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Tuesday, February 06, 2001

The assumption the Pitt men's basketball team is going to a postseason tournament for the first time in four years?

Forget about it.

That doesn't mean it won't happen. The only good news from Pitt's embarrassing no-show against Georgetown last night is the 81-67 defeat counts as only one loss. The Panthers still are 12-9, still are a barely respectable 4-6 in the Big East Conference. Any realistic hope of the NCAA tournament is gone, but the NIT is possible. Maybe that isn't saying much. All it will take is a winning overall record. But Pitt will sign for it right now. Believe it, this morning, Pitt will sign in blood.

"It would be a great thing for this program, but it's not going to be an easy thing to accomplish by any means," Pitt Coach Ben Howland said.

It's about all Pitt has to shoot for.

"Being 4-6 in the conference, the NCAAs probably aren't a strong possibility unless we're able to pull off a sweep in the Big East tournament," Howland said.

A lot of us assumed the Panthers were a lock for at least the NIT after they opened a three-game homestand and pushed that record to 12-7 with an impressive 17-point win against West Virginia Wednesday night. The players probably did. Then, Notre Dame blew in and won, 75-67, Saturday night. Then, Georgetown got here and, well, what happened last night in the first half is almost too obscene for a family newspaper. The final score doesn't even remotely indicate how ugly the game was. Pitt had no clue against Georgetown's big inside people, who "seemed to score at will in the first half," Howland said. The Hoyas led, 42-22, at the break. It's safe to say there was no traffic jam leaving Fitzgerald Field House.

Call it a painful life lesson.

Never assume anything.

Now, Pitt must go on the road to play West Virginia, Rutgers and Seton Hall. Do you think maybe West Virginia will want to get even Thursday night for that loss here? Rutgers is next on Sunday. It's coming off a win against Seton Hall -- its first Big East win of the season -- and will have eight days of rest. The game at Seton Hall is Feb. 15. Do you think there's any chance it hasn't forgotten its 77-65 loss Jan. 13 at Pitt?

Four of Pitt's final six games before the Big East tournament are away.

Howland is right. There are no guarantees for a winning record. Certainly, there are none after the way Pitt played against Georgetown.

"A disappointing effort in the first half," Howland said. "I thought they flat-out played harder than we did. I can't ever remember saying that since I've been here.

"I thought we competed much better in the second half. That's the way we can compete. But it's tough to get down against a good team by 20 points and expect to make it up."

Yes, Pitt ran into No. 15 Georgetown on a bad night. Apparently, the Hoyas took great offense to Pitt's 70-66 win Jan. 20 at the MCI Center, their first loss of the season after 16 consecutive wins ...

How did that happen, by the way?

And yes, Pitt caught a tough break against a very good Notre Dame team when Ricky Greer's bad back acted up. It isn't going to beat many teams with Greer, about 50 percent, playing only in the second half.

But a good team -- a postseason team -- finds a way to win at least one of those games, especially at home. Pitt couldn't. It was a shame, really. There was a great crowd each night. The Panthers gave them no reason to get excited.

Pitt's inconsistency is maddening. It had that great win against Seton Hall, then went to Notre Dame and lost by 16. It beat Georgetown at Georgetown, then lost by 16 at Providence. It blew out West Virginia, then played poorly against Notre Dame and Georgetown.

There is more.

Donatas Zavackas played well against Notre Dame Saturday night and had 22 points. He didn't take a shot in the first half last night and had two points at halftime.

Julius Page was a threat every time he touched the ball against Notre Dame and scored 18 points. He made 1 of 3 shots in the first half last night and had two points at halftime.

Brandin Knight provided most of Pitt's first-half offense against Georgetown, scoring 12 of its first 19 points. He was scoreless against Notre Dame.

If we think the inconsistency is maddening, imagine how Howland feels.

"It's frustrating, no question," he said.

It could end up costing Pitt that postseason bid.

Frustrating wouldn't even begin to describe that.

Ron Cook can be reached at rcook@post-gazette.com.