Pitt bounces back with a win over Providence

In what was supposed to be a tight game with first place in the Big East being handed to… In what was supposed to be a tight game with first place in the Big East being handed to the winner, Pitt turned in one of its best performances of the season and showed why it is being considered for a No. 1 seed in the NCAA tournament.

Pitt steamrolled into the Dunkin Donuts Center in Providence, R.I., and came out with a dominating 88-61 victory over the Providence Friars.

The win moves the Panthers (26-3 overall, 12-3 Big East) into a first-place tie in the conference with Connecticut, and drops Providence (20-6, 11-4) into third place in the Big East.

The Panthers scored more points in the second half — 55 — than they did in the whole overtime game against Syracuse on Sunday. Carl Krauser held the team together, while Chris Taft and Chevon Troutman took full advantage underneath.

“We basically told ourselves to come out here and think of this game as a Big East championship game,” Taft said. “We wanted to beat these guys as bad as we could.”

Pitt jumped out to an early lead of 5-1 when Taft made a reverse layup and Julius Page drained a three.

The game swayed back and forth with neither team seeming to get into any kind of rhythm. The sloppy play continued with the Panthers turning the ball over on a 35-second shot-clock violation, without even attempting to put up a shot. However, Troutman managed to steal the ball from Providence’s Dwight Brewington on the next possession, which lead to a Taft dunk on the other end.

With 7:27 left in the first half, Jaron Brown picked up his third foul, and spent the rest of the half on the bench, but the Friars were unable to take advantage. Pitt shot 52 percent from the field in the first half to take the 33-27 lead into halftime.

After a few halftime adjustments, Pitt came out on fire in the second half. The Panthers took what was, to that point, their biggest lead, 39-30, only to have it erased by a three from Providence’s Ryan Gomes. Gomes, the Friars’ leading scorer, was held to only 11 points, and Donnie McGrath — their second-leading scorer — was held to zero points by Page.

“It just keeps happening over and over again. Page turns in great defensive performances each game,” head coach Jamie Dixon said. “It’s toughness, desire and willingness to do everything for the team.”

The lead just continued to grow for the Panthers as they turned the game into a legitimate blowout. Providence was unable to stop Troutman and Taft underneath, let alone Krauser on the outside.

Troutman recorded 23 points to go along with seven rebounds and four assists and Taft added a game-high 24 points — a career high — on 10-of-11 shooting, as well as six rebounds of his own.

“Even though I had a good game, scoring-wise, I still have to improve and get ready for the next game,” Taft said.

After fouling out of the last game, Krauser looked to take things into his own hands down the stretch and make sure Pitt came away with the win. He scored 22 points while dishing out eight assists. More importantly for Pitt, Krauser was 13 of 15 from the free-throw line, and the teamshot 28-of-31 on the night from the charity stripe.

“Carl made some nice passes over the top, stepped up to make the plays and hit his free throws near the end,” Dixon said.

Pitt will now host Villanova at the Petersen Events Center on Saturday in the team’s regular season finale before heading to the Big East Tournament next week.

“We’ll be watching film tonight on Villanova and doing all we can to get ready for that matchup on Saturday,” said Dixon. “It just starts with the seniors. They set the tone and attitude in practice, and it just carries over. They have done it all night long.”