Poor rebounding, shooting cost Pitt big at home

Jamie Dixon didn’t have many answers for why his team struggled so badly on Saturday. He… Jamie Dixon didn’t have many answers for why his team struggled so badly on Saturday. He couldn’t explain how Rutgers, a team that ranked last in the Big East in scoring offense, scoring margin and field-goal percentage could dominate Pitt, a team that bases its defensive schemes on hard work and grit.

And he definitely couldn’t explain why Rutgers outworked the Panthers – especially in Pitt’s 100th game at the Petersen Events Center – a place where Pitt had posted a 91-8 record heading into the night.

Disappointed, the Panthers coach made no excuses for his Panthers. He could only state the obvious.

“We got exactly what we deserved,” he said.

Pitt was dominated in the second half on Saturday. The Scarlet Knights outrebounded Why? Pitt by 16 in the half, and the Panthers simply could not find a way to muster up even a breath of offensive rhythm.

In the end, Dixon said Rutgers outplayed Pitt in almost all facets of the game. And with games against solid Big East teams approaching, the Panthers will have to pinpoint their problems, get in a few solid practices and hope the worst is behind them.

Shooting woes

Just three days after unleashing a beating on St. John’s, Pitt couldn’t find any way to put points on the board. The Panthers knocked down just 6 of 21 3-point attempts and shot only 27 of 70 from the field.

Junior forward Sam Young, a headache to opponents all year with both his inside and outside play, continuously put up shots but was ineffective and failed to spark his struggling offense.

Young went 4 for 17, while guard Ronald Ramon was 2 of 8. Although the numbers may not show it, Pitt had plenty of open looks.

Rutgers switched back and forth between a man-to-man defense and a 2-3 zone. Pitt moved the ball well and created some good, open looks but couldn’t knock them down.

When the Panthers went inside, they were rejected. When they went outside, the shots rimmed out. Despite moving the ball fairly well and winning the turnover battle, the shots just didn’t fall like they had been all year.

Big Fella cools off

Freshman center DeJuan Blair was a force in the first half, scoring 12 points on 6-for-8 shooting. But with the second half came a switching of gears, and Blair found himself caught deep in foul trouble once again.

Blair went 1 for 5 in the second half and pulled down one rebound. He’s landed himself in foul trouble at times this year, and teams will continue to go after him in the future. And whenever Blair is forced to sit because of fouls, the Panthers have a problem.

Already shorthanded because of the injuries to Levance Fields, Mike Cook, Cassin Diggs and Austin Wallace, Pitt needs every minute it can get out of the big guy. He’s averaging close to a double-double and is a big-time matchup problem when he’s on his game.

As a freshman, Blair is expected to make mistakes. Many times, those mistakes are forgiven. But Blair has played more like a veteran than a freshman this year and is a huge asset inside. He’ll need to focus on avoiding any more unnecessary fouls and try to stay on the court as much as possible.

Brown blows up

On the positive side, redshirt freshman Gilbert Brown looked great. He shot 6 for 11 and finished with a team-high 16 points.

Big East bumpin’

Speaking of the Big East, it’s a mess. Georgetown has narrowly pulled off multiple victories – beating Syracuse, West Virginia and Connecticut by a combined six points.

The Hoyas, like the rest of the Big East, look vulnerable and the conference title is really wide open.

Pitt has an upcoming game at home against Villanova then hits the road to play Connecticut and comes back home again in its heated Backyard Brawl rivalry against West Virginia. These three matchups should answer a lot of questions about this Pitt team and about the Big East in general.