Pitt exited the NCAA tournament not with a whimper, not with a bang, but with a clang. As in clang, clang, clang. As in a whole bunch of bricks thrown off metal. Pitt's problem wasn't that white men can't jump. Guards who can't shoot did the damage in the Sweet 16.

Pitt spent the season playing as a true team. The whole was greater than the sum of the parts.

But then selfishness entered the picture in the persons of Julius Page and Carl Krauser. And coach Jamie Dixon did nothing to stop it. These are the goats of Pitt's shabby play throughout the postseason and of the disappointing elimination Thursday at the hands of Oklahoma State.

Page long ago declared himself the go-to guy at crunch time. When it arrived, he was determined to follow through on his prediction. Acting on advice from former Panthers guard Brandin Knight, Page followed up a subpar offensive showing in the regular season by hoisting up shot after shot in the NCAA tournament. He was 2 for 11 on field-goal tries against Oklahoma State.

Pitt's fate couldn't have been put in worse -- or less accurate -- hands. Page made nine of 38 shots from the field in the NCAA. That's a pitiful 24 percent. He averaged about 10 shots per game in the regular season. In the NCAA tournament, he took almost 13 per game

The idea that Page should shoot crucial shots -- or more shots -- in the NCAA was absurd. Yet Dixon let him. It was a rookie mistake by the coach. Or maybe Dixon -- who doubtless grew close to many of his current players when he was an assistant -- just didn't have the heart to rein in Page.

Dixon also let Krauser stray from his usual job. Krauser played most of the campaign as a true point guard. His job was to make his teammates better. It was a job he did well.

Near the end of the regular season, Krauser changed. Maybe it was because Pitt's big men started fumbling passes underneath the basket, most notably in a home loss Feb. 29 to Syracuse. Maybe it was because the Big East tournament was in New York's Madison Square Garden, where Krauser showed off for his homeys from the Bronx, then never stopped. For whatever reason, Krauser went from point guard to opera singer.

"Me-me-me-me-me-me-me-me-me!" His main focus became making himself look good.

It worked -- sort of. Krauser hit some big shots and had some big games, including 22 points in a memorable triumph March 2 at Providence and 20 points in the first-round NCAA win against Central Florida.

Pitt's offense, however, became a shambles. Krauser usually dribbled away 25 seconds of the shot clock, then tried to hastily create something. Krauser lost faith in his big men underneath. They, in turn, grew tired of working to get open when the ball was not forthcoming. That frustration boiled over when Jaron Brown screamed at Krauser during a timeout in Pitt's second-round win against Wisconsin.

When Krauser tried to make himself look better, almost everyone else looked worse. He imploded Thursday, hitting just six of 17 field goals to go along with four turnovers and three assists. Krauser had just seven assists in three NCAA tournament games.

It's true that opposing defenses started collapsing on Pitt after Syracuse provided the model in the aforementioned victory at the Petersen Events Center. Apologists for Page and Krauser ask, "Well, what other options were there?"

Presented now, in order of perceived preference, Pitt's offensive options:

1.) Run their half-court offense from the outside in, letting Krauser make all the decisions.

2.) Run their half-court offense from the inside out occasionally, getting the ball down low early in the shot clock and letting guys like Brown and Chevon Troutman make the occasional decision.

3.) Run. Get the ball off the boards and fastbreak. Pitt ran liberally in landmark routs at Syracuse and Providence this season.

4.) Shoot from the outside. This obviously was Pitt's worst option. Look at the shooting percentages of those who shoot from the outside. Page shot 37 percent on the year, Krauser 40 percent.

The first option didn't work. So Pitt inexplicably went straight to its worst option.

It's ironic that what had been such a cohesive team came up short while super-serving ego.

There was no evidence to suggest that Page had to score more for Pitt to win, but we heard it said over and over again, mostly by Page. Krauser's regression wasn't as surprising given his reputation as a street-baller. But Page was the picture of unselfishness all season, playing hard defense and giving 110 percent even as his offensive game tanked. Suddenly, he just had to shoot. Just had to.

This isn't to suggest that playing even a perfect game would have gotten Pitt past Oklahoma State. The Cowboys are a superior team and proved such.

But playing team-style basketball on offense while choosing the proper options would have given Pitt a much better chance and, at worst, would have provided a more respectable exit. No whimper, and no clang.