Media recap will come later today. Between high winds totally disrupting my internet service and sick kids in the house, it’s been hard to get enough time and connection to post.
From the beginning of the game, Villanova made a concerted effort to get the ball inside and attack the basket. This made sense on two fronts for them. One, they have absolutely been struggling to score with perimeter shooting being a mess. The best way to try and deal with that, is to try and get higher percentage shots. Make easier scores, get the players some confidence and open things up for better perimeter shots later. Two, attacking and going inside means better chances of drawing fouls — getting to the free throw lines and getting a thin Pitt team in foul trouble.
The flaws with that were that Pitt’s guards actually did a good job of staying in front of ‘Nova’s guards and preventing deep penetration — also protecting Blair and Young from early foul issues. There is also the fact that the Wildcats’ frontcourt isn’t too good. Pena’s a decent forward, but he couldn’t shoot in traffic — he got most of his points from putbacks.
Finally, and this was going both ways, it would take an absolute mugging inside for the first 10-15 minutes before the refs would call a foul inside. They weren’t just letting them play, the refs were letting some brutal stuff happen inside. Eventually the refs called more stuff as the game went on, but early that set a tone to benefit Pitt that if you went inside, be prepared to cope with some abuse.
While Keith Benjamin ended up with 7 assists, 4 rebounds and only 2 turnovers, his 8 points came on 10 shots. Especially in the first half, Benjamin was making me nervous because he was trying too hard to create his own shot and not passing and waiting for his shot. He was overdribbling and and starting and stopping. Generally, killing time on the shot clock and put Pitt in some rushed situations to hoist before the clock expired. That was cut back noticeably in the second half, so I’m guessing the coaches talked to him about that. He took 7 shots in the first half, and only 3 in the second.
Sam Young appeared to be continuing his Rutgers struggles/frustration for almost 3/4 of the game. He was 2-6 in the first half (meaning that Benjamin and Young took half the shots for Pitt in the first half). He kept drifting outside, away from the basket on the offensive end. He finally got a couple more baskets to fall when he attacked more and by the time he had the steal, slam and the foul (that he converted) it was as if some weight was off of him and his confidence was restored. That scream after the slam seemed as much about relief and release.
Wanamaker reminds me a lot of Benjamin in the first couple of years. So eager to try and show his skills on offense, that he just loses control and tries to go 1-on-5. Yes, he got hosed on that charge when Reynolds flopped, but in only 8 minutes of action in the first half he took 4 shots (missing all of them). No big surprise that playing that reckless, that he only saw the court for 2 minutes in the second half. Ah, youth.
Gilbert Brown has so much promise. He is playing within the game plan and definitely waited for open shots. He was 3-3 for shooting and played solid defense.
Ramon drew the assignment of trying to stop Scottie Reynolds. That got him in foul trouble as Reynolds had a great second half (6-7) attacking the basket and hitting his 3s. At the same time, one miss by Reynolds seemed to be the point when Pitt roared back. Reynolds had gotten a basket and drew the foul for the 3 point play. Villanova had their first lead, 38-37 and Reynolds was 4-5 at the line with 13:39 left in the game. He had scored the last 7 ‘Nova points and all momentum was with the Wildcats. Instead he missed it — preventing Villanova from setting up pressure defense.
Pitt could only tie the game on the ensuing possession, but the defense picked up against Villanova. That’s what allowed Pitt to get out on a 9-1 run over the next 4+ minutes. No scoring for ‘Nova meant no pressure defense and turnovers.
After Ramon got in foul trouble and had to come out, the one good thing was the way the rest of the team picked up on taking care of the ball. You could see the rest of the players making sure they came to whoever was bringing the ball up court to keep them from getting trapped or making a mistake. They need to do that more often when Ramon is still in the game.
I’m happy to see him getting some recognition. He’s a good, team player who bided his time and took advantage when given the opportunity.
