Consistency from Gilbert Brown a key to Pitt advancing to the Round of 16
Brown stars in First Round win Unlike some of their Big East rivals, the No. 3 Pittsburgh Panthers took care of business in their first round matchup with No. 14 Oakland. The Panthers shook off a slow start to rout No. 14 seed Oakland 89-66 in the West Regional. Jermaine Dixon and Gilbert Brown led the Panthers with 17 points each, as the Panthers had a total of six Panthers players who scored in double figures. I liked the balanced scoring,” head coach Jamie Dixon said. “Once we were able to get going, we could find some guys for open shots, and things started rolling.” A key to Pitt’s victory was a strong performance off the bench from Gilbert Brown.
NCAA Tournament March Madness Updates
Day 1 Updates March Madness is underway and it’s been a thrilling first day. Notre Dames falls to Old Dominion **Despite a strong finish to the season, many thought No. 6 Notre Dame was over-seeded and the Irish were knocked off by No. 11 Old Dominion 51-50 this afternoon in what was the first official upset of the day Notre Dame struggled from three point range and Frank Hassell scored 15 points to lead Old Dominion to victory, which had not won an NCAA tournament game since beating Villanova in triple overtime in 1995 as a No. 14 seed. Colonials take Villanova to Overtime **No. 2 Villanova survived a major scare, beating the No. 15 Robert Morris Colonials 73-70 in
NCAA Tournament: WVU earns a No. 2 seed, Pitt No. 3 seed
The Pittsburgh Panthers (24-8) have earned a No. 3 seed out of the West Region. The Panthers will head to Milwaukee to begin the tournament and face Summit League champion Oakland (26-8). The Panthers begin play on Friday and would face the winner of No. 6 Xavier vs. No. 11 Minnesota. The No. 1 seed in the West Region is Syracuse and Kansas State has earned a No. 2 seed in the West Region. The Panthers quarterfinals exit in the Big East Tournament did not hurt their seeding. The committee continues to downplay the importance of conference tournaments. Meanwhile, West Virginia earned a No. 2 seed, just a day after winning their first Big East title. The Mountaineers earned a
Source: Pitt’s Elijah Fields will transfer to D-II football program California University of PA
Former University of Pittsburgh safety/linebacker Elijah Fields will transfer to California University of Pennsylvania, Inside Pittsburgh Sports has learned. Fields will resume his college career playing for head coach John Luckhardt. Cal U has become one of the top D-II football programs in the nation under Luckhardt, with a number of Division-I football players transferring to the program in the past 3-4 years. Fields will be the second prominent former Pitt player to transfer to Cal U in the past three years. Fields who had plenty of off-the-field troubles with Pittsburgh, including a suspension through the entire 2007 season, was dismissed from the Pitt football team in February due to disciplinary reasons. He met with the Vulcans coaching staff on
No. 6 West Virginia routs No. 21 Pittsburgh 70-51
West Virginia 70 – Pittsburgh 51 Da’Sean Butler scored 18 points and Devin Ebanks added a game-high 16 rebounds to lead No. 6 West Virginia (18-3) to a 70-51 victory over No. 21 Pittsburgh (16-6) Wednesday night at the WVU Coliseum in what was the 179th Backyard Brawl. Pittsburgh shot a woeful 30 percent from the field and made only 6 field goals in the second half. Pittsburgh has lost four of five games after an eight game winning streak and all of sudden Pitt is starting to resemble the young inconsistent team, that many thought we would see most nights this season. Pittsburgh scored 23 points in the second half, their second-lowest scoring total of the season but their
Coaches Poll: Pitt falls to No. 21; WVU moves up to No. 6
The Pittsburgh Panthers (16-5) took a plunge in the coaches poll for the second straight week. Pitt fell four spots to No. 21 after a 1-1 week, defeating St. John’s 63-53 (1/28), and losing to South Florida 70-61 (1/31) Sunday afternoon on the road. Meanwhile, West Virginia continues their climb in the top 10 and have moved up three spots to No. 6 in the latest coaches poll. West Virginia beat DePaul 62-46 (1/26) and Louisville 77-74 (1/30) last week to improve to 17-3 on the season. Pitt and West Virginia meet Wednesday night for a Big East showdown.
Former Pitt recruit hands Pittsburgh their second straight loss
The No. 9 Pittsburgh Panthers (15-4) lost for the second straight game, losing to Seton Hall 64-61 Sunday afternoon. The Panthers who have been the talk of the Big East after a 5-0 start are now 5-2 in conference play after back-to-back losses. Pitt’s five-game road win streak was also snapped. Former Pitt recruit Herb Pope had 19 points and nine rebounds, leading Seton Hall to their biggest win in over four years since head coach Bobby Gonzalez took over at Seton Hall. Ashton Gibbs led Pitt with 23 points but was 4-for-15 from the field and 1-for-7 from 3-point range. It was an off night for Gibbs who for his part was 14-for-14 at the free throw line. Jermaine
Panthers (14-2, 4-0) put together another impressive road victory
The No. 16 Pittsburgh Panthers put together another impressive road victory Wednesday night, defeating No. 15 Connecticut 67-57. The Panthers (14-2) won for the seventh straight time and improved their record to 4-0 in the Big East. After a nine day layoff between games, following two key road wins against Syracuse and Cincinnati, Pittsburgh didn’t lose any of their momentum. Brad Wanamaker and Ashton Gibbs each scored 19 points and the young Panthers have a swagger about them. Pittsburgh dominated on the boards, out-rebounding Connecticut 40-31, including 26-13 in the second half. “We out rebounded them by 13 in second half, and clearly that was the difference, ” head coach Jamie Dixon said. Pitt is playing Jamie Dixon type of
NCAA: Pitt D-End Greg Romeus returning for senior season
University of Pittsburgh defensive end Greg Romeus has informed Dave Wannstedt this week that he plans on returning to Pitt for his senior season. Romeus was a key member of one of the nations best defensive lines. This season, Romeus was named co-Big East Defensive Player of the Year after collecting 43 tackles, 11.5 tackes for a loss, 8 sacks, 3 forced fumbles and an interception. KDKA TV will have an exclusive one-on-one interview with Romeus tonight during their 6:00 p.m. newscast.
Pitt hoops: Panthers knock off No.5 Syracuse
The Pittsburgh Panthers (12-2, 2-0) continued their dominance at the Carrier Dome as Ashton Gibbs scored 24 points and Jermaine Dixon added 21 points to lead Pittsburgh to an 82-72 victory over the previously unbeaten No.5 Syracuse Orange (13-1). Trailing 30-27 after the first half, Pitt went on a 14-3 run in the second half and jumped out to a 60-47 lead as the Panthers outscored Syracuse 55-42 in the second half. Pitt opens up the Big East season 2-0. Through 14 games, Ashton Gibbs has established himself as Pitt’s go-to-player, scoring double digit points in 12 of 14 games and back-to-back games with 20+ points. Gibbs led the way for the Panthers offensively but also added 8 rebounds and