Big East Sports Blog

That huge thud we just heard in the background is the sound of the Panthers crashing back to earth, courtesy of the Dayton.

The Flyers handed Pittsburgh a big slice of humble pie on Saturday night, as Dayton crushed No. 6 Pittsburgh in convincing fashion 80-55.  Pittsburgh’s first loss of the year puts them at 11-1.  It was the perfect storm for the Panthers.  On the road in enemy territory.  Hostile crowd firmly behind the home team.  Pitt riding high on their victory of Duke.  Oh, and the fact that the Panthers couldn’t shoot a lick on this night didn’t help matter either.

Pittsburgh only shot 30 percent from the field, thanks largely to Dayton’s stingy perimeter defense.  The Flyers strangled Pittsburgh’s offense, not allowing the Panthers any easy cracks at the basket, forcing them into numerous long, contested shots and limiting Pitt to many one and done offensive possessions.  The most alarming stat on the night for Pittsburgh was their three point shooting; it was nothing short of terrible.  The Panthers shot 3-for-25 from three point range, good for just 12 percent. 

This night belonged to the Dayton Flyers and Brian Roberts.  The Panthers had zero answers for Roberts, as he poured in a game-high 31 points, 19 coming in the first half.  12 of his 19 first half points came in a span of 3:19.  The Flyers went to the glass like a team on a mission, outrebounding Pittsburgh 41-34.

As if the night for Pittsburgh couldn’t get any worse, now they may be without their leader and the guy that makes things go for Pitt.  Levance Fields went down early in the second half with an ankle injury.  He had to helped off the field into the locker room and did not return.  He scored 13 points before leaving the game.

Sam Young led the Panthers with 15 points.  DeJuan Blair was limited to nine points and six rebounds.  Blair was coming off his best game of the year, a 15 point-20 rebound night against Duke.  Foul trouble in the first half limited Blair’s production and he was never able to get himself into a rhythm.  Speaking of not being able to get into a rhythm, it was a night to forget to Ronald Ramon.  Ramon missed all eight shots he took tonight.  He didnt’ have a good night in the win against Duke, shooting one-for-seven in that contest.  Collectively, Ramon is now 1-for-15 from the field in his last two games.

The Flyers largest lead of the night was 20, up 60-40 with about eight minutes to play.  The held a 12 point lead at halftime 45-33.  For the second straight game the Panthers went into the break trailing by 12 points.  They were fortunate to find their energy and toughness against Duke in the second half, but tonight they just didn’t have it.

Pittsburgh played about as poorly as they possibly could have played this season.  What head coach Jamie Dixon and company have to be concerned about is they have not played well in three of the last four halves of basketball in the past two games.  Easy baskets have been extremely difficult to come by the last two games.  Shooting 30 percent from the field isn’t going to cut it against the Big East and certainly when you’re attempting 25 threes and only hitting on three of them, Pittsburgh won’t beat themselves in a shoot around practice, let alone the likes of Villanova, Marquette, or Georgetown.

Alot of credit goes to Dayton on this night.  They simply wanted this one more than Pittsburgh did.  They used a raucous home crowd and hitched their wagon to Brian Roberts.  Pitt allowed him a plethora of open looks and he made the Panthers pay for their defensive lapses all night.  The win makes it ten in a row now for the Flyers (11-1).

Pittsburgh will have one final chance to regroup and get back on the winning track before they head in Big East play.  They’ll host Lafayette on Jan. 2nd before a huge match-up with Villanova on Sunday, Jan. 6th to kick start conference play.