Pitt heads to UConn, Dyson out

There will be no shortage of comparisons when Pitt travels to Connecticut to take on the… There will be no shortage of comparisons when Pitt travels to Connecticut to take on the Huskies in an important Big East showdown tomorrow.

The two teams are tied in the conference with a 5-3 record, both teams play with a similar style, and each team knows what it’s like to play without two key guards.

Pitt has been playing without Mike Cook and Levance Fields for almost a month, and the Huskies, too, now know what it’s like to face a little adversity.

UConn’s leading scorer, Jerome Dyson, 20, was suspended, and will miss tomorrow’s game because of a failed drug test, stemming from an incident with Hartford police last Thursday, the Hartford Courant reported. Sixth man Doug Wiggins, 20, was also involved in the same incident, but the Courant reported he passed his drug test, and still could play against Pitt at head coach Jim Calhoun’s discretion.

So how does UConn fair without Dyson and Wiggins? The two have been suspended because of University policy, regarding the above incident, for UConn’s last two games And so far it hasn’t been an issue.

Since the suspensions, UConn has rallied to knock off then-No. 7 Indiana, as well as the Big East’s co-preseason favorite Louisville. The team has had great energy in the absence of the two, but that can happen if a team feels it needs to step up when missing key players. A letdown against Pitt is certainly a possibility for the Huskies.

It’s been a meandering stretch for the Panthers (17-4, 5-3 Big East), who look to win two in a row for the first time in more than two weeks. If UConn can win its fifth game in a row, the Huskies could also capture Pitt’s ranking.

Without Dyson, and possibly Wiggins, for a third straight game, UConn will continue to look to A.J. Price at the point, seeing as he’s been one of the better point guards in the country throughout the last month.

Price, who leads the Big East with 6.1 assists per game, makes excellent decisions in both the half-court set and in transition. But he’s not just a pure passer. Price averages 14 points per game.

Price has the ability to break down a defense and get into the paint with regularity, and once he’s around the rim he can be creative with his shots and finish with contact. Price is also dangerous on the perimeter, where he leads UConn in 3-point shooting at 41 percent.

Similar to Pitt, UConn’s team defense is the staple of its success. The Huskies’ defensive concept has forced teams to shoot just 37 percent from the field this year. UConn also currently ranks No.1 in the nation with 8.7 blocks per game, and if the Huskies hold the top spot, it will be the seventh year in a row that they have led the country in that category.

UConn does, however, have a glaring weakness on defense – its inability to guard the perimeter. The Huskies are near the bottom of the conference, allowing opponents to shoot 38 percent from 3-point range.

It won’t get any easier for the Huskies against Pitt, which has a bevy of options from behind the arc. The Huskies will have trouble matching up with the Panthers on the perimeter, which means they’ll have to force Pitt’s guards to put the ball on the floor and attack the paint, where the Huskies fair much better defensively.

For the Panthers’ small lineup to be successful against the physically imposing Huskies, they’ll need another strong contribution from DeJuan Blair.

Against Villanova on Wednesday night, Blair logged his eighth double-double of the season. But he’ll need to find a way to maneuver inside against one of the nation’s top defenders, Hasheem Thabeet — a 7-foot-3 antagonizing shot-blocker with improving athleticism.