Tale of the Tape: Pitt vs. Boston College

James Robinson 6'3" JR   9.6 P/G    5.1  A/G   3.3  R/G

vs.

Olivier Hanlan 6'4" JR  18.7  P/G   4.3 A/G   3.9 R/G

James Robinson is coming off a 4 point, 8 assist, 4 rebound, and 3 steal performance against Syracuse. It was another oddly effective game for the junior point guard. Robinson is not a huge scoring threat as we all well know, but he is definitely a better shooter when he plays at home.  It seems he finds his three-point shot more often at the Petersen Events Center and Pitt may need him to knock down a few shots. Robinson has been setting up his teammates better in the past month and his assist numbers are climbing.

Boston College tinkered with the lineup recently, and Hanlan is now playing with the ball in his hands more often as the point guard. Hanlan is one of the best scoring threats in the league, and has the ability to put together a 30 point game on any given night.  In fact, he had back to back 32 point games against Florida State and Miami before scoring 19 against Notre Dame on Saturday. It is virtually impossible to hold him down, as he takes the most shots on the team by far. My guess, Pitt will throw a rotation of players to defend him to give him different looks.

Cameron Wright 6'5" SR  8.9 P/G   3 A/G   3  R/G

vs.

Patrick Heckmann 6'6" SR   8.1  P/G   4.5  R/G   2.7 A/G

Cameron Wright was still working his way back into the flow of things the first time Pitt played Boston College.  He only mustered 4 points, but he has certainly improved since early January. Wright did not have a big week, but kind of like Robinson (and the whole team for that matter) he seems to be more confident shooting the ball in the friendly confines of The Pete. Wright had a monster game against UNC in Pitt's last home game, and look for Wright to find some rhythm mid-range jumpers early in this one.

Boston College starts a lot of guards, so I'm not exactly sure Hechmann will be matched up with Wright. He had a quiet 5 point game against Notre Dame on Saturday. He only went for 7 in the first meeting with Pitt. Hechmann is a streaky player for the Eagles, but has the ability to knock down three pointers.

Sheldon Jeter 6'8" SO  6'8"  SO   4.7  P/G   2.4  R/G

vs,

Aaron Brown 6'5" SR  15.1 P/G   3.2  R/G   2 A/G

Sheldon Jeter appears to have entrenched himself as a starter from here on for the rest of the season. Jeter has made four straight starts, and has really emerged as a big contributor for this team in the past five games. The Beaver Falls native struggled with some foul trouble last game, but in his five game emergence he is averaging 12.4 point per game.  To add an athletic wing like late in the year has been an incredible boost for this team. The funny thing is, Jeter's only other productive conference game before these past five was against Boston College where h came up big late in the game and overtime.

Aaron Brown is Boston College's secondary offensive threat, and he is a pretty good player. Brown scored 22 points on Saturday against Notre Dame. Brown is definitely an outside shooting threat as he has 50 made three-pointers on the year. Brown may not be matched up with Jeter and vice a versa, but he is going to spend a lot of time on the perimeter and will be the main source of offense if Hanlan struggles.

Jamel Artis 6'7" SO   13.1 P/G   5.9  R/G   2.3  A/G

vs.

Garland Owens 6'5" SO   3.2  P/G  2 R/G

Jame Artis has passed up Mike Young as the team's leading scorer and he continues his red-hot pace this season. Artis had another cool 16 point, 7 assist, and 6 rebound game against Syracuse.  The sophomore forward is averaging 19 points a game in his past 11 games.  Artis has also really stepped up his passing and has seemingly become Lamar Patterson overnight. Artis only had four points in the first BC meeting, I expect him to have a few more tonight.

Garland Owens was recently inserted into the lineup to add another forward. His minutes have increased quite a bit the past four games, but he has not added a ton of offensive production to the lineup. Owens only posts 3 points a game and the added playing time has not really increased those numbers.

Michael Young 6'9" SO   12.8 P/G   7.3 R/G  1.1  A/G

vs.

Dennis Clifford 7'1" JR  7.2  P/G  5.1 R/G

Mike Young has been Pitt's most consistent player all year long. The sophomore forward put up 14 points on Saturday against a tough matchup with Rakeem Christmas. The sophomore from Duquesne has battled through playing out of position for most of the year, and he is holding up just fine. Young is quicker than a lot of his defenders, and while being outsized, he seems to find a way to put up stats anyway. Boston College will throw some larger defenders at him, but I look for Young to adapt like he always does.

Dennis Clifford is a big stiff, but is every bit of 7'1". Clifford will impose a big challenge against the undersized Panthers. Not that he is a great player, but him clogging up lanes in the paint could make it tough on Young and Artis on both sides of the ball.

Chris Jones 6'6" SO  9.2 P/G
Josh Newkirk 6'1" JR  6/4 P/G
Derrick Randall 6'9" SR  1.6 P/G
Joe Uchebo 6'10" JR  1.6 R/G

vs.

Dimitri Batten 6'3" SR  6.7 P/G
Will Magarity 6'11" SO 3.9 P/G
Eddie Odio 6'8" SR  2.2  P/G
Alex Dragicevich 6'8" SR  0.8 P/G

Chris Jones may come off the bench, but he is one of Pitt's best players. The sophomore wing started nearly every game this year, and has accepted his new role just fine.  Jones torched Syracuse for 19 points on Saturday, and Jones still plays starter's minutes.  Josh Newkirk has really tapered off lately, and it is hard to pinpoint why. Newkirk played a season-low 2 minutes on Saturday. If Pitt can get Newkirk going again, it would be a big boost.  Jamie Dixon will need some production, or at least some minutes from the combination of Uchebo and Randall.

Boston College now brings Dimitri Batten off the bench, but he has been a starter most of the year. He's the team's actual point guard, and he will play a good bit.  They have three big bodies they can rotate in there to help contain Young and Artis in the post.