NCAA: Arizona to pursue Jamie Dixon for head coaching position
Administration has Dixon at the top of their wishlist
When looking back at last night’s game, empty possessions will haunt Panthers
Scottie Reynolds late second bucket pushed Villanova past Pittsburgh and into the Final Four. Pitt’s dreams of making the final four ended from what is being described as “a play for the ages.” While last night’s game will go down as an instant classic that will be talked about for years, Villanova executed down the stretch and Pitt didn’t. With less than two minutes and thirty seconds remaining in the game, the Panthers held a four point lead and they had too many empty possessions in the final three minutes of the game. They got away from working the ball inside to DeJuan Blair late in the game. I felt Levance Fields was going for the big shot and Pitt
Pitt Advances to the Elite Eight
#1 Pittsburgh 60 Р#4 Xavier 55 Trailing 37 – 29 at the end of the first half, Pitt scored 31 second half points, and Levance Fields made clutch plays down the stretch as the Panthers advanced to the regional finals for the first time in 35 years with a 60-55 win over Xavier No. 1 Pittsburgh trailed No.4 Xavier 54-52 with less than a minute left in the game, until Fields took over. Fields gave Pittsburgh the lead with a 3-pointer with 50.9 seconds left and then with the help of DeJuan Blair, poked the ball away from B.J. Raymond and went in for the layup with 23.9 seconds to go. Sam Young led the Panthers with 19 points
Panthers prevail 84 – 76, advance to Sweet 16
Sam Young scored 32 points including 23 points in the first half as the No. 1 seeded Pittsburgh Panthers (30-4) won 84-76 over No. 8 Oklahoma State, advancing to the round of 16 for the fifth time in eight years. DeJuan Blair added 10 points, 12 rebounds including 6 offensive rebounds. The Panthers Pitt (30-4) will play No. 4 Xavier in the East Regional semifinals in Boston on Thursday.
Five Reasons Why
By Paul Ladewski_ Why the Panthers will reach the Final Four and beyond * Baracketology – No less a hoops expert than Barack Obama has the Panthers headed to Ford Field in Detroit next month. You see, a Final Four berth isn’t a dream. It’s a presidential edict. * Depth – Because of fatigue, injuries and foul trouble, numbers become more a factor as the tournament progresses. This Pitt team is eight deep, as forward Gilbert Brown and guards Ashton Gibbs and Brad Wanamaker have shown the ability to step up whenever necessary. * Law of averages – The Panthers have averaged 26 regular-season victories per year in the Jamie Dixon era, but they have never advanced past the Sweet
Bucs hope to shock the world by becoming the first 16 to ever beat a 1
1. Pittsburgh (28-4) Р16. East Tennessee State (23-10) Analysis: East Tennessee State has a history of being a No. 16 seed, Twenty years removed from nearly upsetting No. 1 seed Oklahoma in the 1989 NCAA Tournament, losing to Oklahoma 72-71. East Tennessee State came the closest to knocking off a No. 1 seed while the streak is now at 98-0 for No. 1 seeds against No. 16 seeds. That number will likely move to 100-0 after Pitt and Louisville play on Friday. Scouting Report on East Tennessee State
March Madness: NCAA Tournament Round 1
The first round of the NCAA Tournament has begun. Seven games are in the books and so far so good as I am 7-for-7 in my bracket. My Final Four picks ( Louisville, Villanova, Oklahoma and Memphis). After watching Memphis today, I’m starting to have my doubts as Memphis had to rely on a career day from Roburt Sallie (35 points) who only averages four points per game. CSU Northridge was able to push the ball and score 70. Memphis struggled shooting free throws (11-28)¬†which has been a common theme for Memphis the past couple seasons. West Region 1. Connecticut 103 – Chattanooga 47 Connecticut advances 2. Memphis 81 – CSU Northridge 70 Memphis advances, survives scare from CSU Northridge
DeJuan Blair named first team All-American
Pitt Panthers power forward DeJuan Blair has been named first team All-American this afternoon by the United States Basketball Writers Association. Blair Co-Big East Player of the Year, averaged 15.6 points per game and 12.2 rebounds per game for the 28-4 Pitt Panthers who earned their first #1 seed in school history. No Pitt player had made the first team since Billy Knight in 1974.
Pittsburgh #1 seed in the East Region
Number One Seeds Announced The Big East gets three number one seeds as the NCAA Selection Committee has announced the four #1 seeds. Louisville is the #1 overall seed, followed by Pittsburgh (#2 Overall), North Carolina (#3 overall) and Connecticut (#4 overall) Louisville Cardinals to play in the Midwest Region Pittsburgh Panthers to play in East Region North Carolina playing in the South Region Connecticut playing in West Region * Robert Morris (24-10) are the #15 seed in the Midwest Region. The Colonials will play against the #2 seed Michigan State Spartans on Thursday. West Virginia (23-11) is the #6 seed in the Midwest Region. West Virginia will play Dayton (26-7) in their first round game. A tough opening round
Young, Williams more deserving of Big East Player of the year honors than Thabeet
DeJuan Blair (15.6 PPG, 12.6 RPG, 1 BPG Hasheem Thabeet (13.6 PPG, 10.8 RPG, 4.5 BPG) In the biggest game of the season @ UCONN on February 16, 2009, Blair had 22 points – 23 rebounds compared to Thabeet who had 5 points – 4 rebounds. That alone should have given Blair a slight edge in the voting. Thabeet is a dominating force on the defensive side of the ball but you could possibly make an even stronger argument for Pittburgh’s Sam Young and Louisville’s Terrence Williams for Big East Player of the year honors. Pitt shouldn’t win the Big East Tournament? Pitt has already locked up a #1 seed in the NCAA Tournament and in the past it has