Pitt looks to ground Eagles

After rebounding from their only loss this season, against St. John’s with a big win over… After rebounding from their only loss this season, against St. John’s with a big win over Syracuse, the Pitt Panthers (16-1 overall, 5-1 Big East) will welcome the Marquette Golden Eagles to the Pete tomorrow afternoon.

Despite being unranked, Marquette (14-5, 4-2) still holds a winning record in one of the toughest conferences in the nation. Jamie Dixon’s No. 12-ranked Panthers cannot boast about beating either of the two Big East teams that topped the Golden Eagles so far this season. Marquette fell to Cincinnati at home, and also lost to No. 13 West Virginia away.

Under seventh-year head coach Tom Crean, the Golden Eagles dropped the Panthers in their last meeting, 77-74, in the 2002-03 season, a loss that knocked Pitt out of the NCAA Tournament in the third round.

Like Pitt, Marquette has been making some noise this season, with big wins over teams like then-No. 2 and current-No. 1 UConn and DePaul, who did not go out quietly against the Panthers.

Still, Dixon’s squad has a lot of confidence going into the game.

“Our big guys are different than what we had [during the last matchup with Marquette] but they are good, and [Keith] Benjamin just keeps getting better and better,” Dixon said at a press conference Thursday. “You can see it in practice. It’s not a one-day thing, he takes care of the ball and he is rebounding well.”

The Golden Eagles bring experience in the frontcourt with senior Steve Novak, who is 6-foot-10 and averages 16.9 points per game while taking down 5.8 rebounds.

“I’m surprised how much [Novak] can put it on the floor now,” Dixon said, “and how quick he is moving without the ball, how he runs the floor. Novak is a hard matchup. He plays the four and plays some three as well.” Freshman guard Dominic James will be running the backcourt with 15.2 points per game and 4.4 rebounds.

“James can shoot [the ball]. They run a lot of screens, set a lot of plays to get him open,” Dixon said. “He’s very good, putting up great numbers. I didn’t realize how athletic he is.”

Marquette also poses another challenge to the Panthers, one a bit more unorthodox in college basketball.

“Marquette runs more plays than anybody else, they run a lot more sets,” Dixon said. “They have four guys that can shoot the ball out on the floor at all times. Novak can step out, even their five-man can step out. Perimeter shooting is a strength of theirs.”

Freshman Guard Jerel McNeal also poses a threat with strong outside shooting and taking down points per game for the Golden Eagles.

“There are two good freshman guards that like to penetrate,” Benjamin said. “We are looking to contain the shooters. I don’t think we can play too tight, just stick to our principals and play tough defense.”

Pitt’s young guards like Ronald Ramon and Levance Fields have also been knocking down shots from the outside, with 6.5 and 6.3 points per game, respectively. Aaron Gray averages a double-double by pouring in 13.1 points per game and snatching 10.4 rebounds a contest, meaning he will be a tough matchup for the Eagles inside.

The youth doesn’t mean that Pitt’s leading scorer is to be forgotten, however. Senior Carl Krauser scored a career-high 32 points in last Monday’s 80-67 triumph over Syracuse, something that should give him momentum coming into this game.

“Carl will probably remind us that [Marquette] knocked us out of the tournament a few years back,” Benjamin said. “We look forward to that pre-game speech.”

Tip-off for the Marquette game is set for noon tomorrow and the contest will be televised on WTAE channel 4.