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January 7, 2014

Hot Shooting on a Cold Night

Filed under: Basketball — Chas @ 7:37 am

Weak effort I know, but it was a late night and an early start. I felt obliged to make some sort of weather reference.

Unlike the past few games it did not take long for the offense to get going. Pitt came out with purpose on offense. Finishing at the rim and not nearly so much settling for jumpers early. The defense, though, took a little more time to get going.

Some of that has to do with Maryland and their style. They like to take a lot of threes, so there are points where it can help keep you in the game or shoot you right out of it. In the first half, it kept them in the game with 4-10 shooting from outside. It gave the Terrapins some more room inside, giving them more opportunities on the boards.

But Pitt was able to answer. Durand Johnson who may or may not have been ill on Saturday, but was definitely not played much because of his play — was a big spark last night.

Trailing at halftime 36-30 after the Panthers closed the half on a Johnson-led 11-2 run.

When Patterson was asked after the game what sparked Pittsburgh’s run into halftime, he pointed to Johnson, sitting next to him on the podium in the press room.

“This man,” Patterson said.

Johnson had 10 points halftime, but said it was his team’s defense that made the difference. Johnson was coming off a game when he played just eight minutes and failed to score in a win at North Carolina State. He had been benched because of his lack of defense.

“We just play hard, [head coach Jamie] Dixon gets on a lot on the defensive end and that’s where it starts,” Johnson said. “We all buy into it. We all played hard, we made a run and we got it going…We turned it into a 20-point win.”

And after the game, Coach Jamie Dixon echoed what so many of us keep saying about Durand Johnson.

“He gives us other things,” Dixon said, noting that Johnson also had three rebounds, three assists, two steals and a blocked shot in 23 minutes. “I explained this to him, and I think he was in shock, but I think he can help us in other ways even if he doesn’t score. … His energy and how hard he plays is what allows him to get better. I want him to know that he doesn’t have to make shots.”

When Johnson is engaged, he is a solid defender. His natural athleticism and talent are obvious. Those reasons that some scream to play him more are the same reasons so many also get frustrated watching him. Last night he took his usual 4 or so threes, but went to the basket just as much.

It wasn’t just Johnson snapping out of his funk. Lamar Patterson and Talib Zanna continue to lead the team (Zanna fell one rebound shy of another double-double). James Robinson was efficient not only directing the team but finding his own shot as needed.

Cam Wright struggled with his shooting last night, but his defense as usual was painful for the opposition. Mike Young and Jamel Artis are continuing their improvement and making the power forward spot less of a concern. The only reason Artis played only 10 minutes, though, was because Johnson was doing so well that Dixon played Johnson at the spot for stretches.

It was such a blowout, that the walk-0ns got a minute of action in a conference game. But more enticing was seeing Joseph Uchebo on the court for the first time. Looks like he is not only cleared to play, but he is starting to feel ready to play. At this point it is mental. Trusting that the leg is healed. Trusting it can take the strain. If he is ready to make that transition, Pitt is going to have even more depth and size inside.

Other stuff.

The Maryland side felt a bit demoralized after being demolished.

He had tried to unearth positivity from this mess of a Monday night but reality was printed on the box score before him, so Coach Mark Turgeon started methodically folding the sheet of paper as if to hide the evidence. The Maryland men’s basketball team had just fallen to Pittsburgh, 79-59, a humbling reality check for everyone on the visitors’ bench, and though Turgeon later claimed he felt encouragement, even he eventually succumbed to frustration after the season’s worst defeat.

“Can’t sit there and just play like that,” Turgeon said.

It was billed as Maryland’s biggest test since point guard Seth Allen returned four games ago from a broken foot and Turgeon began insisting everyone start fresh. The Terrapins had flown north on a quick turnaround, less than 48 hours after beating Georgia Tech at home. They knew the opportunity that lay ahead, a chance to remain relevant and unbeaten in conference play. But in spectacularly demoralizing fashion they watched it zoom away.

These are the numbers Turgeon folded away during his postgame news conference: The starters shot 31.4 percent and among them only Evan Smotrycz scored more than five points. Sophomore forward Jake Layman committed four fouls and made one field goal. Against a Pittsburgh team known for its physicality, no Terps player snatched more than five rebounds and the Panthers outscored them by 14 points in the paint.

Maryland’s frustration at being weak on offense did not help their defensive effort. Or any effort.

Frustrated with his team’s lack of fight down the stretch, Turgeon called a timeout in the final minute, as a place known locally as “Oakland Zoo” for the neighborhood the school is located in and its rowdy, towel-waving, foot-stomping student section voiced its disapproval.

