March 2, 2008
Game Notes: West Virginia (March 3)
MORGANTOWN, W.Va.--Pitt (21-8, 9-7 Big East) hits the road for the second consecutive road game when it travels to Morgantown, W.Va. to play West Virginia (20-8, 9-7 Big East) Monday at WVU Coliseum. Tipoff is set for 7 p.m. ET.
The "Big Monday" game will be televised nationally by ESPN. Sean McDonough (play-by-play), Jay Bilas and Bill Raftery (color commentary) will handle announcing duties while Scott Matthews will oversee production.
Riding a two-game win streak, Pitt's game with West Virginia is one of two remaining regular season contests for the Panthers: at West Virginia (March 3), vs. DePaul (March 9). The game features a matchup of two sixth place teams in the Big East Conference. Pitt, West Virginia and Cincinnati (8-8) are battling for the No. 6 seed in the upcoming Big East Tournament. A win vs. West Virginia would give Pitt the tiebreaker over the Mountaineers. Pitt and UC split their games this year.
Pitt enters the game after a dramatic come-from-behind victory at Syracuse on Saturday (82-77). Pitt battled back from an 11-point second half deficit and outscored SU 18-2 over the game's final 3:49. Pitt's 73-67 win over Cincinnati gave the Panthers their school record seventh consecutive 20-win season. Jamie Dixon became the first coach in school history to lead Pitt to five consecutive 20-win seasons. Pitt is the only Big East school to win 20-overall and 10-league games in each of the last six seasons. Pitt is attempting to achieve those standards for the seventh straight season. A win at West Virginia would give Pitt its seventh straight 10-win Big East season.
Pitt's 2007-08 season has become a storybook in overcoming adversity as Pitt has battled injuries all season long. For the majority of the year, Pitt played with just eight scholarship players including four freshmen. Junior point guard Levance Fields returned to action for the last four games after missing 12 contests with a fractured fifth metatarsal in his left foot. He was cleared by doctors to practice on Thursday, Feb. 7 and made his first start in 14 games and since Dec. 29 vs. Louisville. He has started each of the last three games. Senior small forward Mike Cook (torn left ACL) is out for the season. Redshirt freshman Austin Wallace is also out for the season (fractured patella) and junior Cassin Diggs (groin/hip strain) has suffered injuries as well. In addition, several of the players competing Pitt are playing with injuries. Fields and Cook represent Pitt's two most experienced players as both started all 37 games last year and were Pitt's only two returning starters from the previous season. Through Pitt's first 12 games, Fields, Cook and Wallace accounted for 26% of Pitt's minutes played, 28% of its scoring, 47% of assists and 16% of its rebounding (see chart on page 6). Pitt went 8-4 without both Cook and Fields. In those 12 games, Pitt averaged 71.2 points per game while shooting 46.9 percent (315-672) from the floor and 38.9 percent (74-190) from 3-point range. Several of Pitt's players stepped up in their absence (see chart on page 10).
Pitt snapped its three-game losing streak with a victory over Cincinnati. The three losses all came to nationally ranked teams (Louisville, Notre Dame and Marquette) and marked only the second time that Pitt has lost three consecutive games since Jamie Dixon became head coach in 2003-04. The first three-loss stretch occurred from Feb. 20-26, 2005 (at Villanova, West Virginia, Connecticut). Those two stretches mark the only two times in the last seven seasons and since the 2001-02 season that Pitt dropped three straight games. Dixon also improved to 21-9 after losing a game.
For the second consecutive week, Pitt entered its weekly schedule without a national ranking. Prior to these two weeks, Pitt was ranked in 43 consecutive polls and earned national rankings in 109 of the last 120 national polls. The Panthers are currently listed in the "Also Receiving Votes" category in the Associated Press poll.
At home, Pitt owns a 15-2 record this year and has won 17 of its last 19 home games. Pitt is in its sixth season in the Petersen Events Center and carries an 95-10 all-time record and .905 winning percentage in the building. The .905 winning percentage ranks among the nation's best home court records over the last six years (see chart page 8). Pitt has won 44 of its last 53 Big East home games and is 39-9 against Big East opponents in the Petersen Events Center. Louisville became the first opponent to defeat Pitt two different times in the Petersen Events Center on Feb. 24 (75-73 decision). Pitt also owns a 56-1 record vs. non-conference opponents in the Petersen Events Center. Pitt has also won 77 of its last 78 home games against regular season non-conference opponents.
Pitt enters the game after winning nine of its last 15 contests. It is 9-7 in Big East play after battling back from an 11-point deficit with 3:49 to play to defeat Syracuse at the Carrier Dome. Pitt ended its three-game losing streak with a home win over Cincinnati. The Panthers lost three straight to Louisville (75-73), at Notre Dame (82-70) and at Marquette (72-54). The 18-point loss at Marquette marked Pitt's largest Big East loss since Jamie Dixon became head coach. Prior to that game, Pitt had never lost a Big East regular season road game by more than eight points.
In accumulating its current 21-8 record, Pitt has outscored its opponents by a plus-9.6 margin, outrebounded its opponents by a plus-5.0 margin and has averaged 74.0 points per game.
TODAY'S TOP STORYLINES
•Pitt is in the midst of its school record seventh consecutive 20-win season. Jamie Dixon became the first head coach in school history to guide Pitt to five consecutive 20-win seasons. Pitt is the only school in the Big East to win 20-overall and 10-league games in each of the last six seasons. A win tonight would give Pitt its seventh straight 20/10-win season.
•Pitt and WVU meet for the second time this year. Ronald Ramon's walk-off game-winning 3-pointer gave Pitt a 55-54 win on Feb. 7. The schools meet for the 175th time in series history. Pitt has claimed each of the last four meetings. Pitt has also won four of the last six meetings at WVU.
•With a win, Dixon would become the first Pitt coach in school history to win three games at the WVU Coliseum.
•Over the last six seasons, Pitt has proven to be the Big East's leader in both overall and league winning percentage, consecutive NCAA Tournament appearances (6) and most 20-win, 10-league win seasons (6).
MEDIA INFORMATION
GAME 30: PITT (21-8, 9-7 Big East) at WEST VIRGINIA (20-9, 9-7 Big East)
Monday, March 3, 2008 • 7 p.m. ET • WVU Coliseum (14,000) • Morgantown, W.Va.
Television: ESPN (Sean McDonough, Jay Bilas and Bill Raftery; Producer: Scott Matthews).
Radio: Pitt Panthers/ISP Sports Radio Network (Bill Hillgrove and Dick Groat), 94.5-FM (WWSW), 970 AM (WBGG). Satellite Radio: Sirius Channel 107 (West Virginia feed); ISP Sports National Broadcast (Andy Demetra and John Celestand).
Internet Broadcast/Live Stats: www.pittsburghpanthers.com
The Coaches: Pitt: Jamie Dixon, 9th year at Pitt, 5th year as head coach (126-38); West Virginia: Bob Huggins, 1st year at WVU (20-9), 26th year overall (610-220).
Rankings: Pitt: unranked; West Virginia: unranked.
Series: The schools meet for the 175th time. West Virginia leads the all-time series 92-82 but Pitt has won four straight games. Pitt has won four of the last six meetings in Morgantown.
