Game 17: Bring on the Orange: Pitt 81 Georgia Tech 74

There is nothing wrong with a road conference win, no matter how ugly it looks at times.  The first half was tight with 7 ties and 11 lead changes.  The Panthers trailed at the break for only the third time this year.  Turnovers killed Pitt in the first half.  They were getting great shots when they attempted them.  Zanna had a layup off a great pass from Robinson to open the game, and the next possession Patterson found Wright on an alley-oop.  Georgia Tech just hit a few threes and Pitt gave away too many possessions.  In the second half, Pitt took care of the ball and continued to dominate the glass.  The Panthers held a 38-18 edge in rebounding. shot 57% (to 46% for GT), and still only won by 7.  Georgia Tech made up the difference by making 8 threes to only 2 for Pitt.

Pitt came out on fire in the second half, which is something we've seen from them throughout conference play.  A 9-0 to start the half gave them the lead for good.  Georgia Tech, and by Georgia Tech I mean Trae Golden, made it close at the end, but Pitt made free throws.  Seriously, I have to give Golden credit.  Pitt was leading 72-62 with 90 seconds left, and Golden scored the last 12 points without missing a shot from anywhere on the floor until the final few seconds.  He's a very good player, but this isn't a Georgia Tech blog so let's grade some Pitt players.

Lamar Patterson - Patterson had probably the worst half of his Pitt career to start this game.  He didn't score in the first half and had 4 turnovers.  The first 18 minutes of the second half were much better for Patterson.  He made a 3, completed a 3 point play and took care of the ball.  Unfortunately, he turned the ball over three more times in the final 2 minutes, which allowed Georgia Tech to get back in the game.  Patterson is so good that he can sometimes make up for poor shooting nights (4-13) with his other play (7 rebounds 7 great assists), but the 7 turnovers cannot be ignored.  This was easily his worst game.

Grade:  D

Talib Zanna - Zanna was a monster.  The man is on a mission to dominate conference play.  He had 22 points and 9 rebounds on 8-10 shooting.  He should have gotten a double double but I guess he decided to stop rebounding the last 13 minutes of the game.  Oh well, he was still incredible.  He was aggressive down low and finished around the rim.

Grade:  A+ (Co-MVP)

James Robinson - Robinson carried Pitt in the first half.  He had 13 of his career high 16 before the intermission.  He shot 5-7 from the field with 5 assists and 4 steals.  He made his first bad pass in about a month that resulted in his only turnover, but other than that it was an absolutely flawless performance.

Grade:  A+ (Co-MVP)

Cameron Wright - Wright bounced back with 14 points (12 in the second half).  He finished a couple of great looks from Patterson, but I don't really remember much from him in this game.  Robinson, Zanna, and Patterson were the stories.

Grade:  B+

Michael Young - He was only 1-4 from the field, but he had 7 rebounds and made all 4 of his free throws in the final minutes of play when Georgia Tech was making their run.  The freshman did not wilt under the pressure.  I worry sometimes that Young tries to do too much.  This is probably due to him starting, but Artis and Newkirk seem to understand their roles better.  The kid is going to be special, though, and his free throw-shooting (85%) for a big man is HUGE.

Grade:  A

Jamel Artis - He made 2 of his 3 shots, and that's all I have for him.

Grade:  B

Chris Jones - He didn't score but committed two fouls in his 4 minutes of play.  I don't think he's ready for big-time minutes off the bench.

Grade:  C

Derrick Randall - He had a layup and scored another on a basket interference call on Georgia Tech.  However, he was beaten badly on defense once, causing color commentator Len Elmore to chastise him for it.

Grade:  C-

Josh Newkirk - Newkirk made his only shot, but played an otherwise quiet 12 minutes.

Grade:  B

Pitt's starters average about 135 minutes during the season, and they played 153 last night.  This will be the norm for the rest of the season with Johnson out.  Foul trouble and fatigue will be huge concerns.  Pitt visits the Dome on Saturday.  It should be a dandy.

Hail to Pitt,
J.O.

