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August 7, 2014

Maui Bracket Set

Filed under: Basketball,Non-con,Schedule — Chas @ 6:50 am

The bracket was released for the 2014 Maui Invitational Classic. Since Pitt will get there a little early to play Hawaii, they get an extra game. Pitt gets to start it out against the host — Chaminade. Assuming no upset (yes, yes, we all know: 1982. Virginia. Ralph Sampson. Yada, yada, yada.), Pitt moves on to face BYU or SDSU in the semis. Given the recent past, I would expect it to be SDSU.

I’m not sure if it is just a few people getting negative or just a conditioning thing, but I actually saw some complaints about Pitt’s bracket on Twitter and message boards. Mainly that it is a negative to have the game against Chaminade because it hurts the RPI. And a little unfamiliarity/little too casual in dismissing a team like SDSU. The Aztecs have been one of the best teams in the Mountain West. They were a #4 seed last year, going out in the Sweet Sixteen to Arizona. Odds are, if it is Pitt-SDSU in the semis, SDSU will be considered the favorite.

My personal feeling is that Pitt’s (likely) semi-final game will be tougher than what Arizona will face against the Purdue/K-State winner. Yes, there is more name recognition for the opponent, but BYU is the equivalent of K-State and SDSU has been superior under Steve Fisher. Missouri had its steady decline under Frank Haith — who then bolted for Tulsa ahead of the firing that would have happened after this year — so Arizona may not have it as easy as Pitt should against Chaminade, but it won’t be that hard.

The other nice thing is that the way they slated the games, Pitt is on at times that are not the middle of the day. The opening game against Chaminade is Monday, November 24 at 9pm. The semi-final is Tuesday at 10pm. No DVR delay watching or trying to watch on a computer at work.

In other basketball stuff, the Bahama trip was about what you would expect. Pitt rolled whatever competition was thrown their way. They had days at the beach. Swimming with dolphins and just a good time. Seriously, a trip to the Bahamas and a trip to Maui in the same year. Best year to be on the Pitt basketball team.





Chaminade doesn’t HURT the RPI. It just doesn’t help it. D-2 games don’t count at all against the RPI.

The Mountain West conference has actually been scheduling D-2 games as a technique to boost their win totals while not diluting the RPI with sub-200+ opponents.

Comment by inthefieldhouse 08.07.14 @ 7:06 am

If memory serves … SDSU beat Kansas at Kansas last year in the pre-season, and they have a great rebounding team (at least, last year they did.) Thus, this can be a bad match-up because our 5 position is still a question mark.

I like that we get to play in Hawaii a few days before the Chaminade game; it could only help to get acclimated for the tourney.

Comment by wbb 08.07.14 @ 7:23 am

The Bahamas and Hawaii in one season, it doesn’t get any better than that, except maybe a final four. Hope Uchebo’s knee keeps getting better. Anyway the chemistry on this team should be really good after these long trips.

Comment by gc 08.07.14 @ 7:25 am

Chaminade sounds like a great name for a summer cocktail.

Comment by Yeti 08.07.14 @ 8:04 am

I would welcome a pitt vs sand st. second round…that would get us out of our element..or we would see if this team is going to run more..

Comment by Keith 08.07.14 @ 7:58 pm

SDSU finished 31-5 last year, ranked #12, lost to #1 seed Arizona in the Dance. (sweet 16 round).

It would appear they have 4 of their 5 starters returning plus their best bench player.

That’s going to be a test for sure if we play them.

Comment by Emel 08.07.14 @ 10:52 pm

Bahamas surprises.

Newkirk only averaged 5.3 ppg, but did lead the team with 22 assists. (JR second at 14 along with surprise, Jeter and Wright all with 14)

Slim was the 3rd leading scorer at almost 10 ppg. in only 13.5 mpg. Only Luther and Randall played less. not counting the tail end of the bench.

Uchebo led rebounding by a large margin at 12.5 rpg. While shooting 67% fg and avg’g 7.5 ppg.
Encouraging for Big Joe.

Comment by Emel 08.07.14 @ 10:59 pm

Starting Lineup after Bahamas:

1. Robinson is going to start at the “1” and Wright at the “2”. Newkirk is going to get lots of minutes subbing at both the “1” and the “2”.

2. Jones will probably start at the “3” until DJ comes back, but he may not get as many minutes as Jeter who will sub at both the “3” and the “4”.

3. Uchebo, even with his knee not 100%, is Pitt’s best option at the “5”.

4. Young will split his minutes between the “4” and the “5”, but will start at the “4”.

Comment by Howard 08.10.14 @ 8:35 pm

Starting lineup:

1. Robinson
2. Wright
3. Jones, until DJ healthy
4. Young
5. Uchebo

First guard off the bench: Newkirk
First forward off the bench: Jeter

Comment by Howard 08.10.14 @ 8:39 pm

I take back my prediction that Jones will start at SF. It was based upon the idea that Jeter would split time between the 3 and the 4. But when I looked closer at the Bahamas statistics, I realized that Young only averaged 5 minutes per game at the “5”. With Young at the “4” and Artis coming in as a sub at the “4”, Jeter will just just play the “3” until DJ returns. That makes sense — it is easier to teach a player one position, rather than try to teach him two at the same time.

Dixon will have Jones and Jeter compete for the starting spot at small forward. The starter has not yet been determined.

In the Bahamas, Jones and Jeter played the same number of minutes over the four games — Jones (72 minutes) and Jeter (73 minutes). Jeter had a better shooting percentage, more rebounds, more assists, and fewer turnovers. If anything, the statistics suggest that Jeter will win the position. I don’t know who is better at defense though Jones is more familiar with Dixon’s system.

Comment by Howard 08.11.14 @ 5:34 am

Here are the statistics for all players over the 4 games in the Bahamas:

link to grfx.cstv.com

Comment by Howard 08.11.14 @ 5:46 am

Starting lineup:

1. Robinson
2. Wright
3. Jeter or Jones
4. Young
5. Uchebo or Randall

Comment by Howard 08.11.14 @ 12:19 pm

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