First off, congratulations to Pittsburgh. You’ve been in seven of the last eight Big East Championships, and now you have two wins. You’re a lot better than most people think you are. A healthy Levance Fields changes everything, and DeJuan Blair is a monster.

Here are my main questions after tonight:

1. Now that Pittsburgh overachieved in the Big East Tourney, can they get over the hump in NCAA tournament play? Can they get past the Sweet Sixteen for the first time since 1974, and into the Final Four for the first time since 1941? They’ve been a mainstay in the Big East and national picture for the last 10 years or so. Is this their year to get over the hump?
2. If DeJuan Blair was white, would he get the same love that Kevin Love gets? Honestly, the media adores Kevin Love just as much as they do good ole boys like Peyton Manning and Brett Favre. But I think DeJuan Blair is just as good.
3. Will Patrick Ewing, Jr. be a second round draft pick? I think yes. He has a lot of potential.
4. Why does Patrick Ewing Jr. have a “Ewing, Jr.” on the back of his jersey (this was what I was getting at last year). His last name is Ewing, not “Ewing, Jr.”, and there are no other Ewings on the team. Bizarre.

   Categories: Commentary, Georgetown, donald, Pittsburgh
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Monday’s heroes are Joe Alexander and Tom Crean.

Joe Alexander tied a career high with 32 points. I was totally wrong (as usual). He showed up big time and West Virginia dominated Pittsburgh 76-62. A few of the pundits have Pittsburgh in no matter what, but I don’t buy that. If that’s really the case and if WVU wins two more games, it would be wrong for the Big East to get any less than seven teams into the tournament: Louisville, G’town, UConn, ND, Marquette, Pittsburgh, and West Virginia. That would be awesome.

Highlights of the WVU-Pitt game, courtesy of ESPN.

And a few links from the blogosphere: The Mountain Top, and Pitt Blather.

Why is Tom Crean a hero? Look who Marquette is playing Tuesday: Florida Gulf Coast, currently 10-20 (and 6-10 in the Atlantic Sun conference). Why schedule a gimme game so late? Charles Rich breaks it down for us: Tom Crean scheduled a game in March against Florida Gulf Coast to game the system on the “last 10 games.”. And for that, Tom Crean is our hero.

Categories: Commentary, donald, Pittsburgh, West Virginia
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• The Marquette-Georgetown game this weekend was one of the best Big East games all season long (we’ve had a ton this year). Much sympathy to Big Willie who was forced over to the Florida game. Big play after big play from both teams. If you have a few minutes in your day, watch the clips below — it’s a condensed version of the end of regulation.

  Georgetown down 57-59 with 1:27 left. This happens:
  

  
  
  
  On the next play…
  
  
  
  Burke misses the free-throw, so its Marquette 61, Georgetown 59, when Hibbert makes a great pass to a cutting Ewing…
  
  
  
  Ewing makes 1 of 2 free throws, and Georgetown fouls Wes Matthews of Marquette, who makes both free throws. At this point, the score is Marquette 63, Georgetown 60. Then this:
  
  
  
  My take: he did get fouled, Jonathan Wallace sold the foul really well…but that was like the fourth straight call that Georgetown got in a row.

  More links from the blogosphere: Cracked Sidewalks, Hoya Saxa, and AOL FanHouse, where Charles Rich breaks out the truth:

  You know, some people will say that Georgetown has something magical happening very quietly. Others will say that they are just getting some incredible luck/breaks/calls by the refs that have to go the other way at some point.

  I can understand both views, but I’m leaning towards luck issue. Not that it can’t carry them pretty far. Not that they the Hoyas didn’t put themselves in the position to win those games. Not that Georgetown is a bad team or isn’t capable of winning a lot of games in March without getting things to fall their way. It’s just that the Big East play has been exceptional in the bounces going Georgetown’s way.

  Whether it was the block/goaltend call at West Virginia; a last second “foul” that 9 times out of 10 would be a no-call; and now getting a 3-point foul called in the final seconds Georgetown has had the late calls go in their favor.

  Not to give myself credit here, but my Duke-Georgetown theory is really holding up.

• This weekend, Syracuse was the anti-Georgetown, and Georgetown the anti-Syracuse. Georgetown somehow won a game they totally didn’t deserve to win (see Jonathan Wallace getting “fouled” at the end of regulation above, as well as . Syracuse, on the other hand, found a way to lose a game to Pittsburgh in which they were up by 11 with less than 4 minutes to go.
• One thing that has always amazed me about Georgetown is their ability to use the last 10 seconds of the shot clock as effectively as the first 10 seconds (or any other 10 seconds, on the other hand). Coach Thompson must run some sort of drill to ensure that they don’t freak out with the shot clock expiring. More often than not, they get a backdoor pass or an open three in the last few seconds, something that is utterly devastating to the defense.
• West Virginia still has no quality win. They could have gotten one this weekend against UConn, but fell behind early. Monday’s WVU-Pitt game will be an absolute must for both teams. The winner of that game makes the NCAAs. The Big East may be the biggest, baddest conference out there, but they aren’t sending 7 teams to the big dance. Monday’s matchup will be something to watch. Mark my words: Joe Alexander will disappear. Why? I’ll be watching the game. He is one of those players that suck so hard when I’m watching, but put up big games when I’m not (such as his 32 point outburst against UConn this weekend).

