UPDATED:
ORIGINAL:
Game just ended: 2:26 pm eastern time. Pittsburgh Panthers defeat Villanova Wildcats 70-65. Some notes on the game are below.
-Before getting to the game action, let me first say that I love games on CBS, even though I may be in the minority that like Verne Lundquist.
-The game started out very sloppy for both teams, with bricks being thrown up left and right along with fouls and turnovers galore.
-The Panthers began to seize the momentum of the back and forth affair about midway through the opening stanza. They certainly weren’t lighting it up from the field, but they got numerous second chance opportunities via their offensive rebounding.
-Jay Wright earned yet another technical foul, which has got to be about his 4th of the year. Some of the calls were questionable, but I have definitely seen worse this season. After the technical foul shots, the Panthers were up 10 or 11, but the Cats made a mini run towards the end of the half to keep themselves in the game.
-The two biggest problems of the first half for Villanova stemmed from their poor foul shooting, and as I mentioned before, getting thoroughly dominated on the glass.
-Halftime score: Pittsburgh 29 Villanova 23
-Did you really expect anything else in the second half, other than a typical, hard-fought Big East slugfest?
-Each team bended but never broke in the final 20 minutes. The Cats cut it to 2 on multiple occasions, but a response was delivered each time by Gilbert Brown or Ashton Gibbs. Sometimes, it seemed like the Panthers might pull away, but a response was delivered each time by Corey Stokes or Scottie Reynolds.
-In the end, though, Pitt just made more plays down the stretch to stave off the Wildcats. On a crucial 1-1 free throw opportunity with 2 mins left and Villanova down only 3, Gilbert Brown missed the front end, but the overpowering Gary Mcghee, as he did so many times throughout the game, muscled his way to an offensive rebound. Then, with the Cats down 4 and a minute left, Villanova put the full court press on. The Pitt inbounder tried to throw a bomb to a streaking teammate (ala Reggie Redding in last year’s Elite 8), but the pass was way too long. The hustling Pitt player dove into the stands, somehow saved the ball by knocking it in play, and it went off Antonio Pena’s hand out of bounds. One more…Ashton Gibbs, who shoots 90% from the free throw line, missed 2 free throws in a row with 45 secs left, but on the push-out, Scottie Reynolds threw it right to a Pitt player. These plays were not the sole reason for the loss obviously, but they serve as an example of the mistakes made by the Cats today.
-Two last comments from me…1) As unathletic as Gary Mcghee is, he absolutely mandhandled the Villanova frontcourt today, and in my opinion, he won the game for the Panthers. 2) Jamie Dixon deserves coach of the year honors.
Pittsburgh had 20+ offensive rebounds. Enough said. Let the ranting begin.
