I Bleed Blue and White

Instead of writing up my own thoughts for Wednesday’s clash against Pittsburgh, I thought it to be a good idea to get in touch with someone on the other side. Chas from Pitt Blather and I exchanged questions about the upcoming matchup. Below are his answers to my questions. You can see my responses to his questions here. Thanks to Chas for doing this with me.

Chris (I Bleed Blue and White): Because of injury troubles, Villanova did not see Levance Fields last year. He’s a proven Big East guard that has given ‘Nova trouble in the past. Blair and Young get most of the hype, but just how essential is Fields to the success of Pitt?

Chas (Pitt Blather): Well, much like last year, Fields is the only true point guard on the team. Pitt uses a motion-style offense so a point guard that sees the floor is absolutely vital. Fields, in particular, is invaluable because he doesn’t turn the ball over. His overall A/TO ratio is 3.54 and in Big East play it is 2.84. Pitt is a team that is big on offensive efficiency. Not a tremendous number of possessions, so they have to count.

To summarize, Pitt can’t succeed if Fields isn’t there.

Chris (IBBW): DeJuan Blair struggled offensively vs. Villanova last year. How’s he been doing and will he do more this time around?

Chas (PB): You know, averaging a double-double. Second only to Luke Harangody in that. He’s playing much better, in that he seems more of his teammates and is passing much crisper after getting boards on defense. On offense he is getting to be more consistent.

As far as how he’ll do this time vs. ‘Nova. Well, I wouldn’t be surprised to see him struggled and be hindered by foul trouble. The most effective way to keep him from having a good game — limit his minutes. His worst games have come against teams that slash and attack to the basket. It puts him in a bad position defensively. His worst games in conference play came against Louisville and Rutgers. Both really came at the basket and got him into foul trouble.

I expect that Villanova will be doing some of the same, so it will be a test for Blair.

Chris (IBBW): There are some great matchups in this game, including Reynolds/Fields and Cunningham/Sam Young. What are guys like Wanamaker, Dixon and Biggs going to bring to this game?

Chas (PB): Jermaine Dixon is Pitt’s perimeter defender. He has embraced the idea of being a lockdown guy. He’ll probably draw the assignment of trying to contain Reynolds defensively.

Brad Wanamaker has started to blossom this year. He wasn’t ready for the game last year, but this year has confidence. He’s another guy that figured it out on defense. He’s one of Pitt’s better guys at getting steals and really going after loose balls, I wouldn’t be surprised if he and Nasir Robinson — who has seen his minutes rising the last few games — struggle on Wednesday. Both are Philly kids, so family and friends being there might be a distraction.

Tyrell Biggs is a solid back-up big man. The last few years, Pitt has had a guy that struggled for the first few years then has it all click in his senior year. This year it has been Biggs.

Chris (IBBW): Finally, both teams pride themselves on defense and toughness. How do you see this one ending?

Chas (PB): Well, a game in the 60’s doesn’t seem too strange. I expect a good amount of frustration on both teams at not being able to do as much as they expect to do on offense. It may not come down to a final possesion, but it will come down to the final couple of minutes.

So there you have, Chas sees a Pitt win, and if you check his blog, you’ll see that I forecast a ‘Nova win. In any case, this should be your typical Big East war. I’m very excited for the game tomorrow. I’m going to try and do as many of these as possible in the future, as I think it’s a good way to get a feel for the game and how the other side feels.