Fields the X Factor for Pitt’s success

With 14:17 left in Pitt’s game against Oral Roberts, Panther point guard Levance Fields was… With 14:17 left in Pitt’s game against Oral Roberts, Panther point guard Levance Fields was fouled hard and thrown to the floor by the Golden Eagles’ Robert Jarvis on a fast break.

No doubt the image induced panic on Panther fans across the country, remembering Fields’ broken foot Dec. 29 against Dayton.

Fields promptly got back up and sank both free throws.

This example proves vital for Pitt for so many reasons.

The Panthers, chastised for their free-throw shooting in the Big East Tournament, went 10 for 13 from the line in Pitt’s 82-63 win over Oral Roberts yesterday. That was good enough for 76.9 percent, nearly 20 percent higher than its Big East Tournament performance.

Pitt was able to pull away from Oral Roberts early because of an 18-0 run. During that streak, the Panthers knocked down all five of their free throws. In the Big East Tournament, Pitt let opponents hang around with frustrating misses from the line in the first half.

But Fields was the true catalyst in Pitt’s dominating victory.

The junior absolutely torched the Golden Eagles, scoring a season-high 23 points and adding seven assists. The 23 points were one short of Fields’ career high set last year against Syracuse.

Fields is known for driving to the hoop and making things happen, such as finding an open teammate, putting up a floater in traffic or creating contact to get to the free-throw line. All of those aspects punished Oral Roberts.

Another part of Fields’ game showed up, though, and could prove to be the real determinant for the Panthers to make a run to the Final Four. His jump shot returned.

After Fields missed 12 games with the foot injury, he couldn’t buy a jump shot if it only cost him a dime. His foot obviously was still a factor, particularly immediately after his return, but the raw numbers were staggering.

Fields made only 32 of 115 shots in the 11 games after he returned. That’s an unbelievably low 27.8 percent from the field. On top of that, the best shooting percentage in an individual game for Fields was 40. He hadn’t shot 50 percent in a game since the win over Duke Dec. 20.

“The General” smacked those memories into oblivion against Oral Roberts.

Fields went 8 of 15 from the floor, including 4 of 7 on 3-pointers. Sixteen of his 23 points came in the first half, when Fields couldn’t miss. His fadeaway jumpers were on target, and he connected on his open 3-point looks.

If you throw in the defensive pressure Fields applied on the Golden Eagles’ guards and his incredible passing ability, there may not be too many better point guards in the nation.

If Fields can keep up his offensive wizardry, Pitt is going to be a dangerous team throughout the remainder of the tournament.

His quickness and toughness were seen throughout the Oral Roberts blowout. He continuously drove past the Golden Eagles’ guards to the hoop or stepped back and nailed a fadeaway.

When Fields is at his best, he makes absolutely everyone on his team a better player and a potential force offensively. His dribble-drives open up Ronald Ramon and Keith Benjamin for 3-point jumpers and Sam Young, DeJuan Blair and Gilbert Brown for easy layups and dunks.

Pitt now has to face Michigan State, who beat Temple, 72-61. The Spartans are no pushover either, especially defensively. They held Temple’s Dionte Christmas to three points on 1-of-12 shooting. Christmas entered the contest averaging 20.2 points per game.

Michigan State’s star senior point guard Drew Neitzel will surely attack Fields offensively and defensively. It should be a fantastic matchup between two of the top 10 point guards in the country.

Saturday’s battle could come down to rebounding and defense, two aspects that the Panthers have excelled in since the Big East Tournament. Blair will also have to stay out of foul trouble, he picked up his fourth foul yesterday with 15:27 remaining, and Pitt needs his inside presence against the Spartans.

But Pitt should hold the advantage as long as Fields stays on top of his game.

ESPN analyst and legendary coach Bob Knight picked Pitt to win the National Championship, and his assessment is looking more and more apt as time passes.

CBS play-by-play announcer Gus Johnson said that Fields reminded him of former Connecticut guard Khalid El-Amin. Guess what? El-Amin led the Huskies to a National Championship.

For once, Pitt has officially grabbed the national media’s attention. Fields is the reason why.