Last year the double-bye teams went 2-2 in the quarterfinals. The 1 and 4 seeds won and the 2 and 3 seeds lost.

Syracuse (1) and Nova (4) have lost. If history reverses itself, Pitt (2) and WVU (3) will win tonight. Pure conjecture because ND looked pretty tough last night so it’s what I’m holding onto at the moment.

See you at 7, Chas and all.

I’m done talkin’ smack on ND. I’ve seen enough of them this year (pre win streak) to be convinced the 1st match was an aberration. They haven’t lost since.

Always good to bring it against a squad who rolled on us. Let’s get that one back.

Going to be a very tough game tonight but I wanted to put my two cents in early. Pitt has something going for it that I noted in this blog early in the season after comeback wins against some early teams. This team may lose, but you cannot teach the competiviteness that they present. You may have to kill Pitt to beat them.

Would not be a bit supprised to see Pitt press some tonight to pick up the pace of the game if they fall behind. Also, 3-2 matchup zone has been worked on.

Let’s beat the snot out of the Irish! Go Pitt!

Gil brown said he wanted to see notre dame again and what did he do…he decided not to show up again….

well, that sucked. no excuses in NCAA…we’ll have plenty of rest.

Pitt needs to recruit some kids that can shoot/score.

Let me start by saying going into the postseason, I though whatever happened, it would all be gravy. This has been a great season beyond all expectations regardless of what happens from here.

That being said, tonight was awful. 45 points – are you kidding me? Gary and Gilbert don’t bother to show up (combined three points and four turnovers). Ashton Gibbs has four total shots? What the heck is that?

I knew we were losing this game when Pitt held ND scoreless for six minutes and still couldn’t get the lead (they were down at most by five in the second half if I remember correctly).

This team seemed disinterested tonight, and the part that worries me is that this is now three out of the last five games that I can say that. The effort was awful against ND the first time, and then against Providence as well. I had hope after the Rutgers performance. After tonight, however, I am very worried about a first round exit from the real tourney.

Coach Dixon is a great coach, but the past five games I have seen some things that just confuse me. Why is Pitt switching every ball screen? They have hedged that ball screen and hedged it well since Ben/Jamie came to Pitt. Now all of a sudden they switch everything? It killed us against Providence and it hurt us tonight as well. And offensively, he’s got to do a better job getting our best offensive player more than four shots. It’s not like ND is this super-athletic, lockdown defensive team either.

Again, this has been a tremendous season but as a fan I really don’t want it to end like this. Hopefully tonight was an aberration but looking at the past five games, I don’t know that it is. I hope I am wrong.

Mac – Great analysis…before I open my scotch, I want to comment also. The reality is..this team is just not that individually talented. Dixon has been able to coach to our strengths. My worst fears are …when Pitt has to rely on offense to win. I cannot be more disappointed in Gibbs and Brown. J. Dixon is playing on one leg (and the rest may save him for the NCAA”S)but he still hustled and gave us good minutes. When you play these close games late in the year and you cannot score, you are bound to lose some tough ones. Matchups in the NCAA’s will mean everything to Pitt. I would rather be a 5 seed or a 3. Not a 4.
We lost tonight to a very mediocre and poorly coached ND team who may not win a NCAA game. Let’s all take a deep breath and get ready for Sunday’s draw. Very tough loss…Hail to Pitt.

Dan…actually I thought Brey did a good job coaching tonight…used a lot of picks, back door screens, and made us settle for a lot of outside jump shots. When Jermaine or Gil drove to the hoop it opened up our offense and allowed us to control the boards, otherwise, we looked flat, because nd took the air out of the clock.

Time to get rested and await the seedings. Anything is possible.

