54% FG%, 45% 3ptFG%, 14 assists to 3 TOs, 4 players in double figure scoring, your PG goes off for 26, 6 blocks and 3 steals and... you lose?
That's pretty crazy.
On the flip, +10 rebounding, just 7 TOs, and +11 pts from the FT line will win a lot of games.
I don't think Pitt is going to be better than a 150ish defensive team all season-- it seems clear they are going to struggle to keep decent offensive teams under 70, let alone 75+ most nights.
That said, aside from an elite offensive team (this team has a stable of really skilled scorers and passers), they are a good defensive rebounding team, elite FT shooting team and low turnover team. That will be the formula.
ND's frantic comeback was fueled in large part by, I think, 3 consecutive offensive rebounds converted to baskets late; one off of a missed 2nd FT that became a 4 pt trip for ND. If Pitt keeps 2 of those 3 off the offensive glass, I don't think ND gets it as close as they did. Perhaps fatigue set it-- but Pitt got flat footed on the defensive glass for that stretch-- hopefully correcting that is a point of emphasis in the film room.
Finally, Young scored 25 pts in just 22 minutes-- that's pretty amazing-- especially for a post player.
Louisville should be a good game- playing with house money is fun.
That's pretty crazy.
On the flip, +10 rebounding, just 7 TOs, and +11 pts from the FT line will win a lot of games.
I don't think Pitt is going to be better than a 150ish defensive team all season-- it seems clear they are going to struggle to keep decent offensive teams under 70, let alone 75+ most nights.
That said, aside from an elite offensive team (this team has a stable of really skilled scorers and passers), they are a good defensive rebounding team, elite FT shooting team and low turnover team. That will be the formula.
ND's frantic comeback was fueled in large part by, I think, 3 consecutive offensive rebounds converted to baskets late; one off of a missed 2nd FT that became a 4 pt trip for ND. If Pitt keeps 2 of those 3 off the offensive glass, I don't think ND gets it as close as they did. Perhaps fatigue set it-- but Pitt got flat footed on the defensive glass for that stretch-- hopefully correcting that is a point of emphasis in the film room.
Finally, Young scored 25 pts in just 22 minutes-- that's pretty amazing-- especially for a post player.
Louisville should be a good game- playing with house money is fun.