Gameday: Pitt vs Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets

#21 Pitt 15-1 (3-0 ACC) @ Georgia Tech 10-6 (1-2 ACC)

9:00 pm

McCamish Pavilion, Atlanta, Georgia

The Ramblin' Wreck from Georgia Tech finished 16-15 last season but only 6-12 in the ACC.  They were the were the worst 2-point shooting team in the ACC as well as the worst free throw shooting team.  Their leading rebounder, Sophomore Robert Carter Jr., blew out his knee 3 games ago.  Since then, they've been blown out by Maryland and Duke on the road and beaten Notre Dame at home.  They were picked to finish 11th in the ACC this season, but this team will be an ACC bottom-feeder with the loss of Carter.

Having said all that, this is still a road conference game, and Pitt's depth will be tested now that Durand Johnson is out for the year.  Pitt makes its debut in both polls this week.  The coaches placed them at #21 with the writers putting them at #22.  For the purpose of this preview, we'll call them #21 because it's higher.

Player to watch:  Transfer Trae Golden played the past three seasons for Tennessee.  He scored 2 points in a Tennessee win over #3 Pitt at CEC in 2010 and 12 points in a Pitt win in Knoxville in 2011.  This marks the second straight game a transfer for an ACC opponent has already played Pitt in his career.  Golden is Tech's leading scorer.

Prediction:  Pitt 77 Georgia Tech 63

Hail to Pitt,
J.O.

Game 16: Pitt 80 Wake Forest 65

Pitt jumped out to an 8-1 lead and never looked back.  The Demon Deacons were not complete strangers to the Pete.  Guard Coron Williams played 4 years at Robert Morris before transferring to Wake as an immediately eligible graduate student.  This was actually his third time facing Pitt at the Pete.  He scored 8 points as a Redshirt Freshman in 2010 and 19 a year later.  He had 10 this time around.  Also side note, Demon Deacons is the best nickname in college sports.  Also relevant from this game was Wake forward Travis McKie flying into the Zoo and breaking a laptop.  Let's grade some people because I have to be over at Lady J.O.'s place at 4:30.  The injury bug bit the Panthers in this one.  Durand Johnson's knee buckled in the second half.  He's out for the year with an ACL and meniscus tear.  Sadness.

Lamar Patterson - Oh you know, Patterson just had 27 points on 10-17 shooting with 5 rebounds and 6 asssists.  I'm running out of adjectives to describe his play this season.  It has been magnificent, stupendous, outstanding, top-notch, phenomenal, incredible, super, scintillating, sensational, sparkling, and just plain good.  Wake Forest came out on fire after the second half began.  Lamar answered.

First 6 minutes of second half:
Wake Forest:  5-7 FG (1-2 3pt), 4-4 FT, 15 points
Lamar Patterson:  3-3 shooting (2-2 3pt), 1-1 FT, 2 assists, 9 points

Adding in Zanna's 6 points that Lamar wasn't involved in, and instead of Wake making a game of it, Pitt's lead ballooned to 19 points.

Grade:  A+ (MVP)

Talib Zanna - He had a man's performance with 16 points 12 rebounds (5 offensive) and 4 blocks.  He had a really nice tip-in in the first half off a Robinson miss and also completed a 3 point play in the second off a feed from Wright in transition.

Grade:  A+

James Robinson - He shot above 50%, made all of his free throws and didn't turn the ball over in 30 minutes.  Seriously, how spoiled are we getting to watch him run the point?

Grade:  A+

Michael Young - He had 4 points but also committed 4 fouls in 14 minutes.

Grade:  C

Cameron Wright - Wright has struggled in conference play as he has struggled to score in double figures in all three games.  He had 8 in this one.

Grade:  B-

Durand Johnson - He only made one basket (a three naturally) but he still scored 11 points off the strength of 8-9 from the line.  He was fouled shooting a three in the first half (made all 3 FT).  In the second half, Durand drove down the middle and got stuffed in the lane.  Wake Forest went the other way.  This is relevant because Durand did not give up on the play, ran the guy down, stole the ball back, saved the ball from going out of bounds, and Zanna's 3 point play came on the ensuing fast break.  Sadly, it will be Durand's last game this season.

