That was what they did.
“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.
Defensively, however, well there was a pesky guard that had his way with Pitt.
The numbers that Dixon can’t get out of his head are these: 73 and 28.
Youngstown State (7-5) scored more than any other Pitt opponent this season, even while losing its fourth game in the past five.
YSU guard Kendrick Perry led all scorers with 28 points, a season-best by an opposing player against the Panthers. Penn State’s Tim Frazier scored 27 against the Panthers on Dec. 3. Plus, Stanford’s Dwight Powell and Loyola Marymount’s Anthony Ireland each had 20 against Pitt in the past month.
“I don’t like a guy scoring 28 points,” Dixon said. “I don’t care how many points we were up by (26 midway through the second half).”
Dixon played four freshmen at the same time for short stretches, but that was no excuse.
“We have to get better defensively with our young guys,” Dixon said. “You probably heard that one before, and I’ll say it again. We have made that very clear to them. … There are reasons why we are under the radar.”
Quite the direct message from Dixon.
You want to worry about not being ranked in the top-25? Then play a complete game like a team that should be ranked. Regardless of the opponent.
As for the guards who have torched Pitt. Of course it is a concern. Simply because once ACC play begins there will be opponents with more than one weapon. That said, the one other thing all those guards had in common? All of them seniors. Smart, experienced players who understand the rules and know how to attack the basket — even against a zone.
Plus, this was a game where Dixon went deep on the bench to give everyone minutes. Ten players got at least 10 minutes of playing time. Lots of opportunities and chances for plenty of confusion on the defense.
Dixon will be seeking an effective mix of offense and defense from his new players, including freshmen Jamel Artis, Josh Newkirk and Young and junior transfer Randall.
“Offensively, they are hard to guard,” Dixon said. “You can just look at the numbers. Defensively, they have to get better.
“It’s to be expected, but we don’t have time to wait. They are playing significant minutes on a team that is trying to do some things.”
So… not a rebuilding year, then?
Not too much to say on this game. The veterans were solid, and had a relatively early and easy day. Only Durand Johnson had a bit of shooting struggles. 0-4 on 3s. 1-7 overall. He did have 4 assists, though, as he is continuing to be more willing to share the ball.
Pitt gave good minutes to Newkirk and Artis. Newkirk is really starting to impress me. He is much more of a scoring point guard, giving this team a very different look when he has the reins instead of James Robinson. It should provide a good shake-up to opposing teams that gameplan too much for Robinson and play off the point guard.
As for Artis, he is making progress, but as a frontcourt player it is a little slower. He is struggling on the defensive end to be in the right place. He’s showing more patience on the offensive end. Not trying to show his worth the moment he hits the court.
In other notes, per Paul Zeise’s blog:
Another player who people have asked about is Joe Uchebo, who is in the game notes listed as “he has been cleared to play”, which begs the question “why isn’t he?” Well, it is simple — he had a major, major knee injury and surgeries to repair it. It is now healthy enough to where he can go full speed ahead. But he is still, according to Dixon, just not really mentally ready to trust it and that is holding him back. It is going to be a process with him, it just is. I expect he will probably be ready to go and coaches would like to get him in a little bit against a couple of the late December nonconference opponents, but we will see. It is one of those things that will be a work in progress and the hope is with each passing day, he trusts it more and gets a little more confidence in it and sooner rather than later he is back in the mix.
Also, best to Aron Nwanko and his family. Hope his mom gets well soon.
So does Mostella lose a year of eligibility? I don’t really understand that situation.
Which Cincy will show up?
Will be a battle which we will win.
Looking forward to watching the game in person.
I have communicated with EMel. He is fine. Just a little pissed at having his comments zapped during the Miami debacle. He’ll be back.
He’s elusively quick. He did what #3 did a number of times, but sort of in slo mo.
But he did it.
link to espn.go.com Slowly moving up which is probably better to keep team focused.
I’m not in the camp, that Pitt doesn’t get pub.
Hell, they’ve been on tv constantly for the last 12 years.
Several guys, Bobby Knight included picked them to win it all a few years back.
Top 10 and top 20 for the last 12 years.
For several years in a row, CBS was promoting some Pitt games, with comments like, “these two powerhouses will meet Saturday”. etc. etc.
