Panthers to visit Hoyas

The good news for the Pitt men’s basketball team is that things get a little easier against… The good news for the Pitt men’s basketball team is that things get a little easier against their next Big East opponent as opposed to their last one, the No. 1 ranked UConn Huskies.

The bad news is it isn’t by very much.

Pitt (17-2 overall, 6-2 Big East) travels to the nation’s capital and battles the up-and-coming Georgetown Hoyas (15-4, 6-2) at the MCI Center in Washington, D.C., to comprise the “other” game on Sunday for the city of Pittsburgh.

The Hoyas, coached by John Thompson III, have won five in a row to earn national rankings of No. 17 in the Associate Press poll, and No. 22 in the ESPN/USA Today Coaches poll. One of those wins was against then-No. 1 Duke, giving them their first and only loss of the season.

Pitt, ranked No. 9 in both polls, will have to adjust its defense to a very versatile Georgetown team. Four Hoyas, center Roy Hibbert, forwards Brandon Bowman and Jeff Green and guard Ashanti Cook, all average double figures in points per game.

As if it’s any wonder in Georgetown’s newfound success, one need look no further than Thompson, and achievement should not be far behind.

Prior to coming to Georgetown last season, Thompson had been head coach at Princeton, leading the Tigers to three Ivy League Championships and two NCAA Tournament berths in four years.

Jamie Dixon and the Panthers need no reminder of exactly how tough Thompson and the Hoyas are, seeing as they handed Pitt their second loss at the Petersen Events Center last season after being blitzed and blindsided by Bucknell for their first.

The Panthers will need to rebound from a tough 80-76 loss to Jim Calhoun’s Huskies on Tuesday, a game in which they shot a season-worst 2-for-20, a measly 10 percent from behind the 3-point line.

However, there were a few positives that came from Pitt’s last performance.

The Panthers shot a season-best 89 percent from the free-throw line, going 16 of 18. Junior center Aaron Gray accounted for nine of those 16, hitting 90 percent of his shots from the charity stripe, a surprise from a previously 62-percent shooter.

Speaking of Gray, the 7-footer proved once and for all that he could contend with and produce against the best in the country, tallying 23 points and 12 rebounds in 33 minutes.

“I have great respect for Pittsburgh,” UConn Head Coach Jim Calhoun said after the close game on Tuesday. “They are a bear of a team.”

The Panthers will need to play the tough role they’re accustomed to, seeing the height advantage down low will be diminished this Sunday. Georgetown’s Hibbert towers to an amazing 7-foot-2, two full inches taller than Gray.

No doubt it will be a very difficult win, but it comes at a very crucial time in Pitt’s season.

Currently sitting in fourth place in the Big East conference, arguably the best if not toughest basketball conference in the country, the Panthers are tied with Georgetown. A win would keep them in the top four in the conference, taking one further step in getting a first-round bye in the Big East Tournament.

Fox Sports Network will televise the game regionally with tip-off set for noon, leaving the city of Pittsburgh a nice window between games.