Pitt set for huge showdown

Chants of “Let’s go Pitt” filled the Petersen Events Center as the Pitt women’s basketball… Chants of “Let’s go Pitt” filled the Petersen Events Center as the Pitt women’s basketball team closed out its first ever win in the NCAA Tournament, but the celebrating will have to be short-lived.

Next up for the Pitt women’s basketball team is the Tennessee Volunteers.

Always a top team in the nation and never an easy opponent, Pitt will certainly have its hands full tonight when it faces the Volunteers.

Tennessee advanced to the second round of the Dayton region after a 76-37 victory over Drake. Drake held its own early in the game, trailing by only seven with just more than two minutes left in the first half.

Then Tennessee went on an improbable 34-0 run that lasted well into the second half.

So what do the Panthers have to do to have a shot at beating the Volunteers?

For starters, not letting up 34 unanswered points is always a sure-fire way to stay in a game.

To keep up with the Volunteers, Pitt needs to stop sophomore guard Candace Parker, who is regarded as one of the nation’s best players, if not the best. In the opening round game, Parker was held to 13 points, but she only played 25 minutes thanks to her team’s large lead.

During the regular season, Parker led the SEC in scoring with 19.7 points per game. Parker’s not only an offensive threat, though. She was fourth in the conference in rebounding, averaging 9.7 per game, and led the conference with 2.7 blocks per game. She can also fire up her teammates and swing momentum in Tennessee’s favor with her ability to throw down a dunk during game play.

Like all great teams, the Volunteers feature a roster full of talented players. Should the Panthers contain Parker, numerous other players on Tennessee could play a pivotal role in preventing Pitt from advancing in the tournament.

Although junior Alexis Hornbuckle is a more traditional, pass-first point guard, she can also score when Parker needs assistance.

She led the Volunteers in scoring in their first round matchup against Drake with 14 points, and averaged 10.7 points per game during the regular season. Hornbuckle also finished second in the SEC with 3.26 steals per game, and had a solid assist-to-turnover ratio of 1.55 this season.

Junior center Nicky Anosike scored nine points to go with her five rebounds against Drake, and should prove to be a formidable opponent in the post for Pitt center Marcedes Walker. Behind Parker, she finished second on the team in rebounding and blocked shots during the season.

The Panthers should be wary of double-teaming in the paint because the Volunteers also boast an impressive pair of 3-point shooters that Anosike or Parker could easily pass to, leading to wide open 3s.

Senior forward Sidney Spencer and junior guard Shannon Bobbitt finished third and fifth, respectively, in the SEC in 3-point field goal percentage during the regular season. If either, or both, are hitting their shots, Pitt could be in for a long night.

While it is certainly one of the better teams in the nation, Tennessee did lose three games this year, so it is possible for the Panthers to upset them. In a loss to North Carolina in December, the Volunteers were out-rebounded and stingy defense led to a poor 3-for-11 showing from 3-point range for Tennessee. When the Volunteers fell to Duke in January, the Blue Devils jumped out to an early 19-0 lead to start the game, and didn’t give up the lead the rest of the way.

LSU defeated Tennessee in the SEC Tournament by holding Parker to four points on 2-of-11 shooting. Hornbuckle did score a career-high 29 points in that game, though. All of those loses were by at least nine points, and show that the Volunteers can be beaten. Pitt has experience against some of the nation’s top teams this year, such as two of the other three No. 1 seeds, Duke and Connecticut.

The Panthers lost to both of those teams, but held their own for part of each game. Against Duke, the Panthers fell behind by 14 in the first half, but cut the lead down to seven in the second half before Duke ran away with it. In the Connecticut game, Pitt trailed by as much as 23, but fought back to within 13 in the second half.

In both games, Walker played exceptionally well, earning double-doubles. Redshirt sophomore Shavonte Zellous, who was third in the Big East with 19.2 points per game this year, was held to eight points against Duke and 11 in the Connecticut game. For the Panthers to upset the Volunteers, they’re not only going to need Walker to have another great game and Zellous to show off her outstanding scoring ability, they’re also going to need to play as close to perfect of a team game that they can.

Tip-off is set for 7 p.m. tonight at the Petersen Events Center.