Hail to PITT!
-al-

Just talked to my fellow alums up at MSG. Evidently Dixon is hurt very bad and can use the rest. While we were all blogging about Gil and Gary, their comments about how ND shut down any inside game by Pitt, seem more relevant now. Ore Panther, you are correct, tonight Brey got and took advantage (see Providence game) of mismatches, but boy, Pitt was very confused on assignments and gave them some easy looks. Over all though, if you asked most BE coaches, Brey’s teams are usually very easy to beat…if they are not shooting well. He coaches no other game…except now that he re-discovered the 4 corners offense.

This game reminded me of the Pitt-Michigan St. game in the Sweet Sixteen a few years ago. We played defense reasonably well, but couldn’t score. No excuse for Gibbs getting as few shots as he did; McGhee was impotent under the basket offensively; and the enigma that is Brown, half-heartedly showed up.

If we get one of those smallish-guard teams that shoot threes all game, we’ll be done in the first round.

Man was that a motherf@#$ing frustrating game to watch. FOUR shots – FOUR for Gibbs?! Gilbert Brown continues to be so, so, so freakin’ unsure of himself on offense. He has no explosion. He looks timid at all times. And the switching on D, burned us time and time again, and yet we continued to do it. I don’t understand that in the least.

I think I understand basketball pretty well, but I’m not quite the student of the game as some. I feel like teams totally overplay us on the perimeter, particularly Gibbs, and that there should be backdoor cuts wide open. Am I wrong? Or is just not that simple?

In any case, that just felt like a game we should have won. It was just sitting there waiting for Pitt to grab that lead and never relinquish it, but every time it was there, there was hesitancy. Gil Brown driving, then pulling up in the middle of the lane and throwing it away. Wanny with a wide open 3, only to pass it mid-shot. McGhee with a tip opportunity and inexplicably misses.

Just too much. Drink #3 coming. Hooked on the Old Fashion at the moment. Quickly working through a big bottle of Knob Creek. I freakin’ need it after that performance.

Glad to see most ending their analysis with a positive on the season rather than getting into the “we suck” mode.

Mac and Dan 72, I agree with a lot of your points, particularly with regard to offense. I do not understand why Jamie doesn’t run more sets with double screens down low to free Gibbs. He’s our most effective weapon and he has to make his own shot – which he really can’t do – too often.

I think the difference between Dixon and everyone else is that he knows this is it for him, so he has more to lose. That led to a bad play by him at the end when we had a chance to tie it and put a little panic in ND for once.

I don’t think the team was disinterested, I think they got frustrated again by ND’s style of play. It took them out of sync on both ends. ND continues to make shots which makes that style effective. I think that’s also why Jamie had them switching instead of hedging, both with ND and PC. Both have excellent perimeter shooters across the board.

I also think a 3 is better for us than a 4, but I’m a little nervous about a 5. We set up too well for the 12 over 5 phenomenon. However, Brown will be on for the next game so that may not matter.

It has been a great year and winning a couple in the tourney will make it an awesome year. Here’s hoping for that.

Hail to PITT!

Carmen – offensively Pitt doesn’t have great spacing so the backdoor cuts are not going to be there that much. Plus they don’t look for it. If you think of the layups that ND got tonight, the paint was wide open offensively and was not jammed up with other players. Their spacing was excellent. Pitt runs more double and staggered screens on offense and as such, have players grouped together in one area more than say ND would.

TampaT – I agree that Providence and ND have good outside shooters, both big and small, but switching those screens got us killed in both games. It’s one thing to switch guard to guard screens, but you cannot switch screens involving McGhee and Gibbs – it just doesn’t work and any coach with a brain will take advantage of it, over and over, until Pitt adjusts. That’s what Providence did, and ND did the same thing tonight.

I wish Gibbs would be more aggressive – he seems to pass up some shots that are not “wide open” but still open enough that I think he can make them.

Anyone ever wonder how frustrating Gilbert must be for Coach Dixon? I know how much we fans get frustrated – I can’t imagine what Jamie goes through. It is baffling.

