man to block passing lanes since this team is not quick enough to get back to their man.
Stop playing favorites one of Dixon’s problems. Robinson should be a spot player with McGhee gone he is a liability. Forget that he is a senior he has know upside.
Take Taylor aside talk to him positively with the attempt to get his confidence. My guess is that Dixon uses alot of negative reinforcement. Tell Taylor he is the man and he wants him to take over not to be afraid to step away from the basket for a short jumper. Not to put the ball on the floor from 10 ft. away and go to the basket.
Sit Robinson down and play Taylor and Zana, Johnson, Gibbs, Moore, and Epps a point if he can handle it. Tell Moore to drive to the basket and forget the 3’s unless he is open.
Next year we will have a true point guard a 2 guard (Johnson) who is a good as shooter as Gibbs, a legitmate defensive and offensive big man in the paint and a big SF (Taylor/Zanna). We need to let Taylor and Zanna move away from the basket and get comfortable taking short jumpers.
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We need to hope Gilbert develops quickly (reasonable) and/or Adams is the real deal from day one (?tbd??). Zanna will move over to the 4 next year. Not sure what to do with Taylor. He does not move his feet well enough to guard most 4’s.
My big take away was just how stark the talent difference is between Pitt and Syracuse. Size, speed, and athleticism wise they are in different leagues
Taylor still needs to get much stronger. Again, he’s had 2 years to make that a priority. Moore had his worst game of the season last night. Firing up jumpers, poor help defense, lack of rebounding.
Wright and Zanna were really strong in the second half. Perhaps a light has gone off for Wright. He was aggressive and decisive.
Overall, don’t think you can fault the effort the team gave last night. Execution continues to be a problem at times But Syracuse shot the ball really well in the second half. A few of those 3s don’t go down and it’s altogether different game.
Taylor was 2-7 (not 2-11). Zanna 3-8. Nas 1-5.
I know we’re all disappointed in Taylor, but lets not exaggerate. He was playing against a pretty nasty front court. Taylor did almost everything else pretty well except his characteric occassional lapse on defense. Even playing the middle of the zone break on offense occassionally.
Comment by PantherP 01.17.12 @ 10:08 am
I posted those stats right after the game and that’s what they had.
The stats changed this morning or later last night. Which happens a lot after they review the
stat book.
Wasn’t trying to make him look any worse than he is. That’s what was listed in the Yahoo Game box, after the game. He did rebound pretty good.
But him and Zanna and Nas had some many ‘point blank’ misses it looked like a ymca game.
So if that holds, we’d be 16-15 and NIT bound….baby ! Maybe we can win the NIT championship so that we can at least say…we won a championship in hoops. Yea,,,I know.
Comment by wbb 01.17.12 @ 4:24 pm
Aaron Gray….a quick jumper….surely you jest.
🙂
Perhaps they also got blocked so much because they’re both playing out of position. Neither Taylor or Zanna are Centers. And they were matched up against a 7 footer in Melo who had the majority of the blocks.
If one remembers towards the end of the game, Zanna hit a couple jumpers in the elbow at the FT line. Which is what you do if you have an undersized but quicker guy playing Center. You have to draw their big lumbering Center(Melo) away from the hoop. Too bad it took 3/4 ‘s of the game for them to figure that out.
Biggest problem this team has had, you had Gibbs playing out of position and you have Taylor & Zanna and even Nas playing out of position. Gibbs we all know is not a PG, which killed his shooting and the offense overall. Taylor nor Zanna play well at all in the lane with back to basket and Nas is an extremely undersized PF, much more suited to SF or put Taylor or Zanna over there at SF and create some mismatches.
You just have alot of players out of position.
And it took forever for Coach to get Gibbs back to SG and he has yet to figure out Taylor & Zanna.
As was him finally admitting (not really) this team can’t play Man defense.
Demand Moore to take advantage of the open lane. Most of all have the guards in constant motion not just standing on the perimeter playing pass and catch and steal. If they moved without the ball inside and pickuped some screens from Zanna and Taylor (bouble screens) and popped out the other side or in the lane maybe they could avoid running the clock down to two seconds.
Drop the point guard play 2 guards and SF playing a swing guard. Johnson, Gibbs, Moore (pull him if he will not go to the basket), Taylor, and Zanna. Robinson should not play more than 20 minutes at most – he hurts as much as helps and will be gone.
Adams will have to start at center from 1st game so Zanna and Taylor need to determine now who can really play the 4.