It might have been the first time Maryland stopped the Panthers in the second half.

Zing!

This is what is supposed to happen when you play Pitt in the Pete.

Pitt plays at Maryland in under three weeks. Expect the Terrapins to be looking for payback by then.





may be gorman should be tared and featherd and rode out of town on a rail would that make you all fell better.

Comment by Frankcan 01.07.14 @ 11:44 pm

nope

Comment by panther94 01.08.14 @ 12:21 am

Pitt will be fine. I think that Our inability to advance in the NCAA tourney is keeping some voters (Gorman included) a little gun shy on voting for Pitt.

The ranking mean little and the reality is that we do need to beat 2 of the 3 ACC favorites (Duke, SU, and UNC) to garner respect from voters.

I think Pitt is a solid top 15 team but who really cares at this point. Win a few more and we will get there. We are not Top 5 and likely not top 10 at this point (could change) so the difference between 15 and 28 is not that meaningful.

We are a solid # 3 or 4 seed if the NCAA started tomorrow.
We likely will finish 3-4 in regular ACC season and Semi’s (maybe finals) in ACC tourney. Pitt is built to withstand a long drawn out season, we have historically not been built for 1 and done tourneys. The voters are voting based on 1 and done tourney expectations. Gorman is gun shy. I disagree but I understand.

Let’s hope we keep rolling and at some point we will have to be ranked.

Comment by Pitt Fan in Atlanta 01.08.14 @ 12:38 am

What des Gorman know about college basketball? I’m sorry, but just because your employer assigns you to a task that does not mean you are knowledgeable.
Unless and until you have actually seen other teams play (say ..UC versus Memphis) live and in person, you don’t have a legit frame of reference.
You have to be a bit of a junkie to know where Pitt ranks and does not rank. Sitting in state college or Morgantown or Pittsburgh and never seeing anyone else play simply manes you a fan or a paid writer: not an expert.
There is really only one sports junkie in Pgh. Paul Zeise. If you asked Gorman and Zeise to sit in the same room and take the following test, only Zeise would pass.
Name 5 non conference foes for Arizona
What conference is is UNLV in?
Name 3 teams Wichita State has played
Name the Big Five teams
Besides Pitt, name 3 teams Duquesne has played at home at Palumbo.
It is like the old movie Broadcast News where William Hurt can’t tell the seasoned reporter his many cabinet positions exist.
Gorman is a writer with a vote. No different than the fool on the street with a vote for President.
Just live with it and treat Gorman the same way you treat dig crap not on your lawn. Walk around it and let someone else clean it.

Comment by Sfpitt 01.08.14 @ 5:41 am

That’s why I like computer polls. They sometimes even have better personalities than these human sports writers.

Comment by TX Panther 01.08.14 @ 7:13 am

I like Zeise. But I think we’ll like his son even more.

Comment by TX Panther 01.08.14 @ 7:15 am

Just to change the topic, since the current one has already been beat to death, Tyler Boyd’s recognition by the college football writers, giving him Freshman All American status on the FWAA team is another huge honor for this year’s mediocre Pitt football team. These kind of honors rarely fall on teams that are headed in the wrong direction, especially when the recipients are true Freshman.

The Cardiac Hill article on this subject, stated that it would be premature to start drawing comparisions between Boyd and our most recent Bilenikoff Award winner, but I say it is just the time to start that comparision since Tyler surpassed Fitz’s Freshman stats in 2013 while also breaking the 1000 yard barrier in his first year on the field.

If Tyler Boyd is successful in avoiding the dreaded Sophomore slump, which I’m confident that he will do, then he should be in line for serious consideration for the Bilenikoff Award come fall.

If Chad Voytik is half as good as he showed glimpses of being, in his come from behind bowl win, then Tyler should be seeing a lot of action coming his way. If can we find an adequate compliment for him at the other WR spot, then we might just be catching lightening in a bottle come September. We have a lot of fresh troops in the stable at WR, especially with our recent commitment of Adonis Jennings from NJ, while our tested veteran, Weatherspoon, awaits the season, hoping for his own breakout season in 2014.

It will be fun to watch. H2P!

Comment by Dr. Tom 01.08.14 @ 7:45 am

Pitt may finally have some real ‘High Octane’ but will the D be good enough to win games? I’d be more confident with a new DC.

