Pittsburgh’s astonishing run to an 18-4 record truly began in Madison Square Garden last March 10 when the bruised and exhausted Panthers squad, which had won three games in three days, finally relented to Boston College midway through the second half of the Big East championship game.
No team had ever won four Big East Tournament games before, and Pittsburgh was only the second team to play in a fourth, yet it led by 11 at one time in the first half. The scrappy Eagles clawed back before exploding on a 19-0 run with 12:36 left in the game, thus ending the sort of team-of-destiny mystique which had crept around the Panthers during their tear through Miami, Notre Dame and Syracuse.
That is, it ended their chance at being 2001’s team of destiny.
Pittsburgh already took care of Boston College, beating the Eagles at Chestnut Hill on Jan. 5 and handing them their first loss of the season. Since, BC is in a tailspin and the Panthers have rocketed to first place in the Big East’s western division.
Pittsburgh jumped into the national polls last week at No. 25, then moved up four spots with wins over Georgetown and the No. 10 Orangemen.
“Last week’s performances were impressive examples of why Ben Howland should be a candidate for national Coach of the Year,” said ESPN analyst Dick Vitale. “His Panthers took care of business against Syracuse. Pittsburgh followed up with another double-figure win over Georgetown. Howland’s team has relied heavily on solid defense; the Panthers held the Hoyas to 5-of-28 shooting in the second half.”
Howland’s defense has been huge, holding opponents to 57.3 points per game, particularly by forcing poor three-point shooting and collectively dominating the boards. The Panthers out-rebounded Syracuse 43-18 with just one player failing to gather in the ball after a missed shot–and only a single player, Jaron Brown, in double figures for boards.
But, despite leading a team second in scoring defense only to Cincinnati, Howland, who came to Pittsburgh from Northern Arizona, has always been known for his offensive genius. In his first season, the Panthers won 13 games and improved in field goal shooting, free throws, assists and particular three-point percentage. The highlight of that year was Ricardo Greer scoring in droves, but the Panthers were under .500.
Now, without a single star player, let alone a top-100 recruit, Pittsburgh is soaring and everyone has his role. Brown, who is only 6-foot-4 but also 239 pounds, is the leading rebounder. Brandin Knight fields the scoring load, if one can call it that, at 16.0 points per game while also turning the ball over at a ratio to his assists of less than half.
Donatas Zavackas cleans up along the baseline while Julius Page is a tenacious defender and Chad Johnson is deadly from three in a limited role.
The one perceived weakness is the Panthers’ lack of depth, particularly a playmaker to ignite the team if someone disappears, but Howland is not worried.
“Don’t underestimate these guys,” Howland told the Charlotte Gazette. “We have some talented kids. I can’t say enough about our personnel. When you’re 18-4, you have to have good players.”
The junior Knight, who, like his brother Brevin, who plays for the NBA’s Memphis Grizzlies, was overlooked by Seton Hall despite attending the university’s prep school, has been the closest thing to a star. Knight put up 20 points in the win over BC that put Pittsburgh on the map, but was mediocre in another big win against Ohio State and disappeared in a double-overtime loss to Miami.
The team appeared to lose some concentration when it caught the nation’s attention by losing two quick Big East matchups before recovering to reach the polls, but then lost to Notre Dame last night.
Howland will have to continue to challenge the Panthers, but Pittsburgh has won 23 of its last 29 including the hot stretch at the end of last year and this time any late momentum is sure to carry over to the NCAA tournament.
