Big East : Pittsburgh in control of Big East, but Dixon sees room for growth
The coaches in the Big East know Pittsburgh’s place atop the conference standings. They know about the Panthers’ zoo-like fans and acknowledge how important a game — and how valuable a win — can be against them.
Villanova’s Jay Wright called Pittsburgh a ‘great’ team. Connecticut’s Jim Calhoun said it is a team that stands out from the others in the conference. Notre Dame’s Mike Brey said his team’s win against them is worthy of a ‘jewel.’
But Pitt head coach Jamie Dixon isn’t quite ready to crown his guys the best of the Big East just yet.
‘I think we’re a good team,’ Dixon said in the Big East coaches’ teleconference on Feb. 3. ‘I think we’ve got a lot of room to improve, and that’s what we’re working on. We’re not where we need to be, and we understand that.’
‘Parity’ is the best word to describe this Big East season, but there has been one team that has somehow managed to rise above the rest: Pittsburgh. The Panthers, at 23-2 overall and 11-1 in the Big East, are the only team in the conference to have just one Big East loss. They’ve won their conference games by an average of 11.3 points, with their lone slipup coming against a Top 10 team in Notre Dame.
The Fighting Irish (21-4, 10-3 Big East) is also the next closest team to the Panthers in the standings. But they have two more losses in conference.
After the Fighting Irish beat Pitt 56-51 on Jan. 24 and showed them the realities of losing in the Big East, Notre Dame head coach Mike Brey recognized the importance of the win.
‘I know it counts as one win, but we all know math-wise it could count a lot more,’ Brey said in the Big East coaches’ teleconference on Feb. 3. ‘We’ve had some really good wins to date but nothing like that one. It could be a jewel on the resume.’
The Panthers, whose other loss came to then-No. 13 Tennessee in early December, already have three wins over Top 10 teams. The most recent of those wins came on Feb. 12 against Villanova, a game in which Pitt was without its top scorer in Ashton Gibbs.
Though Gibbs leads the way, Pitt doesn’t have a standout player in the true sense of the words. But it has the right players to fit specific roles, especially in the passing game. Great ball movement and contributions from multiple players have led the team to their No. 4 ranking. Dixon praised Lamar Patterson, Brad Wanamaker and Nasir Robinson for their feel for the game.
‘I think that’s the thing that all three of those guys have in common, they’re all great passers,’ Dixon said. ‘We find that if they can pass, they have a little bit better understanding of the game, and their versatility comes with that.’
Wanamaker has flown under the radar for Dixon’s squad this season, but Dixon knows the importance the guard has on the team. Not picked for any of the preseason All-Big East teams, Wanamaker has averaged 12.6 points per game and also contributes five rebounds and assists per game.
‘He creates shots for so many different guys,’ Dixon said. ‘He has the ability to get in the lane, he can get other guys’ shots, he can finish on his own, he can shoot the ball.
‘His numbers rebounding-wise are high for a guard, so he’s very versatile.’
And in a league as tough as the Big East, the Panthers — a team full of unsung heroes — seem to be the one team that hasn’t lost its winning ways. When teams like Syracuse have lost four straight conference games, when Georgetown starts its Big East season 1-4 and when Villanova has a 2-4 stretch, Pitt remains consistent.
Other than the Notre Dame loss, Pitt has managed to stay unscathed in conference play.
‘Pittsburgh has made the separation of probably being a one seed,’ Calhoun said in the Big East coaches’ teleconference on Feb. 3.
Though ‘parity’ is the word that stands out, the Panthers don’t seem to care. True enough, they’ve had close games — a three-point win against Big East bottom-feeder Rutgers on Jan. 29 — but they find a way to win just about every single time.
And with six Big East games left, there are plenty more opportunities for the wins to slip away from Pitt. But if they keep up the pace that has set them apart from the other Big East teams this season, they could get a No. 1 seed come NCAA Tournament time.
But Dixon continues to stay levelheaded. He knows his team must stay focused every night in this conference.
‘We’re trying to get better on both the offensive side and the defensive side,’ Dixon said. ‘We need to improve.’
