Dutelle it like it is: Layoff won’t hurt Panthers

In the Big East conference, there are no nights off. However, in the midst of an eight-day… In the Big East conference, there are no nights off. However, in the midst of an eight-day layoff, that coaching cliche doesn’t apply to Pitt.

The Panthers (20-3 overall, 8-1 Big East) are preparing for the critical stretch of their conference schedule. Jamie Dixon’s team returns to action tomorrow night when they head to Morgantown to renew the rivalry with West Virginia. Pitt ought to be well-rested and ready to go against a suprisingly tough Mountaineer squad.

How will Pitt fare against West Virginia Wednesday night?

I’d have to say pretty well. There is no reason to believe that Pitt, clearly the better team, isn’t going to go into WVU Coliseum and win, but this is going to be a tight game simply because Morgantown is a tough place to play.

West Virginia is a young team, given that the Mountaineers had to break in four new starters this season. Early wins over North Carolina State, UConn and Villanova made this team appear to be a contender, but those wins lost some serious luster once each team started to tank. They lost a bad overtime game at Cincinnati on Jan. 20, getting outscored by 13 in the extra period. But West Virginia rebounded to win its last four contests.

Still, expect the Mountaineers to come out hard because tomorrow’s game is the start of a very difficult stretch for West Virginia. After the Panthers, the Mountaineers host a very hot UCLA before facing Georgetown on the road. It’s hard to say that your team needs to beat a top-ten team at home, but West Virginia can ill afford a three-game slide in February.

Yet that motivation isn’t likely to be enough for a win for West Virginia. Pitt is too quick and shoots too well for an upset.

What is Pitt’s best win thus far?

Although Pitt has a few quality wins, both sadly come against unranked teams, which is something you wouldn’t expect from a top-ten team at this stage in the season.

The home win over Georgetown easily marks the best game Pitt has played all season. The Panthers were, at one point, operating with a 5-to-1 assist turnover ratio before finishing with 22 assists to seven turnovers. Pitt shot magnificently and won despite the Hoyas’ 60-percent shooting from the field.

Last Monday’s road win at Villanova is the Panthers’ best win to date. The Wildcats are clearly on the rise, but the fact that Pitt managed to rally and win a game on the road, a game in which they were shooting terribly, says a lot about the makeup of the Panthers. In previous years, Pitt would rally, get within two or three, but still lose by seven or eight. Completing the comeback on the road tells me that this Pitt team is for real.

Pitt still has a few chances for quality wins, namely at Georgetown Feb. 24 and at Marquette on March 3 to close out the regular season. If the Panthers want to be taken seriously by the NCAA Tournament selection committee, they have to win at least one – probably both – of those two games.

Who isn’t going to make the Big East Tournament?

Man, I hope Connecticut is one of them. Can you imagine Jim Calhoun watching the Big East Tournament? Just the thought of a team once ranked inside the top ten not making into the conference tournament is incredible.

I still feel as if the Huskies will sneak in. They have some talent, it just hasn’t meshed yet. The top 12 teams in the Big East make the field, meaning four are left home and I think the bottom four are starting to separate themselves. Cincinnati (10-12, 1-7) isn’t going to make it, neither will Rutgers (9-14, 2-8). Those two are clearly the worst teams in the conference this season, which shouldn’t come as a surprise, given that both programs are breaking in a new coach, and the Scarlet Knights are operating without the scoring services of Quincy Douby.

There are four other teams in serious jeopardy of not making the field, UConn being one of them. Assuming the Huskies (14-8, 3-6) get in, I have to pick South Florida (12-11, 3-6), St. John’s (13-10, 4-6) or Seton Hall (12-10, 3-6) to make it. Even though the Red Storm have already lost to the Pirates, I’ll take St. John’s to finally get back to the Big East Tournament.

That would mean Cincinnati, Rutgers, South Florida and Seton Hall are my picks to miss the Big East tournament.

Have a question about Pitt basketball? E-mail senior staff writer Geoff Dutelle at gmd8@pitt.edu, and it may be answered in next week’s “Q’A with Geoff Dutelle.”