Comment by TX Panther 01.08.14 @ 7:55 am

attached is NFL.com all-bowl team. No, Conner, Boyd or Donald did not make it but there is a big (and pleasant surprise) on it

link to nfl.com

Comment by wbb 01.08.14 @ 8:31 am

Josh Newkirk nickname ‘Nuke’ or maybe ‘Newk’

Comment by wbb 01.08.14 @ 8:33 am

Dr Tom, with Boyd, Conner and most of the OL returning along with 2 incoming 4-stars OL plus the promise that Voytik, James, Challingworth and Jennings bring, it should indeed be fun to watch next year.

It appears that we will have to outscore everyone in the foreseeable future (Big 12 FB) … a Fraud wet dream

Comment by wbb 01.08.14 @ 9:38 am

Don’t understand how Tyler Boyd didn’t make that ALL-Bowl team.

He had more yardage (173 yards) than both Lockett & Ellington. 60 more yards than Ellington btw. And he returned a punt for 54 yds for a TD.

Same goes for James Connor, he had more yards than either RB they selected, 105 yards more than Storm Johnson. I’m sure his avp was higher at 8.8 ypc AND HE BROKE THE LEGENDARY TONY DORSETT’S 36 year bowl record for Rushing.

We got a double screwing there. I guess Artie Rowell was the bone they threw us.

Good for him, but Tyler & James deserved to be on it too. No question.

Comment by Emel 01.08.14 @ 9:39 am

@ Doc

We’ll have beat that to death, when we start getting some respect from our local sportswriters.

After seeing this go on for several decades, I don’t know about you, but I’m fed up with it. And I’m going to try to do something about it.

Could have used your help yesterday !

Comment by Emel 01.08.14 @ 9:43 am

@ SFpitt

Good to see you back buddy. Haven’t seen you post for quite a while.

And as usual you’re spot on with these nitwits posing as basketball writers. haha

Comment by Emel 01.08.14 @ 9:44 am

Emel, agree that Rowell was a bone they threw us … the were compelled to mention Conner’s record breaking performancee.

Comment by wbb 01.08.14 @ 9:53 am

Rothstein gives Lamar some ink.

link to cbssports.com

Comment by xfmrman 01.08.14 @ 10:26 am

Sorry Emel, but I was elbow deep in my never ending battle against tooth decay yesterday. Regarding the “No Respect” issue with our local pressors, the usual answer for everything applies here as well, just win baby win. Too bad we dropped that Cincy game or we’d be climbing up the charts right now, if for no other reason than an undefeated Pitt team would be impossible to ignore no matter how hard these nitwits would try!

Comment by Dr. Tom 01.08.14 @ 11:13 am

Wow, Artie Rowell was not the name I expected to see on an All-Bowl team, but good for him. He anchored a make-shift line that was dominant, so sounds good to me.

Comment by Iron Duke 01.08.14 @ 12:13 pm

Just to belabor this thread in case anyone comes back to it – the question was asked earlier who should Pitt replace in the AP Top 25. Good question, so I reviewed the teams, and here’s a list of potential candidates:

#17 Oregon: no top 25 wins, best win Illinois (not ranked at the time); lost to Colorado

#19 UMass: best win vs. unranked New Mexico; lost to Florida St.

#21 Mizzou: Best win UCLA; lost to Illinois, beat NC St. by 4.

#22 Gonzaga: Best win Arkansas by 10 or WVU by 4; lost to Dayton and KSU

#23 Illinois: Best win Mizzou; lost to Ga Tech(!) and Oregon

#24 Memphis: Best win Ok St. by 5; lost to Ok St. by 21, Florida by 2, Cincy by 16

#25 Kansas St.: Best wins Gonzaga, Ok St.; lost to Northern Colorado, Charlotte, and G’town by 30!

Could also make argument against 4-loss Kansas, Florida, Louisville (lost to only 2 decent teams they’ve played), Colorado, Duke, Iowa.

Here’s your litmus test. Replace any of the ranked teams listed above with “PITT” and tell me if Pitt would be ranked with the same schedule and results. I think the answer is Hell No!

Comment by Iron Duke 01.08.14 @ 12:49 pm

Good research Iron Duke.

Gorman will enjoy reading it !

Comment by Emel 01.08.14 @ 1:52 pm

Thanks EMel. Good to be back.
To belabor the point more, I wonder precisely which teams Gorman considers to be in the upper echelon of the ACC. UNC? Duke? Syracuse? Well 2 of those have at least 1 bad Loss on their resume.
The problem with Gorman’s logic is that it isn’t logical. Cuse was lucky to beat Miami at home as we’ were waxing NCSTATE in their building. Duke was losing to ND as we waxed NCSTATE and with wax freshly applied NCSTATE waxes ND.
Plain and simple, Gorman doesn’t understand college basketball and doesn’t care to learn.
Let’s win some more.

