What happens to Pitt after Monday’s loss?

There are poor showings and then there is what Pitt put on display for its home crowd on… There are poor showings and then there is what Pitt put on display for its home crowd on Monday against Louisville.

This, by far, marks the Panthers’ worst effort this season. They didn’t look anything like the team that led the conference in 3-point shooting or the nation in assist-to-turnover ratio, given that they went an abysmal three for 21 from behind the arc with a frightening 19 turnovers, 15 of which came in the first half.

Pitt (22-4 overall, 10-2 Big East) looked like a tired and banged-up team, which could be seen after a tight win over a very, very good Providence team two days prior.

How much did Louisville expose the Panthers, though? Quite a bit, but all the Cards really did was expose the already flagrant weaknesses in this team.

What did Louisville do that was so effective?

I’m not sure I have seen such an effective press since the Kentucky “Midnight Press” that propelled the Cardiac ‘Cats to their 1998 national title. Louisville pressed hard and fast, and the condition of Rick Pitino’s athletes was phenomenal.

We know that Pitt typically does well against the press. That’s expected when you have essentially three guards that can handle the point in Levance Fields, Ronald Ramon and Antonio Graves. Add in Mike Cook’s athleticism and Aaron Gray and Levon Kendall’s ability to see over the top of presses, and it comes as little surprise to see the Panthers usually get the ball into the frontcourt.

This press was as active as any I’ve seen, though, and it showed in the Pitt turnovers. Even if the Panthers got into an offense, the Cards shifted into a zone, but it wasn’t a sagging zone. It was an energetic zone that challenged most shots and kept the Panther attack off all night.

Remember that this Pitt team, in spite of its usually fantastic 3-point shooting, has struggled against many a zone this season. It collapses on Gray, which forces the kick-out, but the Panthers really only hit their 3s when they are wide-open looks that result from Gray being double-teamed. The only problem is that the double-team seldom comes unless the defense is running man-to-man.

Pitt simply ran into a more athletic team that needed this win very badly. The zone and press play worries me, though.

Should Pitt make changes to the starting lineup?

Easy one – No.

We can’t abandon ship simply because the team lost by double digits in the Pete for the first time ever. Pitt has been, consistently, the best team in the conference with its starting five, and making a change this late in the season will do nothing but erode the players’ confidence. Things are fine the way they are in terms of starting personnel.

There is another thing to keep in mind about this loss, and it never seems to come up. Most media act like the Pete is some sort of Xanadu for the Panthers, and, in many regards, it is. Pitt is still 78-8 all-time there, and the Panthers, save this poor showing, always seem to look a little faster, a little bigger and a lot crisper when they play in the home whites.

Nobody seems to notice, though, that this has no bearing on other teams coming in and playing well. Teams come into the Pete and regularly shoot very well from all over the court. The good teams tend to score the basketball just as they would in any other venue. Pitt just usually makes more plays.

That being said, it was only a matter of time before the Panthers didn’t play up to their level in the Pete. It isn’t the rims, it isn’t the atmosphere and it isn’t even the student section that would rather boo the opposing coach (when they are supposed to be reading the newspapers during the lineup, right?) that gets the Panthers the win each game.

Pitt just plays better at home, but nobody should be surprised by how well the Cardinals played because it happens all the time. It just doesn’t show when Pitt wins. Just look at the Providence game two days before. Tell me that the Friars lost because they played poorly. Just try.

What does this loss do to Pitt’s potential seeding?

Not a whole lot. Most teams, even the top-tier ones, have a bad loss by this stage. Except for Wisconsin, every team in the top 10 has had a poor outing they’d rather forget about, and this is Pitt’s.

Monday did more to help Louisville than it did to hurt Pitt. Keep in mind that these Panthers have been steady all year, and they will be rewarded for that. They also have chances to get more marquee wins, namely at Georgetown next week and at Marquette the week after that. One of those wins wipes this loss out.

I still think Pitt is no higher than a two seed and is likely to end up a three because they still haven’t beaten a ranked team (at the time, at least). A Big East Tournament run, though, could put the Panthers at a two seed.