Sloppy play still bogs down Pitt

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It has been said that cleanliness is “next to godliness.”… Click here to view slideshow

It has been said that cleanliness is “next to godliness.”

If so, where does Pitt stand after last night?

Despite being a relatively small squad compared to its past teams, Pitt is still the hard-nosed, scrappy and often frustratingly ugly team to which fans have become accustomed.

While the Panthers did trounce a tremendously inferior Boston University squad, Pitt looked hurried and downright sloppy during several stretches of the game.

“We just felt we were rushing out there,” Pitt guard Levance Fields said.

Leading scorer Sam Young is certainly a culprit, having turned the ball over three times in his first eight minutes of play and forcing several contested shots rather than deferring to his open teammates on the wing.

Mike Cook also contributed a couple ill-advised passes on fast breaks that were deflected away from his intended target.

Inexperience may have contributed as well.

Freshmen DeJuan Blair, Gilbert Brown and Brad Wanamaker all received significant minutes in the contest.

Pitt finished with 16 turnovers in the game after giving up nine in the first half alone.

“The turnovers were above our goal of 12 with 16, so that’s a little disappointing,” Pitt head coach Jamie Dixon said.

This is no fluke either.

Pitt has accumulated double-digit turnovers in all but one contest so far this season.

Fortunately, the Panthers have had the defense to make up for their early season shortcomings in ball control.

The team has forced more turnovers than it has given up in all but one contest so far this season (Pitt split turnovers with Mississippi Valley State).

Heading into the meat of their non-conference schedule, however, the Panthers will likely need to cut down on their mistakes.

Duke has already been tested by the likes of Marquette and Illinois this season and remains undefeated.

And while Oklahoma State and Washington have gotten off to disappointing starts, both teams have already played against top-25 opponents and will likely be anxious for a marquee victory.

All three teams are well coached and know how to convert turnovers into points.

“Coach always told us 12 [turnovers] for the game and we got 16,” Fields said.

“That’s just a point of emphasis we’ve got to work on.” Click here to view slideshow