Men’s Basketball: Panthers stifle Colorado in blowout victory

Pitt’s first game of the NCAA Tournament was just 12 minutes old, but the situation in which Colorado forward Xavier Johnson was caught had proven a guaranteed advantage for the Panthers. 

Johnson was trapped with the ball in the corner closest to Pitt’s bench, first guarded by freshman forward Michael Young. Then, 6-foot-9 senior center Talib Zanna rushed over to flank Johnson. James Robinson and Lamar Patterson stood behind them at different angles, each sealing off a passing lane.

Josh Newkirk crouched in the post while trying to fend off a bigger player. It would’ve been a clear mismatch had Johnson had the space or time to look past the swarm of Pitt defenders.

All afternoon, Pitt employed a stout defense and converted the effort into an easy, fast-break offense to stake a huge lead early, continuing the intensity throughout a 77-48 victory over eighth-seeded Colorado on Thursday at the Amway Center in Orlando, Fla.

The Panthers, seeded ninth in the south region, will advance to face Florida — the top-ranked team in the regular season and NCAA Tournament — on Saturday in the round of 32 in Orlando.

Pitt’s 46-18 lead at halftime nearly matched the 46 points it scored in total in a loss against Virginia in the semi-final of the ACC Tournament less than a week ago.

Coach Jamie Dixon doesn’t seem to care how the team competes, but he does notice the improvement.

“We’re a better team now than we were earlier in the year,” Dixon said. “That’s what you hope to be.”

Colorado (23-12) committed 17 turnovers, while Pitt coughed up the ball just three times. The Panthers (26-9) forced four turnovers in the first 6:19, which contributed to a 13-0 lead in that time.

Their stingy defense held the Buffaloes to just a 35.7 percent success rate from the field, while the Panthers’ offense made 31 of 61 shots (50.8 percent). The disparate figures tell a story of complete dominance in both halves.

Pitt shot a remarkably efficient 62.1 percent in the first half, thanks to its 10 forced turnovers and a subsequent up-tempo transition offense that created uncontested looks in front of a trailing, frustrated Colorado defense.

Zanna led the charge with 18 points on 6-of-7 shooting from the field and 6-of-6 free throw shooting. Zanna also had five rebounds, one steal and two blocks. Zanna had scored 16 points in the first half and did not take a shot in the second.

“I was just trying to be patient,” Zanna said. “I know if I’m open, the ball is going to come to me. I was wide open just trying to run the floor, and I was just having wide-open layups.”

There were plenty of wide-open looks to go around. 

There was one opportunity shortly after Johnson was flustered in the corner and eventually stripped of the ball by Young. The ball bounced to Robinson, who quickly turned around and led a brigade of five Panthers down the court.

Robinson found Newkirk, who was the farthest from the point of transition from defense to offense, dashing through the paint on his way to a layup. 

It was a scene that kept repeating all afternoon — the only differences were who started the play and who finished it.

Pitt built its stable lead on a 12-2 advantage in points scored off turnovers in the first half

Each of Pitt’s starters recorded a steal, with Robinson and shooting guard Cameron Wright registering three each. Robinson also chipped in eight assists, six rebounds and just one turnover.

The Panthers’ offense showed balance that came as a result of transition offense and players who were downcourt to finish a fast break. Wright (11 points) and Patterson (10 points) were the only other Panthers to reach double figures in scoring.

The lead grew as large as 32 points, which happened twice at different points of the second half.

What resulted was the largest victory of a nine seed over an eight seed in tournament history, something Johnson said he feels weighing on him — kind of like the pressure applied by Pitt’s defense throughout the game.

“They came out from the start and got on us early and we weren’t able to recover,” he said. “No one wants to go out like that, so it hurts.”