March 23, 2008

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NCAA TOURNAMENT SECOND ROUND GAME NOTES

Pitt vs. Michigan State, Pepsi Center, Denver, Colo., March 22, 2008

 

*No. 4 seed Pitt dropped a 65-54 loss to No. 5 seed Michigan State in the NCAA Tournament Second Round. Pitt closes out its 2007-08 season with a 27-10 overall record. The Panthers' six-game win streak came to an end. It concluded the year after winning eight of its last 10 games on the season.

 

*Pitt dropped to 6-1 in neutral site games on the year.

 

*Pitt made its 20^th appearance in the NCAA Tournament. It is now 18-21 overall in those appearances.

 

*Pitt is one of only nine programs to advance to the NCAA Tournament in each of the last seven seasons. The nine schools include: Arizona, Duke, Gonzaga, Kansas, Kentucky, Michigan State, Pitt, Texas and Wisconsin. Pitt has earned the most consecutive NCAA Tournament appearances in the Big East Conference with seven. Villanova is second with four and Marquette and Georgetown both have advanced to three straight.

 

*The game marked the final contest for Pitt seniors Keith Benjamin, Ronald Ramon and Maurice Polen. Benjamin and Ramon become the seventh and eighth players in school history to appear in four straight NCAA Tournaments.

 

*Pitt advanced to the NCAA Tournament Second Round for the third straight season and sixth time in the last seven years.

 

*Offensively, Pitt shot just 32.7 percent (17-52) from the floor and 11.8 percent (2-17) from 3-point range. The 17 field goals made ranks tied for the third lowest output during the Jamie Dixon Era and the 11.8 percent 3-point percentage tied for the third lowest percentage during that span.

 

*Pitt's 94.7 percent (18-19) free throw shooting ranked as the highest mark in the Jamie Dixon Era (2003-08).

 

*Pitt's nine blocked shots tied for the most blocks during the Jamie Dixon Era. Pitt has blocked nine shots on six different occasions during that time period.

 

*With his 19 points on the evening, Levance Fields reached double figure scoring for the ninth consecutive game. It also marked his 46^th career double figure scoring game and 18^th for the season.

 

*Pitt finished the year 19-4 when Levance Fields starts a game.

 

*With his 15 points, Sam Young has now reached double figure scoring in 36 of Pitt's 37 games on the year and in 44 of his last 48 games played. Young led Pitt in scoring in 25 of 37 games. Young also tied a career-high with four blocked shots.

 

*DeJuan Blair finished the evening with 10 points and seven rebounds. For the season, Blair reached double figure scoring in 25 games on the season. With his 429 points on the year, Blair finished second on Pitt's all-time freshman season scoring list. Charles Smith holds the record with 435 points in 1984-85. Blair set the freshman season record with 36 starts on the season. Against Oral Roberts, Blair set Pitt's freshman season record for rebounds and ended the year with 337 on the year. He surpassed Sam Clancy (327 rebounds from 1977-78). He also set Pitt's freshman season record for most field goals and now has 168 for the year.

 

*Ronald Ramon played in its 135^th career game at Pitt. He concludes his career ranked third all-time in most career games played: 137, Jaron Brown, 2000-04; 136, Julius Page, 2000-04 and 135, Ronald Ramon, 2004-08. Ramon concludes his career with 1,096 career points, 233 3-point field goals made and 339 assists.

 

*Jamie Dixon concludes his fifth season as Pitt's head basketball coach with a 132-40 overall record. The 132 victories tie for the third-most victories for a coach after five seasons as a head coach in NCAA Division I history. Here is where Dixon ranks on the NCAA Division I all-time wins list after five seasons:

 

Head Coach, Team	Seasons	Record
Everett Case, North Carolina State	1947-51	137-29
Mark Few, Gonzaga	2000-04	133-32
JAMIE DIXON, PITT	2003-08	132-40
Roy Williams, Kansas	1989-93	132-37
Bruce Stewart, W.V. Wesleyan/Middle Tennessee	1983-87	126-41
Forddy Anderson, Drake/Bradley	1947-51	123-42
Jerry Tarkanian, UNLV	1969-73	122-20
Jim Boeheim, Syracuse	1977-81	122-30
Thad Matta, Ohio State/Butler	2001-05	122-43
Fred Schaus, West Virginia	1955-59	120-32
Larry Brown, UCLA/Kansas	1980-81, 84-86	120-38
Tom Izzo, Michigan State	1996-00	120-48

 

*Dixon is now 6-5 during his career in NCAA Tournament games.

 

*Pitt concludes its season with 27 victories. The 27 wins rank fifth among the all-time winningest seasons at Pitt. The school record is 31 set in 2003-04, Jamie Dixon's first year at Pitt. Dixon has guided five of Pitt's 15 winningest seasons. The only other seasons with more victories are: 31-5 in 2003-04, 29-6 in 2006-07, 29-8 in 2006-07 and 28-5 in 2002-03.

 

*Pitt's senior class of Keith Benjamin, Mike Cook, Ronald Ramon and Maurice Polen concluded their career with a 101-35 all-time record in 136 career games. The class became just the fifth senior class in school history to win 100 or more games.

 

*Pitt and Michigan State met for the fourth time in men's basketball. Michigan State holds a 3-1 advantage in the series. Previous meetings between the two schools include: Dec. 17, 1955, an 82-81 MSU win, 1953-54, an 82-51 MSU victory and on Feb. 18, 1927, a 36-34 Pitt win.

 

*Pitt held Oral Roberts to 65 points on the evening. On the year, Pitt limited 27 of its 37 opponents to 70 points or less. Pitt has held each of its last six opponents to 70 points or less. Since Jamie Dixon became head coach, Pitt has limited 139 of its 172 opponents to 70 points or less.

 

*The 11-point loss marked just the 10^th time that Pitt has lost by 10 or more points during the Jamie Dixon Era. Only 10 of Dixon's 40 losses have come by more than 10 points. Additionally, Dixon has dropped 18 of his 40 career losses by four points or less.

 

*Pitt dropped to 4-3 vs. ranked teams on the year. Prior to the contest, it had previously defeated three consecutive ranked teams.