There's Something About Pitt: Pittsburgh 82, Syracuse 72
by Sean Keeley on Jan 2, 2010 4:06 PM EST
Email
Print
Despite the fact that Syracuse was undefeated and ranked in the top five while Pitt was unranked, it was business as usual in the Dome today. Pitt's (12-2) physical play wore down the Orange (13-1) and handed SU their first loss of the season, 82-72.
Ashton Gibbs shot 6-of-9 from three-point range en route to a game-high 24 points, as Pittsburgh removed fifth-ranked Syracuse from the ranks of the unbeaten with an 82-72 victory at the Carrier Dome.
Gibbs added eight rebounds for the Panthers (12-2, 2-0 Big East), who have won five straight and eight of their last nine contests overall. Jermaine Dixon contributed a career-high 21 points and recorded five steals as Pittsburgh notched its fourth consecutive win on Syracuse's home court.
The Panthers have now beaten the Orange 12 of 15 times since 2001 and six of the last seven times they've played in the Dome. No active Syracuse Orange player has ever beaten Pitt.
The referees did themselves no favors calling anything and everything in what is always a physical match-up. 5 fouls were called and both Arinze Onuaku and Rick Jackson fouled out for SU. "Referees don't miss lay-ups," but when you've got a showdown between two Big East teams, you gotta let'm play.
Still, the Orange have to blame themselves for this one. Shoddy three-point shooting (1-13) and porous defense in the 2nd half were their downfall. Pitt's Ashton Gibbs and Jermaine Dixon combined for 45 points.
Wes Johnson led the Orange with 19 points and 6 rebounds while Scoop added 15.
More to come on this one. It was a disappointment, especially at home in front of the big crowd. But there's a lot of season to go...let's see if the Orange can put this stinker behind him. I would imagine, they learned a great deal about themselves today.
36 comments
|
0 recs |
Do you like this story?
Comments
The Big East officials
Have no idea how to call a Pitt game. Pitt plays the most awful form of basketball imaginable, borrowing a page from the 1994 Pat Riley Knicks. Ugly, brutish and physical play, where fouls need to be called early to establish control of the game. My problem with the Big East refs is that they let them play early, and then start calling fouls once the action has heated up. That is beyond stupid – that’s like letting the building catch fire, and almost burn to the ground before you start putting water on it. It’s backwards.
"(BARF)" - Donovan McNabb, during his game winning drive against Virginia Tech in 1998
Nah, we don't want Pitt ;)
I thought the Big East refs in the WVU/Purdue game did a fairly good job yesterday, though. They were on top of it pretty quickly when the Mountaineers starting throwing elbows. But I’m probably more used to the physical style.
Not sure if they played in the game
But Andy and AO were on the team when we beat Pitt in the 2006 BET title game…
~K
"As the governor of Louisiana once said, the only way Chris Kelsay can lose his job is if he got caught in bed with a dead girl or a live boy."
by Kurupt on Jan 2, 2010 5:22 PM EST via mobile reply actions
Stupid bullshit perfect storm of suck.
Why is it when I go we lose?
Can’t grab a board.
Can’t get a roll.
Can’t buy a call.
THAT, good basketball, does not make.
The 'Cuse is in tha house, oh my God oh my God.
I now have $150 less in my pocket and one day less of my life.
The 'Cuse is in tha house, oh my God oh my God.
Might I also add that Andy Routins
needs to be sat a while and allowed to stew.
He’s turning into a chucker and sloppy ball handler.
Last 3 games he looks like Devo minus the heart.
The 'Cuse is in tha house, oh my God oh my God.
Might I also ALSO add that Chucks
Still has the best bar food of all time. OF ALL TIME.
The 'Cuse is in tha house, oh my God oh my God.
Might I also also ALSO add
that I’ve been drinking and I’m on a ’Cuse self-loathing bender.
I’m done now.
Thank you for your attention. Carry on.
The 'Cuse is in tha house, oh my God oh my God.
I'll add
The refs calls were indeed perplexing. More importantly, someone has to step up and become the 3 guy when Rautins gets cold.
I'm also worried about Andy
but not for his recent poor play. I’m more concerned about those commercials in which he and Scottie Reynolds are fawning over each other. Is Andy trying to fill the void in his life left by Eric Devendorf with Scottie Reynolds? I am not comfortable with this.
That was the least disciplined 2-3 zone that I've seen all season.