I know, I know, a couple years, we didn’t get seeded high enough for some, and that was some kind of slight?? Those same years, there were probably 20 other fan bases saying the same thing about their team.
I was just flipping through the channels this weekend, forget what teams were playing, but the announcers started talking about who would be the top teams in the ACC.
They were Dick Vitale and Jay Bilas, and both were talking Pitt up big.
Keep winning, especially in the conference, we’ll be just fine.
That type of stuff.
They actually only mentioned 4 ACC teams during this discussion, and we were one of them.
But most of the comments were from reasonable commentators, with more than one calling out the fact that Pitt will not play a good team until going to the Carrier Dome on Jan 18th.
It has now gotten to the point where the first thing the basketball-watching public thinks of when they hear Pitt hoops is “they don’t play anybody for half the season”.
This stuff has to bother Dixon by now. He’s got to change the public perception — it’s embarrassing.
I know one way to change the public perception.
Something to the effect, “even though they haven’t played anyone and you can’t really tell, don’t fall asleep on Pitt, they have a really good team”.
Pitt, Arizona, Missouri, Purdue, BYU, San Diego State, Kansas State, and host Chaminade.
The new problem is that the ACC hasn’t had the depth of the Big East lately. We add NC and Duke but we lose UConn, Georgetown, Villanova, WVU, Marquette, all tournament teams most with National Championship trophies.
It will balance out over time, but we will have to win a lot of ACC games to move up in the rankings.
Pitt 10-0 still unranked. This is BS.
ACC really needed an influx of good BB teams.
Hail to Pitt!
Looking forward to tmrw nights game.
Even if Cincy isn’t quite “Cincy” as some have said above. (haven’t seen them play, so I’ll go with your thoughts).
Still should be a good test.
We have always had several guys that were abysmal, now other than Randall you feel pretty good when we go to the line.
I know we can’t be as good as I think we are, but it looks to me that we have more weapons than ever. We still have our weaknesses and will have a few off nights, but how can you not like what you see so far?
You can do better on cardiac hill (the place not the website)if you know what you are doing.
Another big difference is that they drive to the hoop like no Pitt team I can remember. Like Wannamaker after two years of throwing up clunkers, it seems like everything Wright lays up goes in. Robinson still have difficulty finishing his drives bur almost always gets fouled and he is money from the line.
Even Zanna’s hands look much better/stronger, like I said, we have to see what they do against the A teams, but they just look so much better.
When Adams left, I thought we would be lucky to win 15 games this year. We also lost Sleepy leaving Zanna as our only big guy. We know he has been tossed around a lot and tended to disappear against better competition.
Patterson was solid, not flashy and he would disappear on O and D at times. We really had no known scorers other than these two. Durand could get hot but hardly a given.
Robinson, a leader but not a scorer
Wright was a decent defender not known to score, I had hope that he would progress, but who knew.
Randall was a journeyman and we had four freshmen.
It is easy to understand how pundits, that aren’t paying attention anyway could overlook Pitt.
Especially when we had one really bad year and even with Adams the team kind of underachieved last year.
This is why I am really pleased with what I am seeing. Not at all what I expected.
Anyone else noticing that sometimes even when it seems like Newkirk can blow right by his defender he slows up around the free-throw line and brings it back out to the top of the key? If you’ve got your man beat, finish the play kid!!
Steve1, I could care less about tournament consideration at this point. I will agree that we need a deep tournament run or two to reach elite status. I’m just sick of more than one-third of our games being “tune ups”. As the saying goes, if you want to run with the big dogs, then you have to leave your porch!
Pre-season rankings mean nothing. Don’t even care where we are ranked any day between now and April 7, 2014.
There is a Pitt shop at the lower entrance and also a Pitt Museum that you should see.
It should be a great game. Maryland has some losses but they are all to good teams.
The Pete will be rocking.
I think this team will really buckle down on D when they play more competitive teams. Good test on Tuesday.
Still surprised at how well the new kids appear to be filling their roles and that Wright seems to be stepping up just at the wright time.
Can’t see how Uchebo or Mostella will contribute this year, will be much needed next year.
Also amazed that everyone on this team can score, that must be a first at Pitt.