Categories: Commentary, BlogWatch, Georgetown, donald, Pittsburgh, Syracuse, West Virginia, Marquette, Postseason
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The bubble analogy is at best acceptable. I wouldn’t miss it when something else takes its place. If soap has to be involved, I’d rather picture cagers trying to climb a slope doused in soap than see them as either (1) a bubble itself, (2) sitting “on a bubble,” or (3) trying to keep a bubble from floating into something sharp. The slope evokes how difficult it can be to climb up and how easily one can fall back or out of it.

I’m nervous about the Big East.

Pittsburgh might have the right kind of profile to be snubbed. There’s nothing EVER wrong with beating Duke (Thank you again and again Mr. Maynor, too) - should Wake and Miami dance? - but that can’t be the only bullet point for Pitt to lean on. There’s other good wins, but they’re at home. The road/neutral record is reasonable at 5-6. I’d give them credit for “tough” losses at Marquette and Notre Dame if they’d kept those close. The real danger is if Pitt drops one of their remaining home games. I don’t particularly like their chances at Syracuse or WVU, so a flat performance against Cincinnati or DePaul could easily spell doom in the form of an 8-10 conference record and a 1-6 record to close the season. Even at 9-9, Pitt needs to show something in New York.

West Virginia should have an easier time of it - the stacked schedule is all but gone, leaving three games where they should be favored and a 4th in which close-game karma ought to swing back their way (against UConn). They should come out 11-7, with the superficially impressive 6-2 closing mark. I like their chances a lot better than Pitt’s.

Syracuse has lots of climbing to do (or, if you prefer bubbles, a Kentucky-borne breeze pushed their gossamer sphere awfully close to the dreaded thorn bush today). Their last chance to post a solid road win has come and gone. I think they can defend the dome against Pitt, but it’ll be close. Ditto for Seton Hall on the road and certainly Marquette. Even if they claw back to 9-9, the profile looks suspiciously similar to (and perhaps even worse given the disparity in conference records) last year - nothing good to speak of outside the Carrier Dome. One win against likely tournament teams. It’s just about necessary to run the table.

Villanova has exactly what it needs to have a chance - some momentum already building and a couple marquee matchups coming up. The Big East’s hottest teams are on deck and in the hole. Both Marquette and Louisville have been rolling for some time. Should Nova take one or especially both games, they look completely different. I like their chances to sneak up on one of the big boys in the next week. If they can carry that into a 10-8 finish, it’ll complete their own 6-2 finish to the season.

And that’s about it. I predict seven for the Big East - Syracuse will be left out this year (rightfully this time), West Virginia will cruise in and make me proud by upsetting somebody big, and Villanova will take Pitt’s place (they split a home-and-home this year in case you’re wondering). Cincinnati and Seton Hall, better luck next year.

Categories: Dan'l B, Pittsburgh, Syracuse, West Virginia, Villanova, Postseason
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Aaron Gray is a huge loss. Levon Kendall’s leadership will be missed. Antonio Graves provided consistency in the backcourt. All three are gone, and only Mike Cook and Levance Fields return as starters. Ronald Ramon didn’t start but should be considered a starter with the quality PT he had last season.

Frontcourt - Sam Young (7.2ppg, 3.0rpg) is the leading returner up front. Young showed flashes of brilliance in limited action last year. He should step in to Kendall’s PF position. Young may provide more points than Kendall, but he is nowhere near the pinpoint passer and team leader. Tyrell Biggs (3.2ppg, 1.8rpg) has the biggest shoes to fill. This is where Pitt will be way short of last year. Gray was a bull and great rebounder. The Panthers will be hard pressed to find his replacement. Backing up Young and Biggs are three freshmen. DeJuan Blair will push Young at PF while Gary McGee and Austin Wallace will compete for the starting center position. Junior Cassin Diggs will also see time in the middle. GRADE - C+

Backcourt - The backcourt for the Panthers is in extremely good shape. Although Graves will be missed, leading returning scorer Mike Cook (10.5ppg, 3.4rpg) is solid at the SF position. He needs to shoot more from outside than he did last year. Lavance Fields (9.2ppg, 4.6apg) is at the point. Fields is a gritty, gutsy player whom Pitt fans hope can put his legal problems behind him. Ronald Ramon (8.8ppg, 1.8rpg) can play either guard position. A deadly outside shooter, he was not a starter last year but had quality minutes at crucial times. Keith Benjamin (3.3ppg, 1.5rpg) and frosh Darnell Dodson and Bradley Wanamaker will provide depth here. GRADE - B+

Depth - The Panthers don’t have the experience on the bench that they had last year. Benjamin is the only backup with real BE experience under his belt. Diggs joins from the JUCO ranks. The rest are all talented but only freshmen. GRADE - C-

Outlook - The Panthers have a good backcourt and not much up front. The bench won’t help all that much early in the season. But they do have an excellent coach in Jamie Dixon who will get the most from his troops. If Fields can stay out of trouble they will have a chance to compete with the top 5 in the conference. If not, they will be in the lower middle of the pack. GRADE - C+

Categories: Commentary, Contributors, Pittsburgh, Coach O
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