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.
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.
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.
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!
It appears that we will have to outscore everyone in the foreseeable future (Big 12 FB) … a Fraud wet dream
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.
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 !
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
#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!
Gorman will enjoy reading it !
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.
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.
I don’t think that anybody can stop them if they rebound, Johnson gets hot, and they play both halves.
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.
1 2 OT T
UGA 30 26 14 70
#21 MIZZ 25 31 8 64
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.
I agree except for Duke, Virginia and ND.