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Team: Pittsburgh
Region: East
Last Weekend: Defeated No. 16 East Tennessee State 72-62, defeated No. 8
Oklahoma State 84-76
Next Game: vs. No. 4 Xavier, 7:27 Friday
How Pitt Got Here: By simply surviving and advancing. Thought to be one of
the most fundamentally sound and mentally tough teams in the tourney, no top
team was tested quite like the Panthers during the opening weekend. The
Panthers needed a full 40 minutes to dispatch of both ETSU and Oklahoma State,
while most Pitt fans - and maybe even the players and coaches - had already
made travel arraignments for Boston. Call it overlooking lesser opponents,
call it nerves, call it laziness if want, but it doesn't really matter at this point. The
name of the game is survival. The Panthers survived.
What the Sweet 16 Means to the Panthers: Relief. Making the Sweet 16 is
old hat at Pitt: The Panthers have reached this round five of the past eight
seasons. The trio of Sam Young, DuJuan Blair and Levance Fields has set a new
bar of excellence in the Steel City with this season's remarkable run to the top of the polls. Just
reaching the Sweet 16 isn't going to cut it with this group. I'd say it's Final
Four or bust.
Chances to Reach The Flaming Tire Final Four: Fairly high. At the very least, the Panthers are the favorites
in Beantown. X's defense could pose problems for both Fields and Young on the perimeter,
but the Muskies don't have the bodies to stop Blair and who knows if they'll
hold on to the ball or not. The Panthers will also have to like their size advantage
in either a match-up with Duke or Nova (even if the Cats beat them earlier in the
season). The time is now for Pitt basketball. Let's see if they step up the challenge.
Original Story:
http://stormingthefloor.net/2009/03/t...
Original Story:
http://stormingthefloor.net/2009/03/t...
