Hey... What do you know... Pitt won!!

[R-M-U-h-o-o-p-s-f-a-n]

The Final score from the Pete is 79-73. Not a good game by Pitt but they won. Barely, but a win is still a win. At one point in the second half, Western Carolina was winning by 7!

Maybe we can just blame this on them eating to much holiday sweets, but a much better effort will be needed to win their next game vs the "Cuse".

Go Pitt.

 

[SoufOaklin4Life]

I'll take the ugly win

 

[BuffetParrothead]

PITT hung in there at the end, showed some toughness and won!
Games like this " we played poorly but won" pay dividends later in the season!
This is a good PITT team!

 

[pittizit]

Ugly but a W

 

[DC_Area_Panther]

Was unable to see the game but the boxscore was extremely Interesting--

We outrebounded them by 10. They had 10 turnovers to our 14. They had 10 steals to our 6. That should mean we had 2 more possessions than they did.

We shot 50% to their 42% and made 29 of 33 FTs to their 8 of 12, but took only 48 shots to their 67 probably because they fouled so much.

Biggest difference seems to be that they made 9-27 3-balls to our 2 of 13. That's 21 points in their favor right there.

Overall the boxscore suggests that they pressed us and hacked a lot. Was that the case?

 

[R-M-U-h-o-o-p-s-f-a-n]

Was unable to see the game but the boxscore was extremely Interesting--

We outrebounded them by 10. They had 10 turnovers to our 14. They had 10 steals to our 6. That should mean we had 2 more possessions than they did.

We shot 50% to their 42% and made 29 of 33 FTs to their 8 of 12, but took only 48 shots to their 67 probably because they fouled so much.

Biggest difference seems to be that they made 9-27 3-balls to our 2 of 13. That's 21 points in their favor right there.

Overall the boxscore suggests that they pressed us and hacked a lot. Was that the case?

They did foul a good bit and once Pitt got the lead near the end, they put us at the free throw several times which got the score up to 79. Chris Jones hit a (crucial) three to put us up by 2 (under 3 min to go or more) and we didn't look back.

This game proves to them that no win is for sure and you must play hard to win any D1 games.

Go Pitt

 

[DC_Area_Panther]

Good to get a win in a classic trap game--

Why a trap?

1. Off easy win at MSG vs a better team than W. Carolina
2. Favored by 20.
3. Two days B4 Christmas, students not around
4. Possibly looking ahead to the Cuse game.
5. At home and probably felt subconsciously that they could mail it in.

 

[Zaratoughda]

Was unable to see the game but the boxscore was extremely Interesting--

We outrebounded them by 10. They had 10 turnovers to our 14. They had 10 steals to our 6. That should mean we had 2 more possessions than they did.

We shot 50% to their 42% and made 29 of 33 FTs to their 8 of 12, but took only 48 shots to their 67 probably because they fouled so much.

Biggest difference seems to be that they made 9-27 3-balls to our 2 of 13. That's 21 points in their favor right there.

Overall the boxscore suggests that they pressed us and hacked a lot. Was that the case?

They had 13 OR to our 10.. and just 10 TO to our 14... which means they should have gotten 7 more shots... but in fact they took 19 more shots... and THAT is because they were fouling like crazy.. and we beat them at the foul line by hitting 29 of 33.... the last 14 in a row... while they only were 8-12 from the FT line. That is a difference in 21 points.

Really looked like we were gonna lose this one. They got up by 7 in the second half... we were REALLY in a snide... and then we tied it late but they took the lead again and we had to come back again and we did. A 3ball by Jones and a 3 point play by Jeter were huge for us and that plus the 14 FT in a row got us the W.

Almost surprised we were able to pull it out in the end... was expecting posts here after an L to a low ranked team... but ya gotta give the team credit... did enough to get the W.

Good experience though... pulling one out in the end. Might need that again in ACC play.

 

[TIGER-PAUL]

Pitt actually shot fairly well (except Smith). They got some extra off rebounds that hurt. Still seemed weird it was that close. Thankfully Pitt improved on free throws or would have been a loss. Still a work in progress. They're inching forward though.

 

[cruzer]

Where are all the guys who were telling us that FT shooting doesn't really matter? From the box score, it looks like the primary reason we won is that this team shoots it well from the FT line.

Cruzer

 

[ameoba defense]

When has Pitt ever shot like that from the line? Good timing for sure. Hitting their free throws at a good rate will win 2-3 extra games this year.

 

[MajorMajors]

Pitt actually shot fairly well (except Smith). They got some extra off rebounds that hurt. Still seemed weird it was that close. Thankfully Pitt improved on free throws or would have been a loss. Still a work in progress. They're inching forward though.