Problem though is, Mac, that McGhee may be a touch too slow to hedge and get back on a forward. He can do it on a center but ND’s non-centers are just too quick. Taylor is quick enough but his inexperience gets him caught looking too much. I wouldn’t have minded seeing Richardson in there for a while. Not sure why Jamie didn’t give him a shot late in the first or early in the second. Couldn’t have cost us any more points than when Taylor was in there.

Dan 72 is probably right in that we needed the guards to try fighting through the screens and take a chance that it will cost us a 3 from time to time. If the ND guard drove, McGhee would be in position for the block like he did to Jackson early on.

You could see towards the end of the game, Jermaine got screened and tried to fight through, and Jackson hit a 3 before he got there, Dixon slammed his hands together and hung his head. That’s the only time I could think of that they didn’t switch and it cost them. ND must just be a bad matchup for us.

Hoping for the best next week!

Very hard to sit and watch this team without having to run to the bar. First, they obviously lack scoring punch. Very hard to put up points against good defensive teams with only having 2 , maybe 3 guys on the floor who really have a chance of scoring. Because of this, I really wish they would push the ball up the floor more (make or miss) to try to get someone an easier, open look before the defense sets up. That being said, I am not buying into the theory that no matter what happens, this is all a bonus and we should be happy. Pitt didnt just have one or two upsets this season. We finished SECOND in the best basketball conference in the country. Thats 16 games played and we were 2nd best. As much as I have trouble believing this… it really happened. And because it did, I will cheer for these guys like I expect them to win some games in this tournament. You cant take any 2nd place team from a major conference and not be upset if they lose in the first round of the NCAA. GO PITT!!!

I am a disciple of Bobby Knight when it comes to screens. NEVER SWITCH….I’d rather give up an open 3 from time to time than have my 1 or 2, posted up on their 5. Easy two’s are hard to take, both matching-wise and psychologically. You work so hard against a ND slo down offense for 28 seconds and suddenly they have an open lay up off a bad switch….they had 6 against Pitt tonight…that’s 12 easy open points…Pitt did not make a single uncontested shot all night.
Maybe that helped nurse that three pt lead.

As to why coach D didn’t press, I don’t know but can venture a good guess. Coaches react more to the flow of a game than individual moments. The way the game was progressing, Pitt was hanging in there and at any moment, prepared to take the lead…..why press and take the chance of ND pulling away. In retrospect, Jamie will not sleep tonight wondering why he didn’t at least pressure in the back court out of made baskets and TO’s.

Z-boy is on to something that Dan 72 struck on earlier. While there’s been a good discussion on the defensive failings, Pitt really lost the game on offense.

ND only scored 50 points, 18 less than the first time we played them and less than they’ve scored since they went on this streak. Brey even said that the reason he stayed with his best defensive team for so long was that Pitt was shutting them down.

Unfortunately, Pitt only scored 45. Gibbs, Brown, McGhee, Taylor and Woodall were non-factors. Can’t have that happen in the tourney or we’ll be sitting it out quickly.

This team reminds me a lot of the Page/Brown team of 2003-04. They were a 3-seed that lost to a Final Four Oklahoma State team. I have faith that this edition will get at least that far.

On to The Dance.

Could be that PITT’s just not a very good team guys… it happens in sports.

Could it be also that Pitt (or Syracuse or Villanova) has nothing to gain from a Big East Tournament championship? That these “second tier” teams have everything to gain in terms of getting into the Big Dance or seeding within the tournament? I am not suggesting that Pitt did not try to win—of course, they did—but they and the other bye teams seemed to lack that “edge” necessary to win big games in the Big East basketball conference.

Not one comment about Sleepy getting burned so often on defense? To me that was a major deciding factor.

This team is so frustrating. If any of you has any idea of how far they are going to advance in the big dance I’d love to hear it. They could be a one and done or make it to the round of 8. It all depends on which team decides to show up. Very disappointing effort vs. ND, though. My I hope that some of the touted frosh and redshirt guys can shoot the rock next year.