Comment by Sfpitt 01.08.14 @ 2:09 pm

After giving it a nights rest I have decided that Boubabcar”s suggestion that not being ranked might be a blessing’ might at this point be dead balls accurate. I understand that seeding for the dance is hindered by lack of a high ranking. Right now Palm has us at a 6 and Lunardi at a 7 seed. Although the lack of future ranked opponents doesn’t give us much hope of a high ranking unless we overachieve, our ACC status could earn us a higher pairing. Example if we finish higher than either Duke or Syracuse we should be able to expect at least an equal seed with those “media darlings”. The fact that we are kicking conference behind should also draw attention to us. We should use the lack of respect as a badge and be the team with an attitude. I think if we can win 13 games in conference and get a couple wins at the ACC Tournament we should easily earn a 4 or 5 seed no matter what they rank us. Iron Duke has a list of teams he feels we should replace in the polls. The only team out of the 7 that could hang with us is Oregon. When the polls are that out of wack, screw em’, who needs ’em.

Comment by spiritofsection22 01.08.14 @ 2:40 pm

@SFPitt , Your dog crap advice is the post of the week.

Comment by spiritofsection22 01.08.14 @ 2:43 pm

espnbpi 5, espnrpi 17,kenpom 6,cbsrpi 22 Gorman poll nr

Comment by spiritofsection22 01.08.14 @ 3:30 pm

We’ve been talking about Gorman not watching any basketball besides Pitt, and it got me thinking (bad thing)…So back in the day, before there were a dozen college hoops games on TV every night, how did the AP writers determine who the best teams in the country were? I guess it was even more of a crap shoot then?

Comment by Iron Duke 01.08.14 @ 4:22 pm

Iron Duke, My guess is that back then there were way fewer sports reporting jobs available so hacks like Gorman were weeded out. They had less information to work with but approached the job with more professionalism. How much basketball could the dufuss learn at Penn St anyway.

Comment by spiritofsection22 01.08.14 @ 4:40 pm

Wake vs. Virginia from 7pm on ESPN 3 tonight. Looking forward to checking this one out… #4 Wisconsin is playing #23 Illinois from 9pm, but that one’s on Big Ten Network.

Comment by SilverPanther in NYC 01.08.14 @ 4:56 pm

SOS22 – hahaha! Maybe he watched their perenially-Top 20 Women’s team!

Comment by Iron Duke 01.08.14 @ 5:16 pm

I bet he Knows his girls volleyball

Comment by spiritofsection22 01.08.14 @ 5:20 pm

Silver Panther, Can Wake beat Va

Comment by spiritofsection22 01.08.14 @ 5:21 pm

@wbb I’m liking the ‘Newk’ nickname. Has kind thermo-destructive ring to it. Let’s hope it’s high yield and deadly from range.

Comment by spiritofsection22 01.08.14 @ 5:26 pm

How about dickhead Smizik saying Pitt isn’t good enough to win the ACC or go very far in the NCAA’s. Even if that were true why is he writing it?

Comment by spiritofsection22 01.08.14 @ 5:50 pm

I am certainly not open minded or impartial when it comes to Pitt hoops. I am about as partisan as one can be. Maybe that is why refuse to believe Pitt can’t win the ACC this year. 1) Syracuse looks like they always do. We always beat them as much or more than they beat us. Why should this season be any different? Duke looks like sometimes they do and sometimes they don’t. They seem a little overated as usual and the loss at ND says they can be had. NC is in disarray. They beat Michigan St at E Lansing so they can beat anybody but how did they lose to 4 nobodies? There is something wrong and they aren’t going to win squat. Notre Dame was preseason hot stuff and they always beat us head to head but they look to be down the list this year. Virginia, be serious ,we will beat them like a non/con game. I don’t see any reason to assume we can’t win the ACC. Nobody is seeing it my way so what am I missing here? Somebody help me please.

Comment by spiritofsection22 01.08.14 @ 6:11 pm

Smizek has always been negative about everything, not just Pitt. He is one that thinks that controversy sells papers.

Spirit, I think the concern stems from the Cinci game. Was it an aberration, will we get tight against tougher competition or will we rise to the occasion. I appreciate your positive attitude but there is really no way to know until they play the games.

