Big East battle in Steel City
GAME NOTES: A couple of disappointing Big East Conference programs get together this afternoon in the Steel City, as the Pittsburgh Panthers entertain the Villanova Wildcats at the Petersen Events Center.
Both teams are being swallowed up by the rest of the league and they are now tied in the standings at a mere 3-7, which puts them in the bottom fourth of the conference heading into action this weekend. While Villanova wasn't expected to be a major player in the Big East this year, it was just the opposite for the Panthers, but that was before the team ran into a lengthy eight-game slide that began with a setback versus Wagner, of all schools, back on December 23.
More recently, the Panthers appear to have gotten back on track with three consecutive victories, the latest coming on January 30 in a 72-66 final versus West Virginia in Morgantown.
As for the Wildcats, a group which is just 1-6 in true road games this season, the team has been out of action since last Saturday when it bowed to nationally-ranked Marquette by a score of 82-78. The loss was the second in a row after 'Nova had enjoyed its first two-game win streak since November with victories over Seton Hall and St. John's.
The Panthers won the most recent meeting last season by a score of 60-50, which means Pitt has won three in a row versus the Wildcats and has drawn to within two games of tying the all-time series, currently favoring Villanova at 32-30.
The Wildcats cost themselves a potential upset win versus Marquette at the Wells Fargo Center in Philadelphia last weekend when they turned the ball over 20 times and failed to capitalize on the fact that the Golden Eagles shot just 38.5 percent from the floor. JayVaughn Pinkston led the offense for the hosts with 17 points, Dominic Cheek added 16 and James Bell tallied 13 points and five rebounds. Before fouling out, Maalik Wayns tacked on 12 points but was charged with six turnovers, while Maurice Sutton made a significant contribution off the bench with 11 points, 10 boards, three steals and a couple of blocked shots in 22 minutes of action. Wayns, who has now fouled out three times this season, leads the team in both scoring (18.4 ppg) and assists (101), while Cheek checks in with 12.4 ppg even though he is shooting less than 38 percent from the floor. Mouphtaou Yarou (11.1 ppg) gives the team a presence on the glass with his 8.0 rpg, but he has yet to establish himself as a shot-blocking threat with just 13 rejections in 22 starts.
For just the second time in his career, Tray Woodall scored at least 20 points in a game and this time it proved to be crucial as he helped lead the Panthers to a six-point win over WVU on the road earlier this week. Woodall finished with 24 points, followed by Ashton Gibbs who tallied 15 points for a team that shot only 3-of-10 behind the three-point line, and a modest 46.2 percent from the floor overall. Even though the season has not played out as well as Pittsburgh would have liked, the team is still getting guidance from Gibbs who is leading the group in scoring with 16.4 ppg, and is the most productive three-point threat on the roster with 57 conversions -- more than twice the number as his closest teammate. Nasir Robinson (12.4 ppg), who along with Gibbs is the only player to have started every game this year, accounts for a team-high 6.6 rpg, as the Panthers easily handle the competition in the paint with a rebounding edge of almost 10 per contest.
As long as the Panthers take care of business down low, creating their own second-chance opportunities and limiting those of Villanova, this meeting should belong to the hosts.