It is hard to say defense is the reason for a loss when you hold the other team to 50 points and shut them out for a good portion of the second half. But that is what happened. To not be able to handle a simple high ball screen at this stage of the season is unacceptable. That goes for Gary, Dante and MOSTLY JAMIE. By playing it the way the did, they allowed ND to dictate the match ups.

For Gilbert Brown to bring his “C” game to Garden, as fourth year Junior, is also unacceptable. Brad and Jermaine were the only two who really brought it. Nas and Ashton were ok. But the others pretty much mailed it in.

Pitt is at its best when they control the pace of play. ND played slower than Pitt was comfortable with. Pitt needed to get a lead early, when they fell behind, with ND’s slow pace, they never could really take control.

honestly everything about this game was pathetic…ND just lulled the entire garden to sleep….i watch every pitt game i can and i almost turned it off…I think Coach thought the slow down would not effect us and we would execute on offense, but this team is a little different then the past grind it out teams….it put everyone in a funk….

the difference in the ND games, they were able to hit their 3_point bank shots at the end of the shot clock…impressive execution.

Not much to add – when you get to this point in the season, the conference teams know each other very well, and it often comes down to execution. Neither team executed very well, but Notre Dame did just enough to win. Despite the low score, I didn’t think either team played particularly well on defense.

The ball screens continued to expose one of the flaws of this Pitt team – they just are not very good in the post. McGhee can do well enough when he can stay near the hoop on defense, but struggles against mobile big guys. I think TampaT is right – he just is not fast enough to hedge and get back to cover athletic big guys, so they are forced to switch. I really don’t like the constant switching either, but this is a limitation in his abilities, not his effort. His stone hands also limit his effectiveness on offense.

Taylor played ok on the offensive side, but was lost on defense. He is fast enough to hedge and get back, but he doesn’t seem to have the court awareness to do this effectively at this time, and many times just lost his man.

The other option is to rotate another defender over to guard the rolling big guy, but against teams that have good spacing this can be difficult and lead to open shots and offensive rebounding opportunities.

My hope is that Pitt will benefit from getting away from Big East competition next week. They will play a team or teams that are not familiar with their style and/or the physical nature of the Big East.

Right now, Pitt’s RPI is 15 and it could go up or down a couple spots based on the games over the next few days. If I had to guess, I think Pitt is looking at a 5 seed, although a 4 is not out of the question yet.

Very, very poor showing, if McGhee had hands he would be a monster! How many times has McGhee fumbled under the basket this year? I am very curious on how many turn-overs he has?

This loss is going to cost them because a 3 seed was within their grasp, but now they will be a low 4 or high 5 seed.

Gilbert Brown doing his MIA every other game did not help.

Hopefully they get a favorible matchup in their bracket, otherwise it could be another one and done.

I think we are all guilty of overreacting to one loss. Offensively we played horrible and still only lost by 5. This was basically a pickem game in vegas and Notre Dame is one of the hottest teams in the Country right now. This loss is NOT the end of the world. The field in the NCAA is wide open this year and Pitts defense makes them capable of playing with anyone. Everyone says it comes down to matchups, lets wait and see who/where Pitt gets. If Dixon is as hurt as everyone is saying this could be a blessing in diguise.

This has been a tremendous season. Think of everything they have accomplished when many didnt even know if they would make the NCAA tournament. Take a deep breath and enjoy being part of the best tournament in all of sports. This team has already shown this year that anything is possible.

Do people really think we drop to a 5 seed?

It’s scary that Taylor hasn’t improved one bit on defense after this many months of practice and this many regular season minutes. He’s a liability in half of the sport. The “he keeps both teams in the game” adage doesn’t even apply because the offensive production isn’t there yet, either.

McGhee picked last night to have his first inept game. Can’t be too worried about that, because he’s been a pleasant surprise all year.