Unfortunately there are very few games ahead where we won’t be the favorites. Therefore we really do have to beat Syracuse, North Carolina and Duke, and not stumble at home.

We really do owe ND, but they did kinda give us one on the gridiron.

Comment by gc 01.08.14 @ 6:44 pm

@spirit,

I don’t think that anybody can stop them if they rebound, Johnson gets hot, and they play both halves.

Comment by Howard 01.08.14 @ 6:50 pm

Gc, Teams have bad games and I think we will have a couple more this year. What bothers me is I think I am the only one who thinks we have a good chance to win the ACC. I think it is a 3 team race at this point. Wake Forest is a 12 point dog at Virginia tonight and they beat North Carolina. North Carolina will be lucky to finish 4th. We always hold our own with the Orange and this year they aren’t any better than they always are. They have shown some weakness too like trailing Colgate at the half and barely getting bye Miami. I can see where some would prefer them but to assume they can beat us isn’t reality either. Which brings me to Duke. They are always built up into something beyond what they can deliver. This freshman Jabari or whatever is a nice freshman ,but he aint Wilt Chamberlain. Syracuse and NC can play with the Dukes and if Notre Dame can beat them others can too. We get them at home and that is the type of game that says I love the Pete. I’m sure we can win this conference despite what the Smizek’s and other dipdicks have assumed. There is also no reason why this team can’t make the sweet 16. I remember being picked 7th in a much tougher Big East and winning that, so this can happen too.

Comment by spiritofsection22 01.08.14 @ 7:09 pm

Howard, Well now there are 2 of us that think it can happen. Seriously, there isn’t a single source saying we are a contender, let alone that we can win.

Comment by spiritofsection22 01.08.14 @ 7:13 pm

If anybody can figure out how to get them to rebound and how to get Johnson to relax. It’s Jamie.

Last year, though, he couldn’t get them to play both halves. That was *so* frustrating.

The chemistry this year, though, is better. Also I’m hoping that being in a new conference with something to prove will help keep the motivation high.

Comment by Howard 01.08.14 @ 7:36 pm

SOS22, it certainly appears to be there for the taking. I do think Cuse, Duke, and UNC will improve as the year progresses, but maybe we do too?

Comment by Iron Duke 01.08.14 @ 7:41 pm

Iron Duke, UNC will win some games but I am confident they won’t contend. They are historically all or nothing too. That leaves Syracuse, Duke and overlooked us. We have a cushy schedule too.

Comment by spiritofsection22 01.08.14 @ 7:47 pm

Remaining games at the Pete that we should win Wake Forest, Clemson, UVA , VTech , FSU , NC St. that makes 8 wins. Road games we should win GTECH , Md , Miami , BC and Clenmson that’s 13. That leaves Duke and Syracuse at the Pete and road games at Syracuse , UNC , and ND. Win any combination of 2 more and 15 games would do it. 14 games might do it.

Comment by spiritofsection22 01.08.14 @ 8:15 pm

Duke already has a loss and plays home and aawy with both Syracuse and UNC and has to come to the Pete. The Orange get the Dukies twice us twice and UNC at home with road games at UVA and FSU. We definitely appear to have a schedule advantage. If we could hold perfect at the Pete I think we are in.

Comment by spiritofsection22 01.08.14 @ 8:34 pm

Miami up 29-23 at the half, in Chapel Hill.

Comment by xfmrman 01.08.14 @ 9:52 pm

Mizzou goes down to Georgia
1 2 OT T
UGA 30 26 14 70
#21 MIZZ 25 31 8 64

Comment by TVax 01.08.14 @ 10:20 pm

Personally I don’t care that they aren’t ranked now, but this should open up one space.

Comment by TVax 01.08.14 @ 10:26 pm

For some crazy reason, the Wake/ UVA game was blacked out on ESPN3 for me in NYC last night. So weird. Watched the Nets/ Warriors game instead. Good game.

Apparently UVA killed Wake. They were up by as many as 31 at one point. Wake seems to really suck on the road. So hopefully we come out and krush.

We are definitely an ACC contender. I can’t wait for a chance for us to prove it. I think Syracuse, Duke, Virginia, ND, and us are all legit contenders.

Comment by SilverPanther in NYC 01.09.14 @ 9:38 am

@SilverPanther in NYC “I think Syracuse, Duke, Virginia, ND, and us are all legit contenders.”

I agree except for Duke, Virginia and ND.

Comment by TVax 01.10.14 @ 8:06 am

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