Big Lead Sports Bar

11/16/2009

PITT-BINGHAMTON PART OF 24-HOUR HOOPS MARATHON



ESPN is running an ambitious event on Tuesday featuring 24 straight hours of live college basketball, and the Pitt Panthers will be part of the festivities.

The 1-0 Panthers have a rare 5:30 start for their contest with Binghamton on Tuesday night, and Andy Katz did not have many kind things to say about their opponent in his "24 things for the 24-hour marathon" article:
14. The imploding program: Binghamton. This almost feels like slowing down to see the damage left by a wreck on the side of the road. After six of the Bearcats' best players (who accounted for 89 percent of the scoring) were thrown off the team in September, just three bodies remain of the defending America East champs, and the roster includes six walk-ons. Former Temple star Mark Macon got his first win as interim coach when the Bearcats beat Division II Bloomsburg 54-49 on Saturday. But trying to beat Pitt at 5:30 p.m. on ESPN2 is a different story.
Hopefully Pitt can have a better showing than they did on Friday, when they edged mighty Wofford by three points. I'm still trying to get over that in my mind. But playing a team that's being compared to a car wreck is a good starting point. If you ever wanted to see how six walk-ons from Binghamton can fare against a Big East power, this is the game for you.

Once again, Pitt will have to manage without the suspended Gilbert Brown and the injured Jermaine Dixon, who is at least two games away from re-joining his teammates. If Jamie Dixon uses the same lineup as he did on Friday, it will be Gary McGhee at center, Nasir Robinson at power forward, Brad Wanamaker at small forward, Travon Woodall at the point and Ashton Gibbs at shooting guard.

Tuesday's TV spotlight will undoubtedly be shining on freshman phenom Dante Taylor, who also landed on Katz's list of things to watch on Tuesday:
15. The next DeJuan Blair: Dante Taylor, Pitt. Taylor has the physique but doesn't muster the Blair effort just yet. He scored 13 points and grabbed five boards in Pitt's comeback win over Wofford on Friday night. The Panthers will need a consistent effort out of Taylor.
Freshmen seem to be faring pretty well at Pitt these days, with Dion Lewis, LeSean McCoy, and Dejuan Blair as recent examples. If Taylor's freshman campaign can land in the same ballpark as the first seasons of any of those young men, Pitt has a chance to make some noise this year despite the loss of so much talent in the off-season.

Here is the full schedule for those of you with an extra 24 hours to kill. If you're awake for Northern Colorado-Hawaii at 4 AM, you're a bigger college hoops fan than I.
  • 12:05 am Cal State Fullerton at UCLA
  • 2:00 am San Diego State at Saint Mary’s – RTC Live Simulcast
  • 4:00 am Northern Colorado at Hawaii
  • 6:00 am Monmouth at St. Peter’s
  • 8:00 am Drexel at Niagara
  • 10:00 am Clemson at Liberty
  • 12:00 pm Northeastern at Siena
  • 2:00 pm Arkansas-Little Rock at Tulsa
  • 4:00 pm Temple at Georgetown
  • 5:30 pm Binghamton at Pittsburgh (ESPN2)
  • 7:30 pm Arkansas at Louisville (ESPN2) – RTC Live Simulcast
  • 8:00 pm Gonzaga at Michigan State
  • 9:00 pm Duquesne at Iowa (ESPNU)
  • 10:00 pm Memphis at Kansas – RTC Live Simulcast
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1 comment:

NickDawg said...

The Pitt vs Tony Kornheisers game will be a nice treat to watch right after the work day. Looking forward to it!

I went to the opeing game against Wofford and Pitt looked absolutely horrible. Despite Mcghee's end of the game heroics, the man had at least 6 rebounds go thru his arms when he was the biggest guy out there by far.

Taylor had some bright spots but he could definitly improve on the hustle factor. He got beat down the floor numnerous times and looked lazy at times. He should turn out to be a good one when all said in done though once he imporoves on those things, the talent is there.

As much as wannamaker iritated me last yr with his krauser like out of control antics at times, he will be the go to guy down the stretch if the wofford game is any indication of what is yet to come. He looked way better than he has since he got to Pitt and stepped up and scored when we needed him the most.

GO PITT!