Pitt running out of excuses as postseason draws near

It was sometime around 8 p.m., Dec. 20. In the heart of the Big Apple, in the World’s Most… It was sometime around 8 p.m., Dec. 20. In the heart of the Big Apple, in the World’s Most Famous Arena, the No. 9 team in the country looked defeated, down-and-out and done in the biggest game of its young season.

The team had struggled in the game’s early going, and its opponent was making it pay. Then, imagine a cartoon when a light bulb pops on. Something sparked. The 16-point lead dropped to 11, then eight, then three. Next blink of the eye, No. 9 had forged ahead of its big-name opponent.

After a game-long tug of war for the lead and 44:54 of physical, bone-crushing basketball, a diminutive Brooklyn native dribbled to his left, stopped on a dime, stepped back across the 3-point line and nailed a fadeaway 3-pointer with five seconds left.

No. 7 rushed down the floor and got two shots off, but neither fell. No. 9 had won in thrilling fashion.

That No. 9 team was Pitt; the diminutive point guard, Levance Fields. Boy, it seems like Dec. 20 was light years ago.

Now, Pitt fans are stuck with the most inconsistent team in the nation. Injuries derailed Pitt, which was the hottest team in the nation in December, and the Panthers haven’t found traction since. There have been highs – a 69-60 throttling of Georgetown – and lows – a 72-54 annihilation at Marquette. There have been colossal defensive letdowns and rebounding lapses.

The best answers any of the players have had for the defensive and rebounding troubles are things like, “We have to work harder,” or “We have to be focused.”

Pardon me if I’m making a presumption, but shouldn’t they already be working hard and focusing?

Perhaps one of the biggest glaring problems is Pitt coach Jamie Dixon’s hedge-and-help, man-to-man defense. When an opposing big man sets a screen for his point guard 30 feet from the basket, whoever is guarding the big man – Pitt centers DeJuan Blair and Gary McGhee – steps into the open space to obstruct the opposing point guard from dribbling into the clearing created by his big man’s screen.

But then the screener, the opposing big man, turns and cuts toward the basket. Originally obstructed, the Pitt guard who was screened hustles back toward the ball handler. Pitt’s big man raises his arms and sprints after the cutting opponent.

Then, havoc ensues. Pitt’s help defense usually will take two courses of action off the screen and roll. It fails to cut off the cutter in the lane, and the cutter scores a layup or it overreacts, leaving quality shooters wide open on the wings. All of that is assuming that Blair doesn’t pick up one of his infamous 30-feet-from-the-basket fouls.

Get the picture? The hedge-and-help defense isn’t doing its job. The personnel are different, and Dixon needs to figure that out. Stubbornness could be the biggest cause of Pitt’s demise down the stretch. Why do the Panthers have to win “their way” if they aren’t capable of doing it? Can’t that be fixed, if only for the next month, to adjust to the people they do have?

There has to be a change in mindset before the final weeks of the season. Fix the defense. With stronger defense comes better rebounding. With better rebounding and defense comes consistency. With consistency comes winning. But the Panthers haven’t been doing much of that since Dec. 20.

They better start soon.

Let’s get to the rapid fire:

Look, I don’t care what anybody says. Brett Favre is the most overrated quarterback ever.

Warren Sapp retired? He still played in the NFL?

Congratulations to John McCain, who not only won the Republican nomination to run for the presidency, he will also be the first ever walking, talking skeleton to run for president.

Oh, and by the way, McCain, I’m not your friend. Stop calling me that.

TRIVIA: I’ll give you a hearty pat on the back, Roc, if you can tell me how many 10-win Big East seasons Pitt basketball has had in a row.

I would rather have my fingernails ripped off my hands than watch “American Idol.”

I’ve signed up for 16 bracket pools. Selection Sunday is 10 days from now. Hi, I’m Jeff, and I’m a hoopsaholic.

My last Final Four picks before spring break are the same as they have been