The first 7-8 minutes of the game couldn’t have started much worse for Pitt. Down 17-2 and 19-4, Pitt was lost. Every writer paying attention to the game was preparing the “Pitt’s bad non-con schedule set them up for this debacle” piece. They weren’t prepared for their first real road game. They didn’t know how to handle playing a quality team. They were paper tigers.
…three newcomers made key contributions for the Panthers in their inaugural ACC game.
The trio combined for half of Pitt’s 26 first-half points, providing an offensive punch after Pitt fell behind by 15 points, and finished with 24 points.
“We weren’t playing that good, and they got out to a big run,” Pitt fifth-year senior Lamar Patterson said. “Our freshmen responded and we took it from there.”
Power forward Mike Young scored Pitt’s first points — and the Panthers’ only basket of the game’s first six minutes — and finished with 13 points and two rebounds. Backup forward Jamel Artis added six points and one rebound. Point guard Josh Newkirk, a Raleigh native, provided a spark off the bench, scoring five first-half points for a happy homecoming.
You know how it is for upperclassmen. Noon on a weekend. You can’t expect them to be awake yet. Nooners suck.
Okay, weak joke. But Coach Jamie Dixon wasn’t laughing. The upperclassmen found themselves on the bench a bit in the first half.
Dixon, however, said the bigger concern than the defensive scheme was a lack of effort and the fact that they were playing “soft” on defense, so he continued to give players a seat on the bench until he found a combination of players willing to play the way they need to in order to win games.
“I have five assistants and they were all urging me to sit a different guy, but we ran out of players so I decided to go back to the starting lineup for the second half,” Dixon said. “But I didn’t think our zone was really that good, we were still getting beat on the boards but it is something that we have used to slow teams and to get teams out of rhythm and it did that.
“But there is no secret or science, the only way to get back in it was to go defend and rebound and get loose balls. That is who we are. And we did guard better as opposed to giving transition hoops over and over.”
Lamar Patterson woke up after his “rest” — Dixon took issue with the word “benched” being assigned to Patterson and Talib Zanna — and led the Panthers with 22 points, 8 rebounds and 6 assists. Zanna had 15 points and grabbed nine rebounds.
The zone was very effective. Of course it helps that NC State is, well, NC State.
“My first thought, they out-toughed us,” said North Carolina State coach Mark Gottfried after the Panthers handed the Wolfpack a 74-62 loss before a crowd of 14,049 at PNC Arena.
“They were tougher than our team was. They defended us tougher than we defended them, they got after loose balls — our young guys better learn at this level, if we’re going to win, it is real simple, we have to be a lot tougher than we were [Saturday].
“We just did not respond to their aggressiveness in the second half, we turned it over and part of that is being tougher with the basketball. When the ball was loose, they [dived] on the floor and we didn’t.”
Which Pitt struggled to do in the first 8 minutes. But Pitt chipped away in the rest of the first half and dismantled NC State in the second.
NC State played like a lot of teams that wants to play offense only. The minute the shots don’t go. The minute the offense becomes difficult, then the frustration sets in and they get worse with the ball and uncaring on defense.
That won’t be the case tonight. Not with Maryland under Mark Turgeon. Maryland has had some bad losses, but they are improving with Seth Allen healed and running point for them once more.
“It’s a guessing game,” Turgeon told The Washington Post. “But I think we’ll continue to play guys. What we’ve done is we’ve built depth. We’ve really created competition. They know they’ve really got to earn the playing time. Getting them all in has really helped us.”
The Terrapins’ two leading scorers are guard/forwards — Dez Wells (15 ppg, 5.3 rpg) and Jake Layman (13.7 ppg, 5.1 rpg) — but Turgeon has a number of options at the frontcourt spots and 6-foot-9 sophomore Shaquille Cleare seemingly has found his way to the top of that group.
Maryland has some size in the front court, but not overwhelming. Talib Zanna’s performance in the second half of the NC State game was encouraging in how he responded to a really bad first half and bigger players.
After his scoring average dipped by three points during conference play last season, Zanna made it a point to improve his endurance this summer so he wouldn’t wear down this season. He is averaging 12.1 points and 7.6 rebounds a game this season.
With backup Derrick Randall providing only 2.9 points and 3.9 rebounds in limited minutes so far, Zanna knows he will have to handle a heavier workload.
Now, Zanna is faced with a new question: Can he keep it up all season?
“It’s a matter of heart, who has it,” Zanna said. “It’s not the body. If you have heart, you can bring it every day.”
That is the question with Zanna. Zanna unquestionably has a nasty streak in him. Something you need to play in the frontcourt at a high level in college or the prose. The question has always been his toughness. Take the shots to keep battling inside. He and Dante Taylor always struck me as each lacking part. Taylor was unquestionably tough, but he didn’t have the nasty streak he needed to thrive. Zanna is showing a more toughness this year in his final go-round.
Okay, the game is on at 7pm on ESPNU. The other mystery for tonight: how many people can safely make it to the Pete on a very nasty night.
It’s okay. You’re still awesome.
Good to hear Jimbo Fisher giving props to the ACC in post game comments. SEC are the big boys, all everybody else can do is try to close the gap. FSU did their part tonight.
ACC stops the SEC streak and wins not one BCS bowl game….but 2.
Hey Dan you forgot Pitt over Bowling Green!
