Panthers solve mystery of two-three zone in victory

Maybe Pitt’s 49-46 overtime loss to Syracuse at the Petersen Events Center on Sunday was… Maybe Pitt’s 49-46 overtime loss to Syracuse at the Petersen Events Center on Sunday was just what Pitt needed to get back on track.

Quite honestly, Pitt had not been playing its best basketball for a few games before last night. And getting beaten in an arena where it had never been beaten, by a team that is not that great, can be humbling.

The Orangemen became the first opponent to ever defeat the Panthers at the Pete. Pitt shot itself in the foot by losing to the Orangemen. It was embarrassing on Pitt’s part because Syracuse held the Panthers under 50 points in 45 minutes of play and beat them at their own game. Syracuse played tough defense and slowed down the tempo of the game, limiting Pitt’s touches.

Most notably, the Panthers struggled in the past few games when it faced teams, such as Seton Hall, Georgetown and Syracuse, that employed a two-three zone. Last night, the Panthers faced the same daunting task when it played at Providence — another team that plays a two-three zone. If Pitt lost to Providence, it could forget about winning the Big East Conference or the possibility of earning a No. 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament.

With all of this at stake, the Panthers had to stare their Achilles heel — the two-three zone — in the face, so to speak. But somehow the light finally clicked on. Pitt figured out how to revive its inside game that was lacking most recently against inferior talent such as Syracuse center Craig Forth.

Freshman center Chris Taft and junior forward Chevon Troutman exploded for the Panthers; they were the game’s leading scorers, with 24 and 23 points, respectively. Taft’s 24 points were a career high. Let’s face it; Pitt is not the greatest shooting team from the field, so it needs to be able to beat up teams in the paint.

For some unknown reason, this was not possible against Syracuse, but guard Carl Krauser, who had 22 points and eight assists, stepped up last night and found a way to get the job done against a top-15 team on the road. Krauser’s play was critical in the No. 6 Panthers’ 88-61 victory over No. 13 Providence.

He was key because, when two or three defenders blanketed him, he was able to find another Panther, who, quite naturally, was often wide open for an easy bucket. Troutman helped Krauser all night by sliding behind Providence’s zone. Krauser’s court vision was on point last night; on several occasions, he was able to hit Troutman in the paint with a pass for an easy layup.

Rather than committing an offensive foul while attempting to create space so he could drive to the basket, Krauser let the chips fall where they may. If he drove the paint and was fouled, fine. Otherwise, he continued to the basket or dished off to another Panther for an easy layup.

Even freshman guard Antonio Graves got into the act, driving the paint and drawing several Providence defenders. But Graves didn’t panic. He kept his head up and found Taft for one of his many slam-dunks of the night.

The Panthers could have lain down and packed it in for the season after a devastating loss on Sunday, but once again, they showed resiliency. Pitt came out on the road and arguably played its best basketball game of the season, and definitely its best game on the road.

This win is a clear example that the Panthers are one of the elite teams in college basketball. They just needed a swift kick in the behind in order to go back to playing like it.