Panthers look to stay perfect

Pitt will look to continue its undefeated season by wrapping up a three-game road trip with a… Pitt will look to continue its undefeated season by wrapping up a three-game road trip with a trip to Madison Square Garden for a Saturday afternoon date with St. John’s.

For several Panthers, the game will be something of a homecoming. Seniors Carl Krauser and John DeGroat, sophomores Keith Benjamin and Ronald Ramon and freshmen Tyrell Biggs and Levance Fields, not to mention associate head coach Barry Rohrssen and director of basketball operations Orlando Antigua, all hail from New York.

The Panthers will likely encounter a very motivated St. John’s team. The Red Storm (9-6 overall, 2-2 Big East) are coming off a nationally televised 68-56 win over No. 15 Louisville on Tuesday night, the same Cardinals squad Pitt rallied to down 61-57 two days prior.

Freshman forward Anthony Mason Jr., son of former NBA player Anthony Mason, totaled 15 points and 11 rebounds in the upset win. Sophomore guard Eugene Lawrence contributed 18 points of his own, while last year’s leading scorer, Daryll Hill, added nine points and 10 rebounds.

St. John’s record to this point may be somewhat deceiving. Hill, who finished third in the Big East last season with a 20.7 points per game average, has been plagued much of this season with a knee injury. He has appeared in only nine of the team’s 15 games thus far. Although he still paces the team in scoring with 12.6 points per contest, his numbers across the board are drastically lower than last season. A fully healthy Hill, which the Panthers can expect to encounter, makes the Red Storm a dangerous team.

In addition to riding the heels of their emotional victory, Saturday will serve as St. John’s legacy game, in which former Red Storm basketball stars such as Chris Mullin and Mark Jackson will return to be celebrated by students and alumni.

Pitt, meanwhile, will enter the contest following consecutive wins in their first two Big East Conference road games against Louisville and, most recently, Rutgers on Wednesday night.

In Wednesday’s contest, 7-foot junior center Aaron Gray gave the Scarlet Knights all they could handle with a 20-point, nine-rebound effort. Benjamin contributed with a personal season high of 12 points and Levon Kendall recorded a double-double in the win.

Although Krauser leads the Panthers (15-0, 4-0) with a 16.3 points-per-game average and Gray leads the Big East in rebounding with 10.4 per contest, Pitt is receiving significant contributions from nearly everyone on the team. Ten different players have played in all 14 games.

An interesting subplot to the game will be the matchup between freshmen forwards Mason and Pitt’s own Sam Young. Mason is currently third on the Red Storm in rebounding and fourth in scoring, averaging 9.3 points and 4.6 rebounds per game. Given his pedigree, Mason was already receiving national attention before he even set foot on the court.

Young will enter the game third on the team in scoring with 9.1 points per contest and fourth in rebounding at 4.1 rebounds per game. A relatively unheralded recruit out of high school, Young has been electrifying the Panther faithful with breathtaking dunks all season long. Although it is still early in conference play, it is widely believed that the two star freshmen will be competing for Big East Rookie of the Year honors at the end of the season.

A win would keep Pitt’s record unblemished and give the team momentum heading into Monday’s home clash with No. 20 Syracuse, which had a 12-game winning streak snapped earlier this week after dropping an 88-80 decision to No. 3 Connecticut. The Huskies are also the Red Storm’s next opponent, as St. John’s will venture to Storrs, Conn., on Wednesday.

Tomorrow’s game is set to start at noon and will be televised locally on WTAE-TV.