I typically don't start recaps talking about the other team, but Georgetown has me perplexed.
Having lost three out of its past four games, and with road games against Syracuse, Villanova, UConn, and Cincinnati I really expected Georgetown to put up a much bigger fight on Wednesday against Pitt. The Hoyas looked much less like a top 25 ranked team and much more like (can I say it?) a team that may miss the NCAA tournament.
That said, this was still a very impressive win for Pitt.
In the first half, Pitt played about as well as they have all season. The second half was a different story, but it didn't really matter by then.
Ashton Gibbs led the way with 22 points and made five of his ten three-point shots. Pitt started off shooting extremely well in the first half (58%), and its 17-point first half lead was the biggest in school history against a Big East team in a road game. The shooting cooled off significantly in the second half as the team combined to shoot an uncharacteristic 29%. I write some of that off to the team playing with a big lead, but that's, well, awful.
Still, the Panthers played well enough to win and that big first half obviously gave them a nice cushion. Plus, it was really nice to see Pitt keep Chris Wright in check after he went off for 27 points in the game last year.
Jamie Dixon still appears as if he'll play ten guys, but the rotation is essentially down to seven guys who will get significant minutes (barring foul trouble) - the five starters and Travon Woodall and Dante Taylor. The bench accounted for 13 rebounds, but only eight points on five shots.
Even though Georgetown is struggling lately, for Pitt to go into D.C. and come away with a 15-point win is pretty good - especially considering the dismal 2nd half shooting. It's the type of win that looks good on paper if nothing else and regardless of how the Hoyas finish this season, a 15-point conference road win over anybody is a quality win.
And in addition to those road games I mentioned earlier, Georgetown has some tough home games against teams like Syracuse and Cincinnati (who they play twice), Louisville, Marquette, and St. John's. That's a killer schedule. It's obviously not too late for them to make a run, but if they don't start playing better soon, the team could be on the outside looking in come tournament time.