Second half was about Pitt being patient and waiting for our defense to open up. They passed the ball well and we couldn’t score enough to make up for it. Hopefully this loss inspires the team to work and stay within the system.
I'm a writer.
by Andy Hellicksonstine on Jan 2, 2010 7:03 PM EST reply actions
Undermanned Pitt played a great game
If you shoot 43% from 3 pt range, hold your opponent on their home floor to 1-13, win the rebounding battle,assist on 19 of 23 baskets , all against an SU team with a sizeable advantage in height, talent, and depth—you should win. And Pitt DEFINITELY deserved that win. All this crap about “physical Pitt”—have you seen this team—this is the least physical of any Pitt team in years. THEY ARE LIGHTER, SHORTER, AND HAVE ALMOST NO INSIDE GAME.(dEJUAN BLAIR IS IN THE NBA!!!) They just wanted it more than the SU team did—look at how many loose balls they got. If you get frustrated after missing a layup, and go over and back—that is going to be called every time. There is no question that SU has a great team, and much more talent than Pitt—but there is also no question as to which team deserved to win TODAY—and a few questionable calls by the Refs had no bearing on the game.
My point was not
…that the refs had a direct bearing on the game. I’m just tired of the way that they seem to officiate when Pitt plays. The fact that this is the least physical Pitt team in years means very little – they were still banging bodies and colliding with people all over the place, which is simply the Pitt brand of basketball under first Howland and now Dixon. Which is fine – but if you’re going to let the teams play early, you have to let them play late too. That was MY point, at least.
"(BARF)" - Donovan McNabb, during his game winning drive against Virginia Tech in 1998
What the game headline should be
Shouldn’t the headline and focus of the game report be : “Hot Shooting Pitt Stuns Orange 82-72”?
12 pt underdog Pitt shot almost 60% in the second half, and 43% from the 3 pt line for the game, overcoming a 3 pt halftime deficit, and held the BE’s highest scoring team to season lows in points, fg%, 3 pt percentage, in extending their mastery to SU to 5 of the last 6 games played in the Carrier Zone. Pitt showed great patience in attacking the SU 2/3 zone, assisting on 19 of its 23 baskets, and shot 72% from the free throw line. Pitt took the lead early in the second half, a lead it would never give up. Held to 10 pts with 7 minutes left in the first half, when it trailed SU by 10 pts, Pitt scored 72 pts in the last 27 minutes of the game. Pitt’s guards were dominating,with leading scorer Ashton Gibbs shooting 6/9 from 3 pt range, and collecting a game high 9 rebounds. Pitt held SU to a season low 1/13 from 3 pt range on its home floor. The win gives Pitt a 2-0 mark in BE play, and an overall record of 12-2 for the year.
Let's lay the cards on the table
Pittsburgh was shoving Syracuse. They were not playing defense.
Syracuse was getting called for fouls when they were playing legitimate defense. Our entire front court had at least 4 fouls. That’s bullshit
The officiating was shaky both ways
but a game called both ways would have had as many Pitt guys fouling out as ‘Cuse guys. Any statement that such a fact doesn’t impact a game is asinine. Ask yourself why Pitt is so good in the regular season and they never go as far as they should in the tourney? Because they inevitably run into a ref crew that clamps down on their basketbrawl tactics and they can’t adjust after getting away with it all season.
Homer: Aw, twenty dollars! I wanted a peanut!
Homer's Brain: Twenty dollars can buy many peanuts!
Homer: Explain how!
Homer's Brain: Money can be exchanged for goods and services!
Homer: Woo-hoo!
by bigbluethruandthru on Jan 3, 2010 1:52 PM EST up reply actions
Heh
I made that exact point to someone the other night. The reason Pitt always sucks in the NCAA tournament, no matter how high their seed, is because some Pac-10 crew doesn’t let them play brawlball, and they have no idea how to play any other way. Hey, to their credit, it’s a great style to play in the Big East. But it is what it is.
