Not sure why, but every year the night of the father-daughter night sponsored by my daughter’s school coincides with Pitt playing a late Saturday afternoon/Saturday evening game. This is no exception. I can probably catch the first half, but the second half will be complete overlap.
Last year, even more than the Rutgers debacle, losing and the way they lost to DePaul was a summary of how bad things were. The only upside is not only does this keep it from letting Pitt look ahead to Louisville on Big Monday. The way they blew it last year should serve as a reminder about how Pitt has lost and struggled at the end of games to finish strong.
DePaul had lost 53 of its previous 55 Big East games before upsetting Pitt, 84-81, last year at All-State Arena outside Chicago. The Panthers blew a 10-point second-half lead and a four-point lead with 17 seconds remaining.
The loss was shocking for the Panthers, who were the defending Big East regular-season champions. It was the first time in Jamie Dixon’s tenure as head coach that he had lost four consecutive games, and the fact that it came against the Blue Demons was the first sign that last season was going to be a long one.
If not for that loss against the Blue Demons, the game today could have been a “trap game” for Pitt with two games against top five opponents coming up next week. The Panthers will travel Monday to No. 5 Louisville and play host to No. 3 Syracuse next Saturday. With the memory of the loss against DePaul last season lingering, though, it’s unlikely the Panthers will underestimate the Blue Demons.
No, I imagine the coaches and players who were involved in the game — Moore, Taylor, Zanna, Patterson and Wright — haven’t forgotten the stinging humiliation of losing in a half-empty Rosemont Arena.