--I thought Pitt handled the ball poorly and Young was trying to do too much, which got him into trouble several times.

--Was really impressed with Jeter's play. I like him in there with the exception of him shooting 3-pointers. He had some key rebounds and buckets tonight.

--I'm sure Sterling Smith has been shooting it like this all his life, but he'd be more effective with more arc on his 3-point shot. His arc leaves little room for error.

--Good to beat anybody when 3 starters -- Young (for him), Robinson, and Smith -- do very little offensively.

--I'm guessing that was a career game for Harrelson -- one of those games where everything is falling. I mean who shoots 6 for 9 from 3?

--One of those games that might be beneficial in the long run. Pitt had to make their foul shots down the stretch and Jamie can show lots of video on the problems caused by being careless/casual with the ball.

Go Pitt.

 

[SoufOaklin4Life]

Free throw percentage doesn't matter .
Everything that score points matters , just like preventing opponent scoring matters.
Not sure why people can't grasp this and mischaracterize a simple precept.

Team a Shoots 100% from the line on 6 attempts.
Team b shoots 60% on 20 attempts.

Who has a better chance of winning?

 

[Delpanther]

Well perhaps we saw tonight how poorly this team can play -WC is a horrible BB team; wonder when we'll see their ceiling.

 

[UPitt '89]

The only good thing is we ended the game on a 25-12 run.

Michigan State needed overtime to beat Oakland last night. Oklahoma is struggling with Hawaii right now. It happens.

Past Pitt teams would've gone 19-33 from the line instead of 29-33 and ended up with a loss.

Learning moment... and the kids learned they can make shots in the clutch at the end of tight games, whether they be FTs or big 3-pointers like Chris Jones had.

 

[R-M-U-h-o-o-p-s-f-a-n]

The only good thing is we ended the game on a 25-12 run.

Michigan State needed overtime to beat Oakland last night. Oklahoma is struggling with Hawaii right now. It happens.

Past Pitt teams would've gone 19-33 from the line instead of 29-33 and ended up with a loss.

Learning moment... and the kids learned they can make shots in the clutch at the end of tight games, whether they be FTs or big 3-pointers like Chris Jones had.

I was watching that Michigan St. vs Oakland game. Pretty exciting game.

I saw Oakland in person @ Robert Morris at the beginning of December.
They have one of the top point guards in the nation in Kay Felder. He put up i think 38 pts vs Michigan St and I recommend checking this dude out. He's only 5-9, but is averaging over 26 PPG and close to 9 assists per game. They are a good team and will probably contend to win the Horizon League with Valpo.

Anyway, Michigan St was barely able to get a win (I know without Valentine) and/but it proves that the NCAA Tourney is open this year for almost anyone.

 

[cruzer]

Free throw percentage doesn't matter .
Everything that score points matters , just like preventing opponent scoring matters.
Not sure why people can't grasp this and mischaracterize a simple precept.

Team a Shoots 100% from the line on 6 attempts.
Team b shoots 60% on 20 attempts.

Who has a better chance of winning?

Thanks for that Captain obvious. If we shoot 60% tonight, we're going home with an L.

 

[deepelemblues]

The only good thing is we ended the game on a 25-12 run.

Michigan State needed overtime to beat Oakland last night. Oklahoma is struggling with Hawaii right now. It happens.

Past Pitt teams would've gone 19-33 from the line instead of 29-33 and ended up with a loss.

Learning moment... and the kids learned they can make shots in the clutch at the end of tight games, whether they be FTs or big 3-pointers like Chris Jones had.

They had a nice run in the first half too. I turn the TV on and they're down 16-8, fifteen minutes later real-time they're up 26-22. That's an 18-6 run right there.

 

[Joe the Panther Fan]

If we shoot 60% tonight, we're going home with an L.

Of course you don't actually know that. What if several times Pitt missed a foul shot but got the rebound and scored a basket? You can't just assume that missing eight more foul shots automatically means eight less points. It could mean that. Or it could mean more than eight fewer points. Or it could mean less than eight fewer points. It certainly would have changed the way the end of the game was played, because Pitt likely would have been trying to score and UWC wouldn't have been fouling on purpose.

Everything changes everything.

 

[California Panther]

Everything changes everything.

Is that a Yogism?

 

[Joe the Panther Fan]

Is that a Yogism?

If it isn't it should be.

 

[BFo8]

The only good thing is we ended the game on a 25-12 run.

Michigan State needed overtime to beat Oakland last night. Oklahoma is struggling with Hawaii right now. It happens.

Past Pitt teams would've gone 19-33 from the line instead of 29-33 and ended up with a loss.

