It’s nothing new for Pitt to knock off top ten opponents at the Peterson Event Center, but this victory was a little different than ones in years past. The victory over Providence Wednesday was a big positive and ended the 8-game death spiral, but it’s far from a signal that Pitt is back. Saturday’s victory over a #10 Georgetown team that owns victories over four top twenty-five was another big step towards a return to respectability. Although positive, this is far from a final indication that Pitt is ready to compete with the Big East or national elite.
Offensively, Pitt has displayed an unhealthy reliance on jump shooting from outside the arc. That game plan is fine when your team is full of sharp shooters like Duke, but Pitt doesn’t have the consistent shooting accuracy to pull it off. On Saturday the inside game was clicking, which was especially important because the outside game was MIA. Lucky for Pitt, Georgetown spent most of the first half imitating Shaq shooting free throws. With about five minutes to go Pitt had held the Hoyas to eleven points building a 27-11 lead. A late surge by Georgetown closed the gap and the half ended with Pitt holding a 33-22 advantage. Travon Woodall looked healthy and confident running an offense that featured solid performances by Nasir Robinson, Lamar Patterson, and Talib Zanna. Dante Taylor was invisible even by his standards.
The second half featured solid play and hot shooting by both teams. The misfiring Georgetown squad from the first half was long gone and it took huge performances by Nasir Robinson and Lamar Patterson, scoring fifteen and nine points respectively, for Pitt to maintain their lead and hold on for the win. A few weeks ago it would have seemed impossible to get a quality win or any win at all with Ashton Gibbs only scoring 13 points, but with Woodall setting things up, the offense had a clear direction and was able to knock down open shots. Woodall finished with 10 assists. His ball handling and ball distribution made up for his struggles shooting the ball.
An interesting take away from this game was Jamie Dixon’s heavy reliance on the starting five. It’s unclear if this was because of the bench’s lack of production or if the bench failed to produce because of their limited minutes. In the end the bench accounted for only six points in 40 minutes. The lack of playmakers and players that can score off the dribble is going to make Pitt have to shoot well to be able to compete with quality teams. Up next Pitt will visit the Coliseum in Morgantown to face a solid West Virginia team. If Pitt can beat WVU, they have three winnable games against fellow Big East bottom feeders Villanova, South Florida, and Seton Hall.
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