Only quibble I’ve got with the Chas observations is regarding Gilbert Brown. For such a good athlete, his defense is sub-par. He gets beat on backdoor cuts and lane cuts every game and consistently gets called for stupid fouls because he’s late reacting and has to grab his man to stay with him in the halfcourt. Goes to show how much of D is just mental…..hoping Dixon and staff can teach him the fundamentals so he can put the brain with the physical tools. I know I’d give up all the spectacular plays for a fundamental defender who’s not getting beat on cuts because he’s sleeping.
Last night was close for 30 mins becuase Nova extends their D in the halfcourt and that gives Pitt’s ballhandlers trouble. Eventually Pitt’s size, reboudning and D wore them down and the Panthers got a win.
Saturday looks tough. It took Calhoun a long time to get them back competitive, but now Price is the conference’s best PG, Robinson is finding himself, Thabeet has 8 inches on Blair and is a presence and Adrien is tough/solid every night. I knew they were improving, but beating IU without their leading scorer was impressive……followed up by beating L-ville at home.
I wonder what the line will be.
I agree with some of the above observations that Scottie Reynolds is overrated, but I like him for that reason. As long as he’s around, ‘Nova will always be respected (and dangerous, to be honest). And he’s got a skill set that MAY allow him to play at the next level. Hopefully it does. Let people hear more about the Big East, and think about how programs like ‘Nova are putting guys in the NBA even in their “down years.” Although this may not end up being a down year for them, they’re certainly not the class of the conference.
I always wondered what all the Price hype was about before he had the brain problem (and the theft problem) and now that I’ve seen him play I understand……. he’s just playing with a lot more speed and tools than Fields has. Fields is solid and tough and reliable and does great with what he has, but he wasn’t blessed with that kind of upside. The last few games it looked like Price is just scratching the surface of that upside, which is kind of scary for all us Uconn haters out there.
What are the odds the calhoun lets dyson and wiggins play against pitt?
Omar – i’m with you on Fields…now the kid has a broken foot and people are dogging him again…unreal…(yes, saying Uconns PG is better IS dogging him).
I wonder what we’re going to learn from this game…maybe not much. Is a banged up Pitt better or worse than a UConn who has beaten no one special (cmon, a big pretend team? Get real.)? We’re both probably middle of the road teams in the BE right now and a win either way won’t prove much. I’m sure they’ll be favored and they *should* win. It would mean more for us if we can pull off the road upset (considering Providence was able to do it)… I imagine they’ll be favored somewhere in the 2-4 pt range…
As for Brown’s defense, he is pretty solid, and has one of the better basic toolsets on the team. But the areas where he is lacking are attributable to the fact that he is a freshman. Between him and Blair, we are only scratching the surface of what they can do this year.
I think Wanamaker is one of the most talented players on the team. But Pitt’s teams aren’t about talent; they are about commitment to buying into Jamie Dixon’s system. I see Wanamaker in the same place is Krauser his first year. Krauser never really grew out of his recklessness. Let’s hope Wanamaker does.
One last comment. If Nova’s plan was to go inside early to try to get Blair and Young in foul trouble early (which is pretty much fundamental basketball philosophy), then it shows that they didn’t scout Pitt well at all. Every game that Blair has gotten into foul trouble has been off of the hedging he does out near the top of the key. When people take the ball straight to him, he blocks, or more often steals it, without getting called for many fouls. A better plan would have been drawing him out to the perimeter more.
I thought he did pretty good in the beginning and middle too…i don’t think he scored his game high points “at the end.”
Plus, while I would be fine with Fields scoring 25 points a game if it was necessary, Pitt is a better team when he isn’t the leading scorer every night. But even with him taking 0 shots in a game, having 25 assists, and 0 turnovers, the Duke game showed that I would want him shooting the last shot every time.
Benjamin has shown that he is a pretty good shooter, but the end of the Cinci game showed that he absolutely ISN’T who you want with the ball in his hands and time running out.
Ramon, a shooting specialist, showed at the end of the first Nova game that you don’t want him having the ball in his hands at the end of the game.
Clutch players aren’t made in the first 39 minutes. They are made in the clutch, when they are needed most and they come through… aka Fields at the end of overtime against Duke.