Learning moment... and the kids learned they can make shots in the clutch at the end of tight games, whether they be FTs or big 3-pointers like Chris Jones had.

Agree that a win is a win, but Western Carolina is nowhere near where Hawaii and Oakland are. Both those teams have real NCAA tournament hopes, while Western Carolina has absolutely zero shot.

 

[JD1976]

A win is a win. 4 years ago today Pitt lost to Wagner. This sure beats that.

 

[BuffetParrothead]

The only good thing is we ended the game on a 25-12 run.

Michigan State needed overtime to beat Oakland last night. Oklahoma is struggling with Hawaii right now. It happens.

Past Pitt teams would've gone 19-33 from the line instead of 29-33 and ended up with a loss.

Learning moment... and the kids learned they can make shots in the clutch at the end of tight games, whether they be FTs or big 3-pointers like Chris Jones had.

PITT wasn't on top of their game but worked as a team to overcome the late deficit and won!!
As you mentioned last year this game might have been a PITT loss!
This is a good PITT team that has potential to become a very good PITT team. Lots of confidence and poise!

 

[wbrpanther]

Was unable to see the game but the boxscore was extremely Interesting--

We outrebounded them by 10. They had 10 turnovers to our 14. They had 10 steals to our 6. That should mean we had 2 more possessions than they did.

We shot 50% to their 42% and made 29 of 33 FTs to their 8 of 12, but took only 48 shots to their 67 probably because they fouled so much.

Biggest difference seems to be that they made 9-27 3-balls to our 2 of 13. That's 21 points in their favor right there.

Overall the boxscore suggests that they pressed us and hacked a lot. Was that the case?

Pitt was out of sync most of the night. Not much flow to the offense. James had a couple of uncharacteristic turnovers. Mike seemed to be more ready for Christmas than hoops. And yes, their 3 balls and our lack of 3 balls kept the Catamounts in the game. Jamelle saved the day in this one. Classic trap game falling between Davidson and Syracuse.

 

[wbrpanther]

Agree that a win is a win, but Western Carolina is nowhere near where Hawaii and Oakland are. Both those teams have real NCAA tournament hopes, while Western Carolina has absolutely zero shot.

What if they win their league?

 

[R-M-U-h-o-o-p-s-f-a-n]

What if they win their league?

Lol

They played good enough to prove they have a shot!

 

[JS School]

Good to get a win in a classic trap game--

Why a trap?

1. Off easy win at MSG vs a better team than W. Carolina
2. Favored by 20.
3. Two days B4 Christmas, students not around
4. Possibly looking ahead to the Cuse game.
5. At home and probably felt subconsciously that they could mail it in.

Agree with this, it wasn't inexplicable to have a bad game at this point in the season. Also, it wasn't the worst thing in the world to have them deal with some late game pressure. It was a good experience for them.

 

[BFo8]

What if they win their league?

True enough, I guess saying zero shot is a little much. They are a middle of the pack SoCon team that looks to not be quite as good this year.

My point is that they shouldn't have been lumped in with the Hawaii and Oakland games, especially the Hawaii game where a lot of people thought they had a really good shot to win. Oakland got bet down as well

 

[Pitt79]

SHOOTING, 3s and FTs is the difference between this team and previous teams. Some of the teams from the last few years might of missed 10 more of those free throws and 3-4 more of those 3s and lost this game. But of course as I've been told before, shooting never matters, only rebounding and defense does. But it is nice to see shots drop.

 

[Joe the Panther Fan]

Some of the teams from the last few years might of missed 10 more of those free throws and 3-4 more of those 3s and lost this game.

So you are saying that instead of making two threes last night some of Pitt's teams in the past would have made negative one or negative two three pointers? Minus two for 13 would be a really crappy percentage, even for a bad shooting team.

 

[Pittbaseball11]

IMO, the fact that Pitt shot 29-33 from the charity stripe (to go along with 50% from the field) and had to sweat out a W is more condemning of the importance of FTs than anything.

There are far more important things to focus on. If Pitt has a normal shooting game from 3 or doesn't turn the ball over or doesn't look inept on the defensive glass then it's a non-story.

 

[BuffetParrothead]

In my mind these three key points stood out:
1. PITT looked confident, and poised when they were down early - no panic playing
2. PITT looked confident and poised after they had a nice lead and lost the lead late in the second half
3. PITT looked confident and poised at the end of the game when they took care of business took the lead back and held it - no panic playing
Its a good team getting better so we'll see how things go!
A nice improvement from last year and you can see the benefit of one more year for some of the guys!
Jamie did a good job managing the ebb and flow of the game.