I thought it would be a good game. I did not expect Pitt to shoot 28% in the first half. Thank goodness Pitt was hitting free throws (yeah, that’s still taking some getting used to).
Before the game, I said that Penn State was essentially a two-man team in Tim Frazier and D.J. Newbill. Boy, were they ever. The two were a combined 15-30 shooting along with 13-16 on free throws for 45 of the Nits 69 points. The rest of PSU’s squad: 8-23 shooting, 6-7 on free throws. That’s 65% of their made baskets and total scoring. 55% of their total shot attempts. They came into the game averaging over 40% of the FGA and just over 50% of the FGM. Those numbers look tame by comparison. Frazier really had it going.
Now, Pat Chambers learned from Jay Wright about turning loose dynamo guards, but that Penn State has to rely so heavily on just two players to have a chance to come up short against a good team has to be a concern for him when their B1G season starts.
With plenty of time before a bowl game (more on that later this week), the coaching staff is wasting no time. It’s the opportunity for a late push before the dead period and there’s a lot happening right now. I’m only going to post info that’s publicly available because it’s not cool to post info only available behind a paywall for free. Guys like Tony Greco, Chris Peak, Greg Croft, etc. work too hard for their stuff to be thrown out there. (more…)