Only Wanamaker showed up last night. Jackson took Gibbs completely out of the game.

I’ve never seen Pitt get caught on so many switches. Ugly.

Even when ND was playing man, they just packed it in because everybody knows Gibbs is the only outside threat. (Except for that Robinson trey, which I still can’t believe went in 🙂

Still, have to be happy this team won 13 games in the BE. Amazing, really.

Sleepy got burned so often on defense.

I’m putting in a vote to eliminate all byes in the BET. The real advantage is the single bye, where you get a warmup gain against a lower tier opponent playing a 2nd consecutive game and then meet a better team playing cold. A quality team like Gtown or ND can handle back to back games — they’re more balanced and deeper than Providence or Seton Hall. The single bye BE teams are still contending for the tourney or at least on the bubble. Pitt would have benefitted from playing Providence, just as Syracuse would have done with Depaul.

The double bye has really wrecked the BET. The BE regular season winner will never need the automatic bid for the Tourney, and the regular season title carries its own bragging rights.

My $.02

I think we locked ourselves into a 4 seed. Not a 5 because we have too many quality wins and a few of our losses were without Jermaine. We won’t be a 3 anymore because many of the other teams competing for the 3 seeds are still playing: Tenn., Baylor, Wisconson, Michigan St., Georgetown, Maryland, etc.

Well, eventually I’ll say, “Hey, on balance it was a great season that exceeded expectations”. I’m just not ready to say it yet. Losing hurts too much and is way too frustrating and aggravating.

I see them making it to the sweet 16. Anything more will be a bonus.

“I see them making it to the sweet 16”

Pitt scores 16 points in a half against a team not noted for their defense, and you see them making it to the sweet 16??? Hmmmmmm. Anything is possible.

I’m not guilty

Pathetic, absolutely Pathetic, I have never been so upset at this Pitt team as I was last night. No heart, no hustle, no guts, add in piss poor coaching and you have last night’s game.
This team barely gets by the worst defensive team in Big East history by a miracle shot and then falls asleep at the wheel for a second time in three games. This team doesn’t deserve to play in the NCAA tournament and will be bumped out in the first round if they play this way again.

Can you say #4 or #5 seed….what a wasted evening!

Marco – Share your frustration and your anger but Pitt deserves to play in the NCAA tourney. How far they go will depend on who they draw.

My frustration every year is that Pitt/Dixon are the kings of December/January and always hit trouble in February with little or no momentum going into the tourney. Jamie is loathe to put in a secondary offensive set, a press or a gimmick D (and after last night;s debacle I can understand why he doesn’t …we have no Einsteins’ playing for us!)

We may even be a 6 seed now. Pitt is ranked #RPI 15 and could move as low as 20 after the loss last night….but at the beginning of the year and after Indiana ..we would have killed for this position!

Hey not to say I told you so but I told you so… everything that i have been screaming on this board for the past couple of months I see posted in this forum… Hmm, lol…
no as I was often scolded by guys like TampaT and Dan 72 and everyone else its just one game… I have to be a retard to think that McGhee has not improved, etc… well looks like I may have just been right

Anyhow Pitt will probably be anywhere from a 4-6 seed in the tourney and in all likelihood lose in the 2nd round which is not bad for a team that overachieved this year…

Pitt is a 3 see, Jeremy. Keep cheering against them. If you think McGhee has not improved I don’t know where you have been the last 3 years. Watch a game.

Last night Pitt got beat, plain and simple. It happens especially when you’re a little careless with shot selection and lazy on the boards.

This is a very good basketball team. I’m not necessarily expecting a final four run, but I’m looking forward to seeing them play in the tournament. They have made tremendous strides this year and its been a great season.

So keep cheering against Pitt Jeremy, I’m glad you’re happy when they play poorly or lose.

