- Pitt -6 at home vs a team that''s ripe for a whooping and clearly looking to end the season. I'm not sure how you can bet the Orange with any confidence but then again, that's why they build those big hotels out there, right? Pitt beating an undermanned Ga Tech squad at home by 8 when the game was in doubt with 5 minutes remaining probably says I'm wrong on this take. I feel like its a 10 point game today, call it 75-65.
- I openly wonder why Jeff Capel's teams can't (or won't) play sound, 'efficient' D They never have. Our KenPom D is 90th. Last year 147. TCU under Jamie: 18 this year, 15 the prior. If we could just be Top 50 everything would be different. For the basketball junkies on the board, is it a choice by Capel to not play D or just not instructed properly? Hell, there's like 10 assistant coaches hanging around each game so what's the issue? To be fair, our Offense isn't efficient either thus we will never show high in KenPom which will always limit our ceiling come tourney time. Why can't we steal an assistant off of a consistant efficient lower end team and instruct properly? In a way, bringing in all of these transfers might work best seeing they've been instructed elsewhere and likely would be tough to coach away those skills in 1-2 years under Capel. Is anyone giving Capel the credit for the 3 point shooting and toughness of Hinson, Nelly and Elliott? Didn't think so...and that's ok. Just do it every year coach.
- I hope Jim Boeheim stays around forever. I really do. Syracuse is no longer a real threat in the ACC and the numbers show it, never finishing in the Top 5 in the league. The longer he's around the more opportunity for Pitt plus we get to poke fun at him and his old man antics. Just waiting for the zoo to gift him a walker, cane or maybe a case of Geritol on his 80th in a few years.
- This Bracketology nonsense truly can make you go mad. How a Kentucky team which was OUT of the tourney on many brackets a few weeks ago now jump us even up to an 8 seed because they won a few games they were supposed to win? We lost a game on the road that we supposed to lose by 5 and get penalized. Truth is: There is no eye test when it comes to these predictions. Zero. Its all stats rankings and math data, which does scare me a bit since our NET is dropping even when we WIN. Simply cannot lose either of the next 2 if we don't want to be sweating a little bit on Selection Sunday. No room for error...which is complete BS and everyone knows it.
- The 2-3 Zone D couldn't come any sooner as it truly fits what we set out to do, getting those open 3s and shooting without hesitation. Bring it.
Tico's Gameday Corner
- Thread starter TicoCooperFan
- Start date
Our players are not quick enough to play defense. We would be much worse if not for Fede.
Gotta agree with you on many points, Tico.
1) We can't take any opponent for granted. We can beat top teams then turn around and lose to a lousy team on the next night. So just beat "Cuse and go from there. Truly, one game at a time.
2) I'm sure people get tired of me saying this, but Pitt needs to win games on great defense. If you play great defense, you create offense and in close games you have a better chance of winning. Having a shootout with an opponent won't work for this Pitt team. But this Pitt team is so inconsistent on defense and they aren't very good at it much of the time. It's about effort and attitude, along with some coaching. I'd like to see Pitt develop a persona of a great defensive team that can play some offense and score when they need to, like Bennett does in UVA. And this is just a one year blip on the Capel radar. Let's see if Capel can keep it up next year and over the long term, if he's here that long. He's done well this year, mainly because of the maturity and experience of key players. He needs to get those same type of players in the portal for next year, because there's no guarantee that any of his recruits or Dior Johnson will even be here.
3) 'Cuse and Boeheim need to be put out to pasture, starting today.
4) I'm sick and tired of all of the analytics, NET, and all of the other garbage. If you need a computer and these numbers to tell you that a team is deserving of being in a tournament, you shouldn't be in the business. They're much too reliant on the analytics and not enough on real life and HOW a team is playing this time of the year.
5) See #3 above.
Before the last two games, we had actually played pretty solid defense for the previous 20 or so games. The last two games and Michigan have been, by far, our worst two defensive performances on Torvik. But I remember checking prior to the VT game, and our “recent” (last ten game) defensive ranking was somewhere in the low 40’s. But when we get cooked, we really get cooked.
When you have players like Elliot and Hinson, who can really shoot, but, are not great athletes, your defense will struggle. Nellie's height is also a liability. Totally agree that Fede's ability to hedge and handle pick and roll or pick and pop as well as his ability to block and alter shots has made this team a capable defense, and is largely responsible for our success. When we are making 3's and keeping teams out of the lane, we are pretty damn good. I just hope Jamarius is close to 100%, he hasn't been at the top of his game lately. Today would be a good day to show all that he could be ACC POY.
Other than Fede (for his size) this team is not incredibly athletic or long. So they are never going to be great defensively. But they make stops when they need them the most to win the game and is t that what counts ?
Regarding all this seeding and ranking stuff. Just get in the dance and let their performance do the talking. I do think this is the type of team (good shooting, gritty, confident, tested and motivated) that can do some damage in the tourney
Regarding all this seeding and ranking stuff. Just get in the dance and let their performance do the talking. I do think this is the type of team (good shooting, gritty, confident, tested and motivated) that can do some damage in the tourney
On D we've been up and down
We were atrocious in the beginning of the year. Couldn't guard anything.
They started improving and they got way better for most of the year.
But now recently we've slipped again.
Capel explicitly just mentioned this and said it's urgent to address.
I think we've scouted other teams well this year.
We have guards that just aren't very athletic.
But I think you'll see a renewed focus on D as we get closer. Defense not a strength, although for Fede it is, but we can and believe will get much better
We were atrocious in the beginning of the year. Couldn't guard anything.
They started improving and they got way better for most of the year.
But now recently we've slipped again.
Capel explicitly just mentioned this and said it's urgent to address.
I think we've scouted other teams well this year.
We have guards that just aren't very athletic.
But I think you'll see a renewed focus on D as we get closer. Defense not a strength, although for Fede it is, but we can and believe will get much better