Grade:  A+

I might be a little generous with the A grades this time, but seriously I was impressed with them yesterday.

Jamel Artis - He didn't score but he rebounded a three point miss by Durand and found Patterson for a sick 3 point play.

Grade:  B-

Derrick Randall - He made a free throw and had a steal.  He also had 3 fouls in 6 minutes so I get to use this again.

Grade:  C-

Joseph Uchebo - He scored his first career basket AND grabbed two rebounds.

Grade:  A because unless he directly causes Pitt to lose, I'm giving him an A every game his knees do not explode.

Chris Jones - He had a layup and three rebounds.

Grade:  B

Josh Newkirk - He was 0-4 from the field, but did redeem himself a little with 4 assists.

Grade:  B

Mike Lecak - The walk-on missed a three.  He had a chance to score in the closing seconds when he drove uncontested to the hoop, but somebody yelled, "Don't be a jerk."  He then pulled the ball out as time expired.

Grade:  n/a

I love that conference play has started and the walk-ons are still playing.  Haha, suck it ACC.

Pitt should be ranked on Monday.  They play at Georgia Tech on Tuesday night.

Hail to Pitt,

J.O.

Game 15: Pitt 79 Maryland 59

Pitt opened ACC play at the Pete in style with an easy 79-59 win over Maryland.  Pitt pulled away from the Terps in the second half as they shot 53% for the game to Maryland's 36%.  The Panthers also shut down Dez Wells whose only two baskets of the game came on two consecutive jumpers midway through the first half.  Maryland got a boost from the return of injured sharpshooter Seth Allen, who was playing in only his 4th game of the season.  Allen led Maryland with 18 points off the bench including 4 three-pointers.  Pitt had a super sub of its own as Durand Johnson finished second on the team with a career high 17 points.  Here are the grades.

Lamar Patterson - Another ho-hum performance from Lamar.  He scored 19 points on 8-12 shooting.  In today's issue of "Obscure Stats I Just Made Up," Patterson is 4th in the country in field goal percentage among players 6'5" or shorter who play in major conferences.  Could I have just told you that he's 73rd in all of college basketball, yes, but that's no fun.  For starters, Lamar is a perimeter player, and field goal percentage leaders are usually reserved for big men who dunk a lot.  Secondly, he plays against much bigger players.  A 6'3" guard from Colgate can shoot well because his competition stinks and at 6'3" he might be one of the bigger guys on the floor.  Anyway, the point I'm trying to make is that Patterson is awesome and we should give him a key to Oakland.  Actually, Tyler Boyd can have one too.

Grade:  A+

James Robinson - Speaking of stats, James Robinson leads the nation in assist to turnover ratio with 5.17 assists for every turnover.  Let's go back in time and compare this to great Pitt point guards of the past.

Assist to Turnover Ratio in Sophomore Seasons
1. James Robinson 5.17
2. Levance Fields 2.4
3. Brandin Knight 1.8

A typical James Robinson game should consist of 2-4 shooting (4-4 FT) 5 assists 1 turnover and maybe a steal.  He came close to this, but with a missed free throw and 2 more assists.

Grade:  A+

Cameron Wright - It was a poor shooting night for Cam (2-10).  He also missed 3-5 from the line.  Just not a good offensive effort.

Grade:  C-

Michael Young - Young was a non-factor, only scoring 3 points and grabbing 2 rebounds in 18 minutes.

Grade:  C-

Talib Zanna - Often criticized for disappearing in conference play, Zanna scored in double figures again with 13 points to go along with 9 rebounds.  He's picked up his defense recently as well with another 2 blocks.

Grade:  A

Durand Johnson - I already mentioned his 17 points.  Perhaps equally impressive were his 3 assists (just one off a career high).  Johnson is Pitt's X-Factor.  On a given night, Pitt is probably a top 20 team.  If Durand plays like he did against Maryland, they're top 10 material.

Grade:  A+ (MVP)

Jamel Artis - He shot 2-3 for 4 points in 10 minutes.