@Tj 3 seed, LMAO…ok we will see

McGhee missed about 5 bunnies…3 years ago he was missing bunnies…ok like I said before If you want to call him an improved player then go ahead and do that

I was hammered for calling Gibbs a one trick pony…the guy showed yesterday he cant create his own shot, etc…

If you want to call them a very good team then go ahead and continue to dream now they are an ok team, not “very good team”

And never said I was rooting against them…have you read any of the post above mine…they seem to say similar things that Ive mentioned on this site but when you guys see the name Jeremey its like ok lets attack him…go ahead if that will make your day…

Actually, I think the reason to “attack” is that you are more than a bit of a dick. The hater type that thinks he is “speaking truth to power” when he is insanely, hyperbolically negative. Who very clearly takes more pleasure in being “right” than anything regarding Pitt.

I am now asking nicely to leave this blog. I don’t mind contrary views and engaging discussions. Trolls and troll-like beings are right out.

McGhee did not miss about 5 bunnies. He only attempted 2 shots, see the box score.

Well, we lost. No did the Orange, the Wildcats and Cinci. So be it. It was a remarkable Big East season with some unexpected results. The “Big Dance” awaits and what will be, will be. Nice job for Pitt’s hoopsters this year. Give us your best in the N.C.A.A.’s and (some of us) will be pleased. Next BB season should be better with more depth, more experience and more passion. George

Well…this entire season is gravy for me…We loose four players to professional basketball teams, and still make the tournament with a good seed, I’ll take it (Just ask North Carolina or UCONN how they would like it)…As for last nights game, I have been harshly critical of Mike Brey coaching style in the past, but last night, ND clearly made more of an effort to get the ball inside than usual…That rope-a-dope offense worked for them. I think that it is risky, they only took 34 shots in the game. It forces you to make a high percentage of the shots you take, which they did (52% overall, 46% from three). Ahh, the 3 point shot, which we hit at a rate of 20%. And once again, that was the difference in the game vs. ND. We took 44 shots, but should have played a little more up tempo and taken about 10 more shots. In the last game, we tried to shoot it out with them, last night we went for a walk in the park with them. If its OK for Syracuse and Villanova to go out in the first round, we can survive as well. Now, its on to the Big Dance for an extra helping of that gravy!

@CHAS…thanks I will leave THE BLOG and start my own, lol…you will be the first one to no about it also…And it will be a BLOG free for all to support or criticize as he/she will…CHAS 🙂

…Know

Not trying to sound like a Pollyana here, but it wasn’t too long ago we all were talking about Pitt being an NIT team.

Arguements of 3,4,5 seed is all gravy from here IMHO.

DaveD

Chas, with regard to jeremey: Maybe I don’t understand the mission of this blog. It overwhelmingly consists of rooters for Pitt who love the University. One of the features of the blog is that it provides an opportunity to have discussions with people having varying perspectives. I, personally, have different opinions with some of the posters, but I enjoy reading their views and reading their defenses of their views. Apparently I don’t visit this site often enough because jeremey’s posts don’t jump out at me and get me to think, “There he goes again”. Although he posts views that are contrary to my own and the majority who post on this blog, I don’t find him to be profane. I am not aware of him making personal schoolboy-like attacks against any of the other posters. Accordingly, I would not like to have him banned for expressing contrary opinions.

Jeremey: The reason Dan 72, myself and now even Chas “attack” you is because that’s what you do. You wait for a loss or poor performance and then you pounce, rehashing the same, tired vile. You are so negative, arrogant and unreasonable that any good points you make get lost in the volume of vomit that surrounds them. No one here thinks the team and players are perfect, but most recognize that they provide us with something to rally around and bond over. We don’t all agree with each other on many points, but we are respectful of each opinion when it’s made with reason. You don’t quite get that.

Please start your own blog so others like you never post on this one. Goodbye, Jeremey. You won’t be missed.

