Men’s Basketball: Pitt advances to second round with 89-66 win over Oakland

MILWAUKEE – Before the game, Journey’s “Don’t Stop Believing”… MILWAUKEE – Before the game, Journey’s “Don’t Stop Believing” was blaring through the Bradley Center’s speakers. The sold-out crowd consisted mainly of Minnesota and Xavier faithful who stuck around after Xavier eliminated Minnesota to see if Oakland could pull off a monumental upset.

Oakland’s cheering section was loud, rowdy and larger than Pitt’s. And the fans who were sporting neither Pitt nor Oakland apparel were clearly cheering for the underdog.

And halfway through the first half, another upset looked possible. The Panthers were trailing the Golden Grizzlies 18-13, and Oakland was already in the bonus for free throws. The No. 14-seed Golden Grizzlies were out-rebounding, out-shooting and generally out-playing the No. 3-seed Panthers.

The crowd was abuzz with energy hoping to see another No. 3-seed fall victim to this already-crazy NCAA Tournament. And for the first 10 minutes, it looked like another Big East team was about to be taken to the brink. Yesterday, three of the four Big East teams lost – with Villanova barely escaping Robert Morris in overtime.

But the upset quickly fell out of reach for Oakland when one of its leading scorers, Derick Nelson, was elbowed by McGhee after McGhee took a shot. Nelson sustained a deep cut above his left eye. He remained down while medical personnel tried to control the bleeding. After a review, referees determined that there was no malice on the play by McGhee.

The crowd fell silent. A courteous applause was given when Nelson finally made his way to the locker room to get six stitches, but Oakland had lost all of its momentum. Pitt went on a 26-8 run to end the half, and the Panthers never looked back. Pitt defeated Oakland 89-66.

Pitt coach Jamie Dixon said the lengthy break during Nelson’s injury helped Pitt focus on making good decisions.

“That’s what we were really focusing on around that point in the game,” Dixon said. “We were going to the rim. We were getting in the lanes, but we weren’t making good decisions, I thought until the ten-minute mark.”

Gary McGhee chalked up Pitt’s slow start to early game nerves.

“We had to get our jitters out and once we got our jitters out we kind of got into the flow of the game,” McGhee said.

Pitt built on its lead in the second half and spent most of the period leading by 15 points or more.

The Panthers had six players score in double-digits. Jermaine Dixon and Gilbert Brown led the team with 17 points each, with McGhee, Nasir Robinson, Brad Wannamaker and Travon Woodall each tallying 10 or more points.

While Freshmen Dante Taylor and J.J. Richardson were held off the score-sheet, both contributed significant minutes. With Oakland’s leading scorer towering 6 feet 11 inches above the hardwood, Pitt needed to play a physical game if it wanted to contain Keith Benson.

Jamie Dixon’s game plan was to use all three big men, McGhee, Richardson and Taylor, to try to contain Benson with Pitt’s trademark physical defense.

“We didn’t want to double team – a lot of teams have double-teamed Benson,” Dixon said. “We knew going in we’d have 15 fouls to use with those three guys.”

And use those fouls Pitt did. McGhee notched four fouls, while both Richardson and Taylor both got three. Benson was sent to the foul line for 16 shots. While he made 10 of those free throws, Benson only made nine of his 19 field goal attempts.

Overall, Pitt held the Golden Grizzlies to just 33% on field goals, while Pitt shot 53% from the field.

The first half and much of the second half featured a slow-paced defensive and physical struggle.

Oakland coach Greg Kampe described it as a “physical game played by big boys.”

But as the clock dwindled down in the second half, the pace picked up drastically as Oakland desperately tried to make the game competitive.

The Golden Grizzlies threw up 11 three-point attempts in the second half, but only three went through the rim.

The desperation was too little, too late for the Grizzlies as their NCAA Tournament experience ended with a thud, and they will head back to Michigan focused on making the Tournament again next year.

Benson said he will be working on his strength in his legs and his jump shot over the summer.

And freshman Ledrick Eackles said “you’ll see Oakland University in the NCAA Tournament in the near future.”

Up next for Pitt is Xavier, who defeated Minnesota 65-54. This marks the first time Pitt will play Xavier since the Panthers defeated the Musketeers in the Sweet Sixteen last year thanks to a go-ahead three-pointer by Levance Fields in the final minute. That win gave Pitt its first ever Elite Eight appearance in the modern Tournament, which expanded to 64 teams in 1985.

The game will be played on Sunday and will air on CBS. The time will be determined at the conclusion of the first round this evening.