Ashton Gibbs and the Pittsburgh Panthers were able to do what no other team has done this season.
Beat Syracuse.
Gibbs drained 6 of 9 3-pointers and scored a game-high 24 points to lead Pitt to an 82-72 win over the No. 5 Orange at the Carrier Dome.
Syracuse had been the Big East’s highest-ranked and most impressive team, routing Cal and defending NCAA champ North Carolina, and also beating Florida.
Many, including myself, believed this might be a down year for Pitt, which lost Levance Fields, Tyrell Biggs, Sam Young and DeJuan Blair to the pros.
But Jamie Dixon’s team has now won five straight and five of six against Top 5 teams.
Also, Pitt (12-2, 2-0 Big East) has now beaten Syracuse (13-1, 1-1) the last four times it has visited the Carrier Dome.
Pitt is the Big East’s top defensive team at 55.9 points per game.
With the return of Jermaine Dixon (21 points), Pitt has some more experience in the backcourt, allowing redshirt freshman Travon Woodall to come off the bench.
Meanwhile, Gibbs, a sophomore out of Seton Hall Prep, is quietly emerging as one of the best shooters in the Big East, along with Jeremy Hazell and Jamel Jackson of Seton Hall, Andy Rautins of Syracuse and Mike Rosario of Rutgers.
(AP contributed)
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PittGrad91 / January 3, 2010
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PittGrad91 / January 3, 2010
Now that Pitt has Jermaine Dixon and Gilbert Brown back, the team is more formiddable. There isn’t the continuity and senior leadership/experience there has been in past years, but there is still talent.
With Dixon and Brown back, maybe the team will gel better now. How fast Dante Taylor comes along will be a big key and he did very well today. Pitt will definitely bite some times this year but they’ll probably throw up a clunker or two as well.
As for today’s game, let’s not forget to credit the coach. Say what you want, but Jamie Dixon outcoached Boeheim today. And it isn’t the first time.
If I were a recruit considering the Big East, I’d rather play for the up and coming (still), hungry Panther program than the aging Boeheim. 😉
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Avaricious / January 3, 2010
-Pitt joins LeMoyne as being the only team to defeat the Cuse.
-It’s difficult to consider a 31% three-point shooter as one of the best shooters in the Big East. Personally, Hazell is much more of a scorer than a shooter.
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