Game 7: Not A Good Effort: Pitt 70 Howard 46

By the looks of the final score, it would seem that Pitt had an easy time with the Howard Bison. However, you should know that Howard is absolutely terrible. They only have 7 scholarship players, they're 1-6 (including losses to Lincoln (PA) and Gardner Webb), and they have the same logo as the Buffalo Bills.

Probably not a good thing

Anyway, Howard University is most known for having a dorm and cafeteria named after comedian Chris Rock.

By the way, it took me about 30 minutes to remember how to write the code to get that video embedded and start at the right time.  I'm giving myself an internet for that one.

Quick Stats:
Points in the Paint - Howard 34 Pitt 32
Rebounds - Tied at 35
Free Throws - Pitt 10-18 Howard 1-3

The points in the paint stat on Pitt's side doesn't bother me.  Howard was playing a zone and making Pitt shoot from the outside.  Patterson and Robinson couldn't miss from three in the first half so it was okay.  The problem is that Howard seemed to have an easy time scoring down low on the Panthers.  Pitt had a height advantage at just about every position, which makes the rebounding margin (or lack thereof) another cause for concern.  The score was 36-28 at halftime.  In the second half Pitt remembered that they were playing Howard and smacked them around.

A staple of last season's Pitt team was one terrible half and one good half (or vice versa).  I can think of at least 5 examples last season where Pitt fell into a huge hole at the half and couldn't dig themselves out.  Other times, Pitt fell apart in the second.

So far we've seen both examples of this.

Michigan Loss - Great 1st half, Awful 2nd
Howard Win - Awful 1st half, Decent 2nd

We can see how playing well for 20 minutes is not enough to beat quality teams.  You can get by with a shoddy effort against Howard, but this inconsistent play is going to kill them in the Big East if it continues.  The fact that Pitt only lost by 5 to a top 4 Michigan team on a neutral court despite only playing 20 minutes is flat-out amazing.

That should scare every team in the country.

Look out if this team puts it together.

Onto the grades.

James Robinson - The Talented Mr. Robinson comes through with another excellent effort.

In the first 7 games of his college basketball career, James Robinson has 25 assists and 4 turnovers.  Four.  Turnovers.  And he's playing just under 30 minutes a game.

Wow.

His 6.25 assist/turnover ratio is in the top 10 in the country among qualified leaders.  After not scoring against Delaware, Robinson got back in the mix with 11 points on 4-6 shooting.  He also dropped 8 dimes versus only a single turnover.

He had a bounce pass to Zanna in the first half that is illegal in 28 states.  What amazes me the most about Robinson is he never forces anything.  He never takes a bad shot and never tries to take something that the defense isn't giving him.  On one play in particular, Robinson had an open 3 about 5 seconds into a possession.  A normal freshman takes that shot.  Robinson knew that with that much time left, Pitt could get a better shot.  The three point shot will always be there.

By the way, that possession finished with an easy lay-up for J.J. Moore with an assist by James Robinson.

Grade A+
Season GPA = 4.00

Tray Woodall -

If I had a dollar for every bad decision Tray made in this game, I could have bought myself dinner at Pasta Plus at half-time.

For the record, Pasta Plus during the Pitt game costs about $12.

Howard had 11 blocks in this game.  I'd say about 4 of them were on Woodall trying to drive into traffic and then throw up scoop shots.  He was 1-6 from 3, but redeemed himself by getting some easy buckets in the second half.  He finished with 15 points, but it was really a sub-par effort.  Woodall is always going to get his 12-14 points just from the number of shots he takes.  If he plays well it will be around 18-19.  If he shoots poorly, expect 10-12.

Grade B-
Season GPA = 3.375

Lamar Patterson - In the first 6 games, Lamar was 4-17 from three.  In the first 18 minutes of this game, he was 4-4 from deep.  He finished with 5 threes on the night to give him 15 points.  He also had 5 assists.  If Lamar makes 5 threes and has 5 assists, there is only one grade I can give him.

Grade A
Season GPA = 3.4375


Talib Zanna - Zanna leads all of division 1 in PER (Player Efficiency Rating).
PER is like sabermetrics for basketball.  It was developed by ESPN Insider writer John Hollinger.

h/t to @BW628 for the find

It was your typical Zanna night.  He had 12 points on 4-6 shooting with 8 rebounds.  He also got to the line a team-high 8 times, which should have been a lot more because Howard murdered him a few times down low.

Grade A
Season GPA = 3.6875

Steven Adams - It was another passive night for Adams.  He's settling into a Gary McGhee type role right now in the sense that they rarely look for him on offense.  I believe in his entire 26 minutes, he received two entry passes.  He couldn't convert the free throw of an and 1 for his only 2 points of the game.  Adams needs to hit the weight room or start training with the Predator.

Grade C-
Season GPA = 3.125

Dante Taylor - Sleepy didn't do much.  He had a tip-in for his only 2 points.  He also had 6 rebounds.  Yawn.  Dixon played Taylor and Adams at the same time for  a few minutes.  It was a disaster.  Neither of them can play the power forward position.

Grade B-
Season GPA = 3.1875

J.J. Moore - Moore had the play of the game with a huge dunk.  I'm fairly certain he could've dunked it on a 12 foot rim.  Other than that, he had a couple layups.  Not a good shooting night from him though (4-12).

Grade B
Season GPA = 3.6875

Cameron Wright - He made a jump shot and made both of his free throws.  That's about it.

Grade B-
Season GPA = 3.33

Durand Johnson - He missed both of his shots in 4 minutes.

Grade C
Season GPA = 3.00

Game GPA = 3.00
Season GPA to Date = 3.375

Pitt plays Detroit on Saturday.  Expect unlimited "So Cold in the D" references.

Hail to Pitt,
J.O.