Panthers to end season at home

Witness Pitt basketball. Once the Panthers ground and gritted out victories, played staunch,… Witness Pitt basketball. Once the Panthers ground and gritted out victories, played staunch, physical defense and staggered opponents with an array of offensive weapons. They were strong, versatile and feared. Undefeated.

Now, they stew in inconsistency, unable to sustain neither momentum nor confidence.

On Sunday, Pitt will attempt to end its regular season the way it started it when it hosts DePaul at the Petersen Events Center at noon.

In their final game before the start of the Big East tournament, the Panthers (21-9, 9-8 Big East) will try to be physical with the Blue Demons (10-18, 5-11), who despite a poor record still have a chance at getting a bid to the conference championships as the 12th and final seed.

DePaul should provide an easy transition into postseason play. Pitt has beaten the Blue Demons in each of the teams’ two meetings, including a 59-49 victory last season at the AllState Arena at DePaul.

Pitt, which not too long ago was trumping national powerhouses Duke and Georgetown, has struggled as of late, even with the return of starting point guard Levance Fields from injury.

Dating back six games to the Panthers’ contest at Marquette on Feb. 15, a lopsided, 72-54 loss, the team has managed to win only two games.

Those victories came back-to-back with a comfortable win at home against Cincinnati and solid comeback win at Syracuse.

The contest against a Syracuse team flirting with the NCAA Tournament prompted many to believe the Panthers might have turned the corner on their erratic play, showing poise and desire after trailing by 11 points late in the game.

But then came a 76-62 defeat at West Virginia, leading up to this weekend’s contest against DePaul.

Despite Pitt’s 2-3 showing in its past five games, DePaul is 0-5. DePaul’s last game was close, but the team ultimately fell to Notre Dame 98-91.

DePaul, though, has some bright spots. Guard Draelon Burns is fourth in the conference in scoring, averaging 17.4 points per game. The Blue Demons also get solid contribution from freshman Dar Tucker and Mac Koshwal, who provided 28 and 23 points, respectively, in the loss to the Fighting Irish.

Pitt hopes to give DePaul its sixth straight loss and will look to do it with defense and rebounding, themes that have been stressed throughout the year.

After the loss to West Virginia, though, Pitt coach Jamie Dixon wasn’t satisfied with the Panthers’ efforts on the defensive end.

“I don’t think we’ll ever be satisfied with where we are defensively,” Dixon said.

With a victory, Pitt will secure its seventh consecutive winning season in the Big East, which will be the conference’s longest winning-season streak. And though they are packed into a dense part of the conference standings, the Panthers will give themselves a very good chance of clinching the seventh seed in the Big East tournament.

If the Panthers finish seventh in the regular season, they will face the 10th seed in the first round of the Big East tournament.

Likely opponents are Villanova, Seton Hall or Syracuse. Pitt split games with Villanova and beat both Syracuse and Seton Hall in lone regular-season matchups.

They can, however, move up or down in the standings depending on the results of West Virginia and Cincinnati, which both also round out their regular-season schedules this weekend.

DePaul currently sits in a three-way tie for 12th place with St. John’s and Providence. With a postseason birth on the line for the Blue Demons, they will be coming to Pitt ready to play.