If you live by the three, you die by the three.  Thankfully, the Pittsburgh Panthers realized there wasn't a need to launch from beyond the arc on Friday night, as there was a plentiful amount of high-percentage shots available in the paint.  Pitt enjoyed a 24-point margin in the paint (Pitt: 54, Lions: 30).  Those 54 points came in a variety of ways: transition baskets, put-backs, the frontcourt players doing work, and some beautiful weak-side cutting by the athletic wing players of the Panthers.  I found myself smiling every time the Panthers got in transition, or used a side pick-and-roll to attack to the middle of the Lions defense.  Let's get into the bevy of things I liked, and one thing I didn't like.

Likes:

• At the 10:04 mark in the second half, sophomore forward Durand Johnson, received a nice pass while cutting to the rim from junior guard Cameron Wright, for an easy dunk.  While the Panthers had guys cutting to the rim throughout the game, that particular play stood out because of who was involved.  Wright, used a screen by senior forward Talib Zanna, to attack the middle of the Lions defense.  Johnson cut to the basket from the left wing, took the pass from Wright and made a nice acrobatic layup that gave Pitt a 20-point lead.  I love seeing Wright or Johnson cutting to the rim for passes like that because they have arguably been two of the more athletic players this season.
• The Lions attempted a full-court press and trapping scheme early in the second half.  For the most part, Pitt had little trouble dealing with it.  The ball would wisely find it's way to sophomore point guard James Robinson, or senior forward Lamar Patterson.  At the 16:07 mark in the second half, Wright helped break the press by coming back to the ball around half court to relieve the pressure being applied to Robinson and Patterson.  After he brought the ball across half court, he passed to Robinson and then cut to the basket.  He curled around a nice screen set by Zanna on the left block and came back out to the left elbow, received a pass from Robinson and proceeded to hit a nice 15-footer.  I love how Wright helped break the full-court press, and then cut to the basket as he realized the Lions defense was still trying to recover.
• The man-to-man defense by the Panthers was sharp for a majority of the night.  At the 15:25 mark in the second half, LMU junior guard Chase Flint, traveled while trying to attack the Panthers defense from the left wing.  The Lions were unsuccessful with their side pick-and-roll attempt as well as their high screen-and-roll attempt from just above the right elbow.  James Robinson broke up both attempts with his stellar on-ball defense on the ball-handler, never allowing him to find the screener.  When the ball came to Flint late in the shot clock, Robinson took a quick-step towards Flint like he was going to close-out, only he then backed-off causing Flint to hesitate and commit the traveling violation.  An outstanding individual effort for sure, but the entire Pitt team took away a lot of passing lanes, which never allowed for the ball to get inside.
• In my last article, I said that in no way did freshman point guard, Josh Newkirk remind me of LA Clippers point guard Chris Paul.  I have to admit, there were a few moments tonight where I saw "signs".  He made a really nice pass to Johnson in transition while using his body to keep his defender on his hip to not allow his him to get in front of him.  At the 11:07 mark in the second half, Newkirk used his back-side to keep this defender behind him while navigating the lane.  He got blocked on his shot attempt, but CP3 has made a living keeping his defender on his back-side while navigating the lane.  If Newkirk can be even half as effective as CP3 is at that, I think all Pitt fans will be rejoicing for the next four years.

Dislikes:

• In the first half, the Panthers went to a 2-3 zone twice by my count (couldn't stream until the 10:00 mark); the Lions got baskets at the rim both times.  At the 8:09 mark in the first half, LMU freshman forward Gabe Levin, took a pass from sophomore forward Ben Dickinson, who had positioned himself in the middle of the zone at the free-throw line.  One of the best ways to attack the zone is to position a player, more than likely a frontcourt player, around the free-throw line to force the zone to collapse.  Zanna did more than collapse and came to challenge Levin which allowed Levin to come baseline from the right corner and get an easy layup.  Levin was again the recipient of an easy two points when the Panthers tried the 2-3 zone with a little under two minutes left in the first half.  This time, LMU senior guard Anthony Ireland, was able to penetrate from the top of the circle which forced the defense to collapse, and he found Levin going baseline again from the right corner for a dunk.  The zone is designed to keep players from driving to the rim, however, the Panthers allowed Ireland to penetrate through the top of the zone.  I am not saying that Pitt shouldn't try different defensive wrinkles in these non-conference games, however, you'd like to see some indication that it might be successful later on.

Overall, a fantastic night for Pitt, minus the 3-point shooting.  The cutting by the athletic wings, and how quickly they got in transition made me smile the whole night.  I can't remember a Pitt team quite like this, although I have only been watching for the last 14 years.  Given that Pitt is moving to the up-and-down style of the ACC, I think they'll be well prepared come January.