"(BARF)" - Donovan McNabb, during his game winning drive against Virginia Tech in 1998
ehhhh......
the reason more Cuse players fouled out was they got down and had to play aggressive defense and take chances swiping at the ball…also they had to foul while at the end. It’s ridiculous to suggest that good refereeing means equal fouls. Should a game called both ways always have the same amount of players fouling out? Hardly. I guess by your logic every fair refereed NFL game should have equal number of holding, PI’s, offsides, personal fouls, etc. for both teams.
by OrangeJanulis on Jan 3, 2010 7:46 PM EST up reply actions
We sure PITT wasn't wearing LeMoyne jerseys? :)
"...also I'll brush my teeth and remember to turn off the stars at night and put the hyena out." ERNEST HEMINGWAY
Pitt vs. LeMoyne
Thats the big game
Troy Nunes Is An Absolute Magician - The Syracuse blog that cares.
What's been good about this team this year is what hurt them today.
Aside from the steady 17 you get outta Wes each game, there seems to have been another player that has stepped up and dominated each game.
Triche, KrisJo, Rick, AO, and Rautins have each had at least one game where they’ve played well above their season averages and helped bring home the W. That didn’t happen today.
With the outside shooters struggling today, and the guys inside A) not getting the Rock enough, and B) getting in foul trouble, that spells a loss.
So, what’s better? Having someone step up to be the consistent #2 to Wes, or a cast of characters that might each night?
this team is clearly final 4 caliber but...
2 things came up that have been bothering me all season
1. need to find ways to get wes the ball (and more than that, hes gotta demand it) when the other team is on a run or we need a basket
2. when the defense is not creating offense, i feel like its a pedestrian offensive team (especially if andy is not hot from outside)
no loss is good, but i think this will go along way toward cleaning up the over-gambling in the zone that you need to stop the really solid teams
pitt put on a clinic of being strong with the ball (they seemed to throw the ball to our designated trap areas to draw the double team, step through and kick it to an open man for a good shot) …i wonder if sometimes it will be better to fake the trap and make them shoot over top from those corners kind of like bluffing the blitz can cause a turnover same as bringing the heat all the time
by Little Brown Arm on Jan 3, 2010 12:47 AM EST reply actions
They did lose to Rutgers in 2003
I remember thinking after that game that they were a mediocre team if they could lose to a team like Rutgers. I felt the same way today. HOpefully they will prove me wrong again
Great call up top kotite4ever
on the comparison to Riley’s Knicks, that was exactly what I thought watching the game yesterday. Pitt passed the ball exceptionally well, and had a couple of hot shooters, but besides that there is nobody that uglifies the game of basketball like Pitt. Just like those unwatchable Knicks-Heat games of the 90’s, this one was a brutal slogfest. And yes, Pitt looked like they wanted it more, and is disheartening to see Syracuse back down after being bumped, pushed, and grabbed all game. If it happens again, other teams will see the blueprint to beat us.
Homer: Aw, twenty dollars! I wanted a peanut!
Homer's Brain: Twenty dollars can buy many peanuts!
Homer: Explain how!
Homer's Brain: Money can be exchanged for goods and services!
Homer: Woo-hoo!
by bigbluethruandthru on Jan 3, 2010 1:49 PM EST reply actions
+1
On all points – the last one especially. ‘Cuse has to realize that this is Big East basketball, and there are going to be games where people are being decked without any intervention from the refs. That’s just how the league is.
"(BARF)" - Donovan McNabb, during his game winning drive against Virginia Tech in 1998
Refs
The refs were not all that horrible in either direction. Cuse, just got beat and respect should be given. The reason there were so many fouls was b/c Cuse got behind and had to play in your face, pressure, active hands, physical D to try to get a spark. This led to a lot of fouls on the Cuse. As far as bad calls they went both ways. The charge on Gilbert Brown for Pitt in the first half was a joke (I’m not sure there was even contact), much like the no call on the bump that he gave to Kris Joseph when he hit the shot in the lane was a joke (should have been an and 1). As long as Cuse continues to cry about the refs each time Pitt shoves it down their throats their record isn’t going to improve vs. the Panthers.
I wish someone would say I have
active hands.
Troy Nunes Is An Absolute Magician - The Syracuse blog that cares.
I still think
That the officiating made no sense. They let the physical play go early, but called fouls late? That is exact opposite of how a basketball game should be officiated.
"(BARF)" - Donovan McNabb, during his game winning drive against Virginia Tech in 1998
Comments For This Post Are Closed
Secondary Sidebar
User Tools
FanPosts
Community blog posts and discussion.
Certain photos copyright © 2012 by Associated Press or Getty Images. Any commercial use or distribution without the express written consent of Associated Press and Getty Images is strictly prohibited.