Grade:  B

Josh Newkirk - This was one of Newkirk's better offensive games.  He had 8 points and made both of his three point attempts.  The first brought Pitt back after Maryland built a 12-8 lead, and the second helped bury them after they closed to 8 at 52-44.

Grade:  A

Derrick Randall - He had a layup in garbage time.

Grade: C

Chris Jones - He missed a shot in garbage time.

Grade: C-

Joseph Uchebo - He made his Pitt debut and grabbed a rebound, but his knees are basically ticking time bombs.  He can barely run.  It's sad, really.

Grade:  B because he did not hurt himself.

Joshua Ko, Mike Lecak - They didn't register any stats.

Grade:  n/a

Pitt will play and probably beat Wake Forest 80-65 on Saturday.  I feel good about that prediction.  That recap will come shortly.

Hail to Pitt,
J.O.

Gameday: Pitt vs Maryland Terrapins

Pitt 13-1 (1-0 ACC) vs Maryland 10-5 (2-0 ACC)

7:00 pm

Petersen Events Center, Pittsburgh, PA

ACC basketball comes to Pittsburgh for the first time.  Maryland was picked to finish 6th in the ACC this season, one spot ahead of Pitt.  Maryland went 25-13 last season and lost to Iowa in the semi-finals of the NIT.  After an opening game loss to Kentucky, Maryland took advantage of a soft schedule to win their next 13 before being exposed as a pretender in ACC play.  Like Pitt, Maryland also had a inconsistent big man leave school to be a lottery pick.  Sophomore Alex Len was drafted 5th overall by the Phoenix Suns last summer.  He stinks and has bust written all over him.

Last meeting:  Maryland 89 Pitt 57, November 28, 1998

Pitt upset #13 Xavier and defending champion #4 Kentucky on their way to the finals of the Puerto Rican Shootout.  Then they ran into a buzzsaw of Steve Francis, Laron Profit and Maryland.  The Terps had a 20-0 run in the first half.  Six of the players from that team would eventually be drafted, which was impressive in those days.  Since I've been watching Pitt basketball (16 years approximately) there have only been two games where I've seen Pitt be thoroughly manhandled and more closely resemble a Division II team.  This is one, and the other was Pitt's 22 point loss to Boston College in the 2001 Big East Championship, which did however serve as a springboard for Pitt's return to prominence.

Player to watch:  Despite Len's presence, the Terrapins leading scorer last year was guard Dez Wells.  Wells likes to drive as an astonishing 50% of his field goal attempts are taken at the rim.  For comparison, Marcus Smart of Oklahoma State (a player of the year candidate) takes only 26% of his shots at the rim.

Prediction:  Pitt 72 Maryland 62

Hail to Pitt,

J.O.

Game 14: Pitt 74 NC State 62

Pitt's inaugural ACC game was a tale of two halves.  A Michael Young jumper tied the game at 2 in the first couple minutes.  After that the Wolfpack went on a 15-0 run highlighted by 9 points on 4-4 shooting by ACC leading scorer and former McDonald's All-American TJ Warren.  Everything was going NC State's way.  Patterson was throwing passes into the stands.  On one NC State possession they lost track of the shot clock, but Warren burried a deep 3 anyway.  A layup by Newkirk broke a 5 minute scoreless drought.  Pitt took control from that point on.  They played NC State even the rest of the half and went into intermission trailing by 8.  A 28-10 run in the first 9 minutes of the second half gave Pitt a lead they wouldn't relinquish.  After starting 4-4, Warren shot 4-18 the rest of the way.  Here are the grades.

Lamar Patterson - Patterson took control in the second half, scoring 17 of his team-high 22 after intermission.  He also had 8 rebounds and 6 assists including a nifty pass to a cutting Wright that cut the NC State lead to 2 early in the second half.  Patterson is an All-ACC performer, and Pitt will go as far as he takes them.

Grade:  A (MVP)

Michael Young - Young had a career high 13 points on 4-7 shooting, which was encouraging given how poorly he has shot for the season.  He even made his only three pointer.  He's only 3-10 from long range for the year.  It was early in the shot clock, but Young was trailing the play, and nobody came out to guard him.  Shoot the rock, young fella.  He did have an uncharacteristically low 2 rebounds, though.

