Game 22: Welp: Pitt 45 Virginia 48

I have been a Pitt fan for 18 years.  Over that time I have transitioned from not understanding that there was a tournament and Pitt was eliminated and is now somehow in another tournament (Pitt losing in 1997 BET to Boston College and then being eliminated in second round of NIT by Arkansas) to writing a blog about them for 4 years.  I have seen countless games go down to the final possession.  Pitt won some and lost some.

The wins:

February 26, 2002 - Pitt 73 Seton Hall 66 OT
This was the year of Pitt's return to the tournament.  They came into the game ranked #10 at 21-3 while Seton Hall was a pathetic 11-15.  The Pete wouldn't open for another 2 months.  Pitt scored a 5 point victory at the Field House 3 weeks earlier but this one proved much more difficult.  Seton Hall always seemed to be a thorn in the side of those Knight Pitt teams.  Anyway, Pitt was down 1, when Chad Johnson (yes we had a Pitt basketball player named Chad Johnson) missed a 3.  Two Seton Hall free throws set the stage for Donatas Zavackas.  He hit a 3 to tie it with a few seconds left and Pitt took control in overtime.  Pitt being so highly ranked was a new thing for a generation of Pitt fans so we did not know how to handle possible upset losses.  Luckily, we didn't have to on this night.

February 7, 2008 - Pitt 55 West Virginia 54
The Ronald Ramon game.

Ironically, this was the only home game I missed during my freshmen year.  My mom won me tickets to the Penguins game so I caught that instead.  They won 4-3 on a third period goal by Letang by the way.  My Dad called me at the arena and gave me a play by play of the ending.

"Pitt with the ball, 10 seconds left...Ramon shoots.  Score.  Pitt wins.  Talk to you later."
-He should do that for a living.
What's interesting is that the game was a snoozefest up until that play.  Fortunately for Pitt, an 85% free throw shooter for WVU missed one that would have put them up by 3.

March 4, 2010 - Pitt 73 Providence 71
"They just don't lose at home."

Marshon Brooks stunned face at 0:33 of that video.  Amazing.

December 20, 2007 - Pitt 65 Duke 64
When I think of Pitt playing Duke, I prefer to think of this game and not the ugliness that was last week's game.  Blair had 15 and 20 and Fields came through with the heroics.

Unfortunately, this was the high point of Pitt's season.  The win made them 11-0 at the time, but in overtime Mike Cook blew out his knee, ending his Pitt career.  The next game Fields hurt his ankle and missed a good portion of the season.  Pitt struggled mightily at the end of many games without their leader.  Fields did return to lead them to their second ever Big East Championship, but they were abused by Michigan State in the second round a week later.

The losses:

February 1, 2003 - Pitt 65 Syracuse 67
This game did not end on a made shot by the Orangemen (before they became fruit), but rather on a missed opportunity by Pitt.  Brandin Knight hit a 40 footer as time expired to give Pitt the win.  Unfortunately, he let the shot go a split second AFTER time expired so the shot didn't count.  Syracuse fans stormed the court.  They were told to go back so they could review the play, then they stormed it again after it was official.  Pitt was #2 at the time and Syracuse was #24.  Pitt had already beaten them at the Pete.  Syracuse would get the last laugh, though.  They won the National Championship.

March 28, 2009 - Pitt 76 Villanova 78
F*ck Scottie Reynolds

December 17, 2013 - Pitt 43 Cincinnati 44
Ugh.

There are more, but I should probably start talking about this game.  Pitt fans will have mixed reactions to this game.  It depends on whether they take an optimist or pessimist viewpoint.

The Pessimist - Pitt still can't beat anybody good.  They're gonna have 25 wins and be a 9th seed because all they've played is trash.  Lamar Patterson is fading against elite defenses.  He only scored 30 that one game because it was against Cal Poly.  He's quicker than he was last year, but he's still not NBA quick, and that burns him against defenders with NBA talent (see Hood, Rodney).  Zanna is beginning his descent into conference play mediocrity, and Robinson can't make a jump shot to save his life.  Pitt will inevitably get rolled in the first round by this year's version of Wichita State because it would be Pitt's luck to draw the Final Four team in the first round again.

The Optimist - They lost the game, and yes it was ugly, but it could have been a lot worse if not for the play of freshmen forwards Mike Young and Jamel Artis.  Young had 8 points and Artis had 11 points and 7 rebounds (including 7 straight points midway through the second half).  Those two are going to be good players for Pitt.

So where do I fall?  Obviously, I'm a mixture of the two.  The fact that Pitt doesn't seem to have an offense unless Patterson plays out of his mind is a legitimate concern.  However, the play of Artis and Young make me think that Pitt won't fall completely off the map next season when Patterson and Zanna leave.  They have to find a big man though, and Wright and Robinson have to improve their outside shot.

This game was ugly.  It was 8-8 after the first 8 minutes.  Artis converted a 3 point play to give Pitt 41 points with 8 minutes to go.  Pitt would only score 4 more points the rest of the way, and 3 of those points came on a wild, turnaround 25 foot three point bank shot from the top of the key by Wright at the end of the shot clock.  It is very concerning that Pitt's offense has shriveled up in the last minutes of the losses against Cincy, Syracuse, and now Virginia.  With absolutely anything resembling a useful offense, Pitt would have won all three of those games.  Despite this, Pitt and Virginia were still tied in the final seconds.  Pitt had the ball first.  Patterson found Robinson for an open three but he missed.  Virginia came down after a timeout and calmly buried a three with .4 seconds left.  The entire arena was silent.  I laughed because I figured that would happen because it's Pitt.

seats courtesy of Lady J.O.

I'm not giving grades today.  Patterson shot 3-14 and Zanna was a non-factor (only 1-3 shooting).  He did roll his ankle in the second half so that is a concern.  Robinson shot 0-5.  Artis was Pitt's only offensive threat in the second half, and he could have been the hero.  After Robinson's miss, Artis grabbed the offensive rebound and promptly forced up a layup attempt that missed rather than kick the ball out to hold for the final shot.  It was a freshman mistake in a game where he looked like anything but.

Anyway, Pitt somehow is still ranked despite 2 losses last week.  They're at #25 in the AP Pol and #22 in the coaches poll and they play Miami tonight.  Unfortunately, I won't be able to watch as I will be out.  Here are some final thoughts on the game.  Despite the outcome, it was great to witness a close game at the Pete again.  The 2011-2012 season sucked, and I only was able to go to the non-conference part of last season since I finished grad school last December.  I had only gone to the first three games of this season (all blowouts).  I still love Pitt basketball, and I'm glad I still get to enjoy these games after all the disappointments.  Someday, Pitt will reward me for sticking with them.

Hail to Pitt,
J.O.