Wagner 59, Pitt 54: Panthers Get Major Wake Up Call
by oaklandzoo12 on Dec 23, 2011 10:10 PM EST
in Pitt Basketball
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Print10th consecutive NCAA Tournament? Not at this rate.
Just all around ugly in this one. I don't know what is with this team. Maybe they're missing Travon Woodall more than I thought, but I never thought that I would see a Pitt team lack heart. This showing today is a wake up call for the team. They are young, but they also should never have been in this position in the first place. On defense they appeared disinterested. On offense, they let Wagner dictate the flow of the game. Both are complete opposites of what you would expect of a Jamie Dixon coached team. They were sloppy with the ball, shot poorly, and couldn't hit their free throws.
Ashton Gibbs' shooting woes continued for another game. He couldn't break free of Wagner guard Kenneth Ortiz, who did a great job of shutting him down, going 0-7 in the first half and 5-15 overall.
I don't know what else to say. This season is looking rougher and rougher with each game. And Big East play starts next week. Fantastic.
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Relax Anson. This team will be a 8 or 9 seed.. Ill be worried if they are still playing like this in early Feb.
Domt worry, khem is coming back ;)
Yes, he is.
by H.LandPitt on Dec 23, 2011 10:25 PM EST via mobile reply actions
And I’m sorry Anson, but they had been looking better and better since LBSU.
Ok, I’ve had like 10 beers
by H.LandPitt on Dec 23, 2011 10:29 PM EST via mobile reply actions
That probably explains the reason you think I wrote this...
Greg did this one.
Seriously, though – I do think Pitt will get in the tournament, but with two non-conference losses to some average teams, it’s not such a guarantee that it can’t be brought up.
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by CardiacHill on Dec 23, 2011 11:26 PM EST up reply actions
Wow Pitt
Is Gibbs hurt? Is this team good enough hit the .500 mark in BE play? Maybe Travon’s return will be a spark for the Panthers.
Tray
Tray’s return will be big. Ashton’s been forced to run the point and can’t focus as much on just getting open.
That said, though, he is not shooting well at all. If we found out he was fighting through an injury, I wouldn’t be surprised.
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by CardiacHill on Dec 23, 2011 11:29 PM EST up reply actions
I’m not totally sure what to make of it…his FG% is the lowest of his career but he’s also averaging more points per game. Playing out of position never helps so when Woodall returns he won’t be taking so many shots.
Letang Clan - ain't nothin to puck with
We don't devote nearly enough scientific research to finding a cure for jerks.
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Well, it hurts to say this
But this team just flat out lacks the talent to be an NCAA tournament team this year I think. I think they will be lucky to go 8-10 in BE play, and they will miss the tourney with 13 losses. This is not a knock on Coach Dixon. He will be back with a great recruiting class next year – I’m not worried about the long term health of the team. This is just an off year for Pitt basketball and all programs have this once in a while. Nova is having one right now even worse than Pitt.
And it’s not like it all just happened tonight against Wagner, the problems have been obvious for some time now. The biggest problem this team has is depth honestly. Pitt just flat out does not have enough talent to contribute, and they are depending way too much on Gibb’s 3 point shooting right now. They are also very sloppy on defense this year and giving up WAY too many turnovers. This will not bode well in BE play. Here is hoping I am wrong.
The Khem Birch is definitely hurting Pitt right now
No question in my mind. We lack the depth at the post position. With Birch, I think they could have won the game tonight.
That and...
the big men we have aren’t all that aggressive. Birch was starting to really play like he belonged and Taylor especially, looked timid tonight other than that big dunk he had.
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by CardiacHill on Dec 23, 2011 11:31 PM EST up reply actions
It's a wake up call sure but I think a preview too
I think it’s definitely true that in terms of regular season success, we’ve been extremely spoiled. We’ve been living in a world where beating non-conference opponents is automatic and gaining a top tournament seed is the standard. This is a wake up call for sure, more so than the LBST game, because they’ve proven on several additional occasions to be a pretty decent squad. It might be too early to say it’s a down year before even entering Big East play but even if so, it’s not the end of the world. There’s no interior presence, Gibbs is the only player I have confidence in shooting the ball, and as mentioned before, the defensive effort has been slim to none.
But there’s still a lot of games to be played, and if there’s one man that can make something of a less talented roster, it’s Jamie Dixon.
Letang Clan - ain't nothin to puck with
We don't devote nearly enough scientific research to finding a cure for jerks.
Twitter - @Xenoetas
I also feel like in terms of the effort, a lot of the players didn’t really care too much…it’s two days before Christmas, they want to be with families instead and motivation against a team they should beat 9 of 10 times just wasn’t there. Maybe I’m looking for excuses. But it kinda did seem like Pitt had nothing to play for while Wagner had everything to play for.
Letang Clan - ain't nothin to puck with
We don't devote nearly enough scientific research to finding a cure for jerks.
Twitter - @Xenoetas
This
I am with ya on the holiday hangover theory. The Pete probably was not very full and these are young kids. This was actually dumb scheduling by the ncaaa.
by PhilsForever on Dec 24, 2011 10:33 AM EST via mobile up reply actions
Effort
I’d really like to think that’s not the case (not caring too much), but after the game, hard to see otherwise. I think they just came out flat, and the holidays, winter break, etc. probably does play a part in that.
The one thing I’ll say is that it’s hard to get up for every single game and when you’ve got so much youth on the team, letdowns are bound to happen. That said, Wagner should be given some credit (despite the fact they really played to lose in much of the second half) – they came in, outhustled Pitt, and got the W.
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This team stinks
Not very athletic, poor offensive team if Gibbs isn’t shooting well and quite possibly one of the worst ball handling teams Pitt has had in years. How many times did the team dribble the ball off their foot today? How many 2 footers and layups did the big men miss tonight? WTF is going on?
And since Birch has left, Dante Taylor has gone back to being mediocre. This team is a middle of the pack Big East team. Maybe a 8-9 seed.
Relying way too much on Gibbs right now
That is for sure. Opposing teams in the BE will pick up on that and guard Gibbs heavy. In past years, that did not work because another player could beat you, but I just don’t see that other player this year.
Woodall
He should be back for most of big east play correct?
by PhilsForever on Dec 24, 2011 2:41 PM EST via iPhone app up reply actions
I think so, but...
they’ve been saying that one little slip up in the recovery could cause him to be out for another month, so I think they’re being cautious.
Last I heard was he should be back right around the ND game, but that was a while ago when I heard it.
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Stinks
Not sure I’d go that far. Stinks compared to the standards fans have set for them? Maybe. But I still think this is a solid team – just really, really young.
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I agree, stinks is a very strong word. Towson stinks. Northern Illinois stinks. Rhode Island stinks. ULM stinks. Pitt is 11-2, a record that almost every program in the entire country would be thrilled to have, and it’s only by the ludicrous standards we have for Jamie Dixon coached teams that it looks poor.
Would I go as far to say this is a building year? Sure, you can say that. But saying this team is awful, stinks, is trash or anything like that would hardly be the choice of vocabulary I’d use.
Letang Clan - ain't nothin to puck with
We don't devote nearly enough scientific research to finding a cure for jerks.
Twitter - @Xenoetas
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