Be Like Tike

Monday, March 17th, 2008 by Adam Wagner

Word on the street: Pitt edition

You know that Pitt had a run through the Big East tournament and you know that they’re a number four seed and you know that they’re going up against Oral Roberts in Denver midday Thursday. For all of the further analysis from everywhere around the internet, though, make the jump. We’ve gone through CBS Sportsline, ESPN, Fox Sports and CNNSI.com for news about your favorite team so that you don’t have to.

CBS

(Parrish) The No. 1 seed most likely to be eliminated first will be … Memphis, and this doesn’t mean I think Memphis is the worst No. 1 seed. What it means is that I think Memphis will run into a legitimate problem quickest, and that legitimate problem is Pittsburgh — a team that just beat Louisville, Marquette and Georgetown in consecutive days.

(Freeman) The potential Sweet 16 game that will make Gus Johnson’s vocal cords explode is … Memphis against Pittsburgh. Gus is a good friend and one of the great, enthusiastic talents in the business. Not only would his vocal chords explode, so would his head.

(Doyel) 3. Killer second-rounder: That game between Michigan State and Pittsburgh in the second round looks beautiful, if you consider sweat and bruising to be beautiful. Tom Izzo and Jamie Dixon preach physicality, which means their second-round game could be won by the first team to score 50 … or by the last team with five healthy bodies on the floor. Pittsburgh has added some flash to its flex, which is why the Panthers won the Big East title — and will advance to the Sweet 16.

(Doyel) Dark-horse pick: Not Saint Mary’s. The Gaels already played possible second-round foe Texas once this season — and lost by 19. So how about Pittsburgh? A fourth seed isn’t that big of a dark horse, granted, but nobody from seeds 5-16 has a chance in this region.

FOX (Team capsule unless otherwise noted)

How they got in: At-large bid

Basically: The Panthers were one of the nation’s hottest teams to start the season going 11-0 with the high point being a 65-64 overtime win over Duke. Nine days later came an 80-55 clunker at Dayton and the mediocrity kicked in from there with nine losses in the following 21 games with only one win of note, a 69-60 victory over Georgetown.

The defense is top-notch, but when the offense goes in the tank, it really stinks. It’s just that inconsistency that makes this a hit-or-miss tournament team. This is a lunchpail team that needs to keep games in the high 60s and low 70s, and if its defense isn’t clamping down on the gunners, it’ll be an early exit.

Strengths: Defense and efficiency. Three aren’t many turnovers, there’s plenty of passing, and it’s one-and-done on the defensive boards with few second shots allowed. For a team that relies so much keeping things close, there aren’t a lot of fouls committed. Yeah, the offense is just mediocre enough for Pitt to get beaten in the first round, but if it can survive a game or two, there’s just enough defensive pressure to shock some big-name team.

Weaknesses: Outside shooting. Forget about it, and it’s not like the Panthers have Aaron Gray inside to feed the ball to. The offense relies on a pair of tough forwards, Sam Young and DeJuan Blair, to set the tone, and while that’s usually fine, there’s no consistent three point threat to worry about. Getting back into games is hard for this offense.

Players you should care about: Blair is a big, beefy inside presence who’s a better midrange shooter than he looks. His game is mostly about rebounding, averaging 9.5 per game, and it’ll be his job to prevent second-chance points. Young might not have the heft of Blair, but he’s a good inside scorer who gives the team consistent points. Oddly enough, the one game he was held to under 10 points might have been the team’s best win, against Georgetown.

Best wins: at Duke 65-64; Georgetown 69-60 & 75-65 (Big East championship)

Worst losses: at Dayton 80-55; Rutgers 77-64

(Goodman) Memphis should get a couple of easy wins in the first two rounds, but the Sweet 16 opponent will likely come from the winner of a Pittsburgh-Michigan State second-round game. Then the Tigers would still have to deal with No. 2 Texas on the opposite side of the South bracket.

(Hill) Teams you may want to foul late in the game . . . A couple of big-time squads have been shaky on the free-throw line Pittsburgh: The Panthers do a lot of good things, but making free throws consistently (65.8 percent) isn’t one of those things.

(Hill) Double-digit seeds with the best chance to shock the world . . . Note: This still doesn’t qualify as a good chance. Oral Roberts: While Pitt really would have to lay an egg to lose, the Golden Eagles have a fine playmaker in Robert Jarvis and legitimate inside muscle from Shawn King and Marcus Lewis.

CNNSI

(Wahl) Bracket buster: Oral Roberts. Scott Sutton’s 13th-seeded Golden Eagles are playing in their third-consecutive NCAA tournament, and they’re blessed with more size than any other low- to mid-major, going 6-8, 6-9 and 6-10 on their starting front line. They will be taller up front than first-round foe Pittsburgh, which is riding high after its Big East tourney title, but for this game in Denver I’m predicting a repeat of what happened the last time Pitt went out west for the NCAAs and got knocked off in the first round (by Pacific in Boise in 2005). But ORU won’t stop there; I think the Eagles match up well with Michigan State, their likely second-round foe, which has a tendency to play down (or up) to its competition. (Wahl picked Texas to win the bracket)

ESPN

(O’Neil) Hometown hero: No. 1 seed Memphis vs. No. 4 seed Pittsburgh
His name these days is as synonymous with Memphis as Elvis, but John Calipari is a Pittsburgh kid. Born in Moon, Pa., a suburb of the Steel City, he led Division II Clarion State to two top-20 rankings in college. Cal spent three years on the Pittsburgh campus under Paul Evans. He could have his hands full with his hometown squad should the seeds hold until the Sweet 16. Levance Fields is healthy again, and the Panthers looked incredibly strong and tough as they won four games in four days to win the Big East tournament title.

This game, though, could come down to the most basic fundamentals: fewest clangs from the line. Memphis ranks 327th in free-throw percentage, connecting on only 59.2 percent. Pittsburgh is equally ugly at No. 231, making just 67.2.

(Knight, in the hyperlink with me writing in the meantime) The most interesting of all of these developments was Bob Knight’s prediction that Pitt would win it all. Tune in to the point with 1:27 left to view the beginning of Knight’s predictions.

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