“They manhandled us,” [YSU Coach Jerry] Slocum said, which is a great way to describe what the bigger, more physical Panthers did to the Penguins in the paint, and it also was the biggest reason the Panthers won the game.
What does “manhandling” look like in terms of one basketball team to another?
Start with the fact that the Panthers outrebounded the Penguins, 47-21, the largest rebounding margin they have posted in a game this season.
Pitt had 20 offensive rebounds, one fewer than the Penguins had total, and Pitt center Talib Zanna had almost as many defensive rebounds (11) as the Penguins had as a team (14).
The rebounding edge led to the Panthers rolling up impressive numbers of points in the paint (48) and second-chance points (20).
Offensively Pitt didn’t show much rust from a week off for finals.