Saw Gus Malzohn(sp) interviewed for the first time, hell, he makes Chryst look like
Don Rickles!!!
Yep yep, but I thought it was me that said that. lol
Funny enough, they were bitching about leaving the conf, and wallah they win the NC.
See PITT needs to bitch more. 🙂
Hey, I’m not even bashing the SEC, I’m a college football fan, I love to watch anyone in any of the BCS conferences and the Mountain West.
Hell, I know they’re the best conference.
What I always hated, was the talking heads only talking about them, and making them out to be some sort of conglomerate of the 60’s Packers, 70’s Steelers and 80’s 49’ers.
They never seem to talk about the bottom half of the conference???? Do those 6 or 7 teams ever play???
Hell, Duke went up and down the field on Texas A&M. Yep, TAM won, no doubt about that.
If you watched the game though, Duke was all over them, and if their qb doesn’t throw a pick at the end, they probably go down and score.
Regardless, you hanging your hat on TAM beating Duke by 4????
Anyhow, very entertaining game. Enjoyed it. I like nothing more than watching a good SEC game, but talking heads, tone it down a bit, it’s almost like you have a school boy crush on the conference. It’s embarrassing.
I’m moving further and further away from the computer screen to see, each day.
I thought, a game like this?? What’d he do, look at the sidelines for a couple seconds??
However, that’s not my point.
My point is, if they are going to be that ticky tacky with the calls, why didn’t the Auburn kid get a 15 yard penalty for spiking the ball in the end zone???
No, he didn’t just throw it down, he spiked it.
Personally, I don’t think either one should have been called.
whether a tough non-con or a weak non-con effect anything when you get into conference play.
Maryland has played and lost to Uconn, Oregon State, #3 Ohio State, Baylor(12-1), and GW (12-2).
And beat Providence
Meanwhile PITT has played no one of note. And had the Epic Fail against one of the only legit opponents in the non-con (Cincy). According to the media and a lot of ppl on the Blather.
Should be interesting to see how this plays out.
Comment by Emel 01.06.14 @ 5:47 pm
Tonite suggests the above doesn’t mean a thing….when you got that swing ! (and Lamar & Durand Durand raining 3’s)
Maryland coach
Can you imagine the controversy if FSU hadn’t scored there ?
And of course Muscrat & Herbie ‘covered’ for the blown call saying the ref was not in position.
Funny on the replay it looked like the ref was right there in front of the play or right next to it.
It was, needless to say, a Strange game.
It’s there and it’s real and I’ve seen it over and over. Over several decades. Don’t really understand it, but it exists.
Usually they just slink away quietly until they have another overblown opinion to pronounce as fact down the road.
Overall, a great couple of days for the University of Pittsburgh. We snag Adonis, Pitt wins it’s first two ACC BB games convincingly, our new conference stamps it’s brand on the National Championship for 2013 and HCPC gets some unexpected national media time.
Now if only Ross K. can pan out to be a decent S&C Coach, then all is right with the world, at least for a day or two.
GC – Yes I think Auburn was getting 10.5 points. So they covered but I thought they would win by 4.
Upone – I’m waiting for you to give us updates on the Frisbee team that plays at Schenley Park in between rolling joints and listening to Phish. You sure are a Pitt guy tried and true. I hope you have a good week and enjoyed the game(s)
Doc – You know I talk lots of shit, but I always own up when I’m wrong which is often more times than not. LOL.
I’ve never been a fan of Musberger. He just always seems over the top. And Herbie is a Big 10 apologist, even though the Buckeye faithful ran him out of Columbus. Eh, it was still a great game.
Now what is the over/under in months until Auburn goes on probation?
It really was an elfoldo for Auburn. Hard to take after being so dominate in the first half. One great comeback for FSU.
College football really does look different with all four and five star players.
Ferocious hitting and unbelievable speed and skills. The receivers were magnificent.
Winston’s last pass and the catch were professional.
Not many blown coverages in this game.
Good for us that strong is leaving, bad for the ACC. Hopefully this big win will get more high profile recruits interested in the ACC.
I thought him and Brent were wrong about that call and “told me so”. “the refs were right”,
however, I actually like Herbsteit. He may be a Big 10 apologist, but concentrating on Ohio State, I’ve found him to rarely root for Ohio State, and saw him call for them to lose a game this year.
Always thought he’s handled that well, compared to say, Lou Holtz, who cheers cheers for old Notre Dame every time he gets a chance.
I guess Terrelle Pryor even tweated once “Herbie’s a fake buckeye”.
How immature for some of their fan base to not see that Herbstreit is a national broadcaster and cannot be a cheerleader for their team??
Saw a good article on it. Moved more for the kids. Guess they were getting pummeled everyday, for years, at school and out at places with “your Dad sucks”, “your Dad’s no good”, “your Dad not a real Buckeye”, etc. etc.
Article also referenced Jay Bilas, and how he has caught some flack for not always being the raw raw guy for Duke. I’ve always found him to be straight and narrow too, and enjoy him calling the games.
These guys have to be that way, or they have no credibility.
I think Mark May, made a comment pryor to the FSU game, “Pitt’s got a real, real uphill battle here tonight”.
That’s was the truth. That’s all. I’m sure he bleeds blue and gold, but the truth is the truth.
Any Pitt fan that would have taken offense to that comment, would strike me as having a teenager mindset.