Grade:  A-

James Robinson - Robinson didn't do much this game.  He picked up his 3rd foul early in the 2nd half.  Robinson absolutely has to stay out of foul trouble.  Newkirk has improved, but he is still a freshman point guard.  This was also the second game that Robinson failed to get to the line.  His only two baskets came in succession as he had a layup, stole the ball on the ensuing NC State possession and then had another layup.  He had 0 turnovers in 27 minutes, though.

Grade:  B-

Cameron Wright - Wright shot poorly (4-12) but his 3 point play gave Pitt its first lead of the game.  That play was of course off an assist from Patterson.  He also had his usual three steals to along with his 9 points.

Grade:  B

Talib Zanna - Zanna had a miserable first half.  He seemed passive, which seems to happen every year when conference play starts.  He also missed his first 3 free throws.  He did eventually settle down, making 7-8 from the line after the first three misses.  His final line (15 points 9 rebounds 4-6 shooting) is what he should be putting up every game for Pitt to be successful.

Grade:  B+

Josh Newkirk - Newkirk had the layup that broke the long scoring drought and also hit a 3 in the first half.  He didn't make any huge mistakes, which is all you can hope from him at this point.  It's insanely early, but it wouldn't shock me if Newkirk transferred at some point.  He's going to sit behind Robinson for three years, and neither one of them is a good enough shooter to warrant starting both of them in the backcourt like Gibbs and Woodall a few years back.  Also, Pitt has a ton of shooting guard recruits coming in the next few years.  Maybe I'm bitter from all the recent transfers Pitt has dealt with, but it would't shock me if Newkirk left at some point to be the starter at another school.

Grade:  B

Jamel Artis - Artis had all 6 of his points in the first half, including a nice put-back.  Pitt got 24 points from its three true freshmen, which pleases me.

Grade:  B+

Durand Johnson - The box score says he played 8 minutes, but he didn't attempt a shot and didn't do much else.  He's in a big time slump right now, and guys like Artis are outplaying him.

Grade:  C-

Chris Jones - He played only 4 minutes in the first half, but he did have two steals in a span of 30 seconds as Pitt was trying to get anything going offensively.  He did not score.

Grade:  B-

Derrick Randall - The only thing I remember from his 9 minutes was him getting a rebound over Warren, having Warren fall to the ground, and yet still being tied up by Warren to keep possession for NC State.  Frankly, how you have the ball knocked away from you by a defender who is lying on the ground is beyond me.

Grade:  D

This was a good win for Pitt.  NC State isn't a tournament, but coming from 15 down in a conference game on the road and winning comfortably is great to see.  They also managed to shut down a future NBA first round pick in Warren for the last 30 minutes.  Now Pitt just has to work on not falling behind by 15 points in the first place.  Their next game is Monday night against Maryland at the Pete.

Hail to Pitt,

J.O.

Game 13: Pitt 58 Albany 46

Albany made 5 of their first 6 shots to start this game.  Pitt fell asleep for the first 10 minutes or so of the game.  Albany led 18-16 with 8 minutes left in the half, but then they decided to play like Albany.  They didn't  make another basket until 6 minutes were gone in the second half.  By that point it was 36-20 Pitt.  DJ Evans of Albany hit 3 three pointers in the second half to keep Albany close, but the contest was never in doubt.  Cameron Wright flirted with a triple double.  He had 14 points 8 rebounds and 8 assists to go along with 3 steals.  Apparently the only player to do that in Pitt basketball history was a woman named Laine Selwyn who did it twice the early 2000s.  The bench of Artis, Johnson, Randall, and Newkirk combined to shoot 4-14.  Johnson couldn't hit water if he fell out of a boat at this point.  He was 1-7.  Pitt already beat NC State in their ACC opener at the time I'm writing this so that recap will be posted shortly after this one.  Here are some highlights of the Albany game:

Hail to Pitt,
J.O.