Pitt struggling with defense

Georgetown was quick to give respect to Pitt’s defense Wednesday night — after the game…. Georgetown was quick to give respect to Pitt’s defense Wednesday night — after the game.

But during the game, the Hoyas exposed a Panther defense that still has many questions to answer.

The inability to maintain steady defensive play plagued the Panthers (10-2, 0-1 Big East) in their 67-64 loss to Georgetown Wednesday night, a night when several different defensive looks couldn’t slow down a steady Hoya offense.

“Give them lots of credit. Krauser, Taft and Troutman are all really tough,” Georgetown guard Ashanti Cook — who scored a game-high 23 points — said of Pitt’s defense, despite Pitt head coach Jamie Dixon admitting his team needs defensive work.

Pitt switched in and out of a 2-3 zone defense Wednesday, a far cry from the Panthers’ man-to-man defense, known for tough, physical and aggressive play.

Opposing coach John Thompson III said he wasn’t surprised to see Pitt switch in and out of zone because his Hoyas (9-3) were hitting outside shots early on.

Georgetown hit its first six 3-point shots, three of which sparked a 15-0 run for a 28-9 lead, the largest deficit Pitt had seen all season. The shooting extended Pitt’s zone and opened things offensively for the visitors, particularly on the inside where Thompson said his team was having difficulty finding shots.

“I understand [them playing zone] because of the consistent threes,” he said.

Range didn’t matter for Georgetown’s outside shooting either, shown when Darrel Owens hit an NBA-range over Pitt’s zone with 5:26 left to in the opening half. The shot gave Georgetown a 31-17, a lead that would be trimmed to 33-31 after a Panther run.

But the Hoyas extended their lead with more outside shooting. Owens hit another long three from the right elbow to quite the screaming crowd. With the final possession in the half, the Cook hit another 3-pointer as time expired to take a 39-34 lead into the locker room. Georgetown ended the half hitting 60 percent of its shots, including nine of its 12 3-point attempts.

“[Georgetown] hit some real touch shows in the first half,” Pitt sophomore Chris Taft said.

The Panther defense however, showed flashes of promise in the second half, helping Pitt get back into the game.

Point guard Carl Krauser stole the ball on Georgetown’s second possession and helped force a travel on its next. Yuri Demetris also keyed the defense early on, grabbing a steal on the next defensive series, then hitting the game-tying 3-pointer on the other end, bringing the Panthers all the way back from a 19-point deficit. Another Panther 3-pointer made it a 7-0 run to open the half that stretched over a 5:40 Georgetown scoring drought.

This was the kind of stifling defense seen up until Dec. 11, an 84-71 victory over Penn State in which the Nittany Lions had a similar shooting performance. In that game, Penn State shot 50 percent from three in keeping the game close.

Prior to that game, the Panthers had held their first six opponents well under 60 points per contest, a common theme in the tough aggressive defense that has been a staple in Panther basketball the past four seasons.

But the Panthers surrendered more than 60 points for the fourth straight game and fifth time in the last six games. The Panthers also saw their 59-53 lead with 5:23 disappear when Georgetown consistently got inside for easy shots in the final minutes. Owens’ backdoor cut and reverse layup tied the game at 64 with 1:28 remaining. The Hoyas’ eventual game-winning shot with eight seconds left was also a close layup.

“I thought our defense was better in some things; communicating, getting off to the ball better, not over-aggressive in the passing lanes,” Dixon said. “[But] it’s going to take young guys getting better real quick. We have freshman and sophomores who we are asking to be leaders. It’s what we are asking to do.”

Both Dixon and Taft were quick to talk about what the team needed to do to move forward however, especially on the defensive end.

“I’ve got to do a better job instilling [the defense] throughout the whole group,” the second-year head coach said.

“This is a great time to test how good we are and how together we are,” Taft added. “This is the Big East now and we will have games every two to three days so we have to find a way. We have to put this game behind us.”