Men’s basketball: After thrashing of Binghamton, Panthers geared up for Eastern Kentucky

Basketball season is in full swing again.

Less than 48 hours after defeating Binghamton, 71-46, the Pitt men’s basketball team tips off against the Eastern Kentucky Colonels today at 7 p.m. at the Petersen Events Center.

“We got better [against Binghamton],” Pitt head coach Jamie Dixon said after the Panthers’ win. “Now, we have a day to prepare for Eastern Kentucky.”

Eastern Kentucky (1-0) returns four of its top five scorers from last year’s team, which went 18-13 and finished fifth in the Ohio Valley Conference.

The Colonels may be Pitt’s toughest defensive challenge so far this season, as they put up impressive numbers in their season-opener. Five Colonels hit double digits in the team’s 102-71 win over West Virginia Wesleyan.

Eastern Kentucky made 17-of-26 3-point attempts in the game. It paced the Ohio Valley Conference in shooting behind the arc last season, knocking down more than 40 percent of its shots from deep.

Similarly, Pitt’s shooters came alive against Binghamton. Sophomore guard Ashton Gibbs, who went without a 3-pointer in the season-opener, knocked down six against Binghamton on his way to 22 points.

“He’s going to have his good games and his bad games,” Dixon said. “Tonight, he shot well.”

But Dixon said the team needs more than Gibbs’ offense against potent Eastern Kentucky.

“We need Ashton to play good defense too,” he said.

In both ends of the court, rebounding remains a concern of Dixon’s.

“Rebounding is always a concern for us, especially the long rebounds,” he said. “We haven’t been grabbing enough of those, and we need to get our guards more involved in them. We’re never satisfied with our rebounding numbers — they can always be better.”

Binghamton and Pitt split defensive rebounds, 21-21, on Tuesday.

Eastern Kentucky, however, might be what Pitt needs — the Colonels finished second to last in rebounding in their conference last year.

Sophomore forward Nasir Robinson stepped up on the rebounding front against Binghamton, totaling 10 against the Bearcats.

“Coach Dixon emphasizes for us to out-rebound our opponents, and we weren’t doing that,” Robinson said. “I thought I did a better job of boxing out and grabbing the rebound.”

Robinson averaged more than 30 minutes on the court per game. Only guards Gibbs and Brad Wanamaker equal that playing time.

“He’s put up good numbers, and he’s made some great plays,” Dixon said. “Nasir has unique talents that will be used for getting guys shots. Our team is evolving, and Nasir is clearly a big part of it.”

For Eastern Kentucky, junior Justin Stommes is the go-to Colonel. Stommes scored 28 points against West Virginia Wesleyan in 29 minutes.

Pittsburgh native Josh Taylor scored 19 points and added six rebounds in the game. As a freshman, Taylor made a last-second layup to propel the Colonels to the 2007 NCAA Tournament. But he told the Richmond Register this week that beating Pitt on Thursday might top that moment.

In addition to serving as Taylor’s homecoming, the matchup against Eastern Kentucky continues the 2009 O’Reilly Auto Parts CBE Classic. Regardless of the result against the Colonels, Pitt will travel to Kansas City to play Wichita State in the semifinals on Monday at 7:30 p.m.