Dan 72….agree with your point about Coach’s stubborness not to put in a gimmick def or off for nights like last…how about alternating defenses and maybe even a half court 1-3-1 just to mix it up so Notre dame could not run their stuff as easily….then we dont have to worry about those picks and ball screens every time down the court….hey, and if by some chance gets us some turnovers and fast breaks all the better…basketball is so much more than m2m defense and that is it….

Can we ban Hugh Green while we’re banning fools?

Just Kidding.

I do agree, Hugh, if you had told me at the beginning of the year that we’d get:

1. Road wins at the ‘cuse, Cinci and Uconn
2. 13 wins in the BE
3. The most improved player in the conference
4. A two seed in the BE Tourney
5. Great come back home wins against WVU and L-Ville and a buzzer beater against Prov.

I would have said “Giddy up!”. Heck, I would have taken half that.

So the program is in good shape. Next year looks bright. I can “suffer” through a few nights like last night. As I’ve been saying all year, this is not a final four capable (channelling my inner Tomlin) squad. One win in the tourney would be acceptable, two would be good, three fantastic. It is going to depend on the match ups and can they make it thru the second round game with Gil scoring 2 pts?

Nice reminder of how far the team has come despite some obvious flaws, Boubacar. It sums up well the thoughts many included within their critiques of last night.

Thanks. I feel better already.

And I forgot one of my favorite moments, beating Nova at the Pete!

Thank you Chas.

As for criticism, here is some…
I know a couple other folks already mentioned it, but Taylor’s defense is horrendous. He routinely gets beat on the backside after hedging out on screens. That pass should be a difficult one for an opposing ball handler to make, yet we routinely see the ball zip inside behind Taylor off of a screen hedge. He needs a lot of work on that.

Chas,

Please don’t ban jeremey.

After a full day of reflection and soul searching, here’s one last thought for consideration:

Lots of good points have been made about defensive failings in the ND game, but the facts are that ND shot ~65% in the first half and Pitt was only down by 3. ND ended up scoring only 18 in the second half and shot 50% for the game. That tells me that as Brey admitted, we shut them down in the 2nd.

BUT, we only scored 16 as BigGuy pointed out. Like Mac said “45 points – are you kidding me?” That’s why I still contend we lost the ND game on the offensive end.

Like I said earlier, this team reminds me a lot of the 2003-04 team – tough and aggressive on defense, but limited on offense. Lack of offense is what cost that team a trip to the Elite 8 against Oklahoma St. – a Final Four team that year. Lack of offense is what will end this team’s run. The difference between the teams is that the ’03-04 edition did not have a perimeter shooter. This one does – Gibbs. To me, he is the X-factor between winning an losing.

In the 6 BE losses he only scored >11 once – Seton Hall-1 where he had two good looks to win the game and missed. In the 13 wins he only scored <11 twice, Seton Hall-2 where Brown went off for 23 and Marquette, one of the most balanced wins with four scoring 10 apiece.

My contention is that for Pitt to advance in the tourney, Gibbs has to score 12+ each game. Jamie must find NEW WAYS, like Dan 72 says, to free Gibbs and Gibbs must get a little more aggressive in his shot selection as Mac said. Before his mid-season slump, Gibbs was not afraid to drive and force a shot or two. He also was using the ball screens very effectively. Since the slump, he seems to settle for open perimeter shots giving a half-hearted effort to create his own shot. I think that’s what Jeremey meant by “one-trick pony”. (It’s not Jeremey’s points that annoy. It’s how he makes them.)

I certainly understand “letting the game come to you” but in grind it out games, you sometimes have to take the game to the other team. Right now, we only have “3” players willing to do that:
1. Dixon, 2. Wanny and 3. A combination of Brown every other game, Nas when he’s on, and Woodall in an open floor game (1/3 each).

It’s hard to criticize the conference MIP considering how many games he’s won for us, but I think that in this next 1, 2, 3, 4, or 5 game stretch, how he goes is how Pitt goes. We need him to bring it every game even if that means forcing the issue a bit.