Krauser goes home to NYC for Jimmy V. Classic

The Panthers are looking for a good team to play.

In fact, they are starving for a good team… The Panthers are looking for a good team to play.

In fact, they are starving for a good team and they’re going to get just that tonight at 7 p.m at Madison Square Garden in the Jimmy V. Classic.

No. 14 Pitt (5-0) will take on Memphis (5-2), who was in the top 25 but dropped out after losses to No. 3 Syracuse and No. 12 Maryland.

Memphis may look like it has the edge against Pitt because the team has already played against ranked teams, but Panther guard Carl Krauser views it a little differently.

“I see it as a disadvantage,” he said Saturday after the win over Duquesne. He leaned into the microphone and added, “I see it as: You guys have already had that good slice of pie. We haven’t had it yet, but we’re real hungry. We want that slice of pie. We want the whole pie, matter of fact.”

The whole pie may be a little too big for just Krauser alone to eat. He’ll need help from everybody.

The Panthers’ main worry will be Memphis forward Rodney Carney, who is averaging 19.6 points per game. The 6-foot-7-inch, 205-pound junior also averages 6.4 rebounds per game. His shooting percentage is not stellar, but he shoots often and scores points.

He is capable of hitting the long-range shots from three-point land, and he has the physicality to maneuver down low in the paint and battle for buckets. Defensively, he is a factor in picking up boards and blocking shots. He is the complete package.

The Panthers will have to reach their normal goal of 10 more rebounds than the opposition to keep the Tigers in their cage — they are 3-1 when they win the rebound battle.

“They just pound and pound and pound the glass,” Pitt forward Chris Taft said. Taft added, speaking of Pitt’s poor rebounding performance against Duquesne, “We cannot do that Tuesday.”

Taft will sometimes find himself matched up against Memphis’ biggest man, 6-foot-9-inch, 260-pound Joey Dorsey, a true freshman who has many of the same characteristics that Taft has.

Dorsey has worked his way into the starting lineup for the Tigers and is likely to see more playing time as the year progresses — just as Taft did last year.

Another true-freshman starter whom Pitt will have to keep its eye on is Darius Washington, Jr.

He has already stepped into a leadership role for the Tigers, and coach John Calipari calls him his hardest worker. He runs the point efficiently, always looking to pass, especially to Carney. However, when Washington has the opportunity to hit the three, he will.

He is averaging 11.7 points per game, but has turned over the ball 22 times this season, 16 of them coming in the past three games.

Krauser, who has 10 steals on the season — two per game — is likely to be eyeing up that statistic, as are the rest of the Panthers, who generally capitalize on other teams’ turnovers.

Against Duquesne, Pitt scored 25 points as result of Duke turnovers.

But, turnovers or not, Krauser vows to win in his home away from home.

“No disrespect to Memphis,” he said, “I’m not going home to lose.”