Pitt Vs. St. John's: Panthers Offense Explodes, Universe Out Of Balance

Thought Pitt could win tonight, but no way I saw this happening. Reader H.LandPitt did, though - even calling the over. Good work by him.

On so many levels, I can't begin to describe the frustration I have with this Pitt team. No, the Red Storm aren't getting into the NCAAs or even the NIT anytime soon, but for Pitt to completely blow them out of the water and score 89 points in the process shows this team isn't completely devoid of talent.

The Panthers have looked so good at times, but also so bad - and that's why they're probably NIT bound barring a run of about five straight wins.

Okay, senior night. I thought Gibbs and Nas would have a bit of a spark. Robinson played his standard game, but Gibbs looked really good in scoring 19. The real story, though? Dante Taylor.

Taylor is nearly as maddening as the entire program this season. Every now and then, he'll break out and remind you of the player he's supposed to be. Tonight was one of those times as he scored 17 points, was a perfect 8-8 from the field, and hauled in eight boards.

Unfortunately, though, he's had too many games where he's fallen off the face of the earth. It's way too much to ask that Taylor plays this well every game next season, but as long as he can simply be more of a steady contributor, I think we'd all take that.

And in case you missed it, J.J. Moore is suddenly starting to play better. He had 14 points tonight and is averaging just over 15 per game over the last four contests. He's also added seven steals over the past three games. It's absolutely impossible to overstate just how important he's going to be to the offense next season. He's not had a good year, let's not kid ourselves. But the potential is clearly there and as he's only wrapping up his sophomore year, there's still plenty of time for him to mature into a better player.

Pitt wraps up the regular season with a road game against UConn on Saturday.

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