Thieving Pirates pose major obstacle today
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It has been an overlooked part of Pitt's success for years. Pitt's defense and its ability to rebound usually received most of the attention. More recently, the team's offensive efficiency grabbed the headlines.
But one of the reasons the Panthers had been so good for so long was their ability to limit turnovers. They set a school record last season with 11.7 per game, the lowest per game average in the more than 100 years the university has fielded a basketball team.
Pinning Pitt's subpar play on any one thing can be misleading, particularly when the defense has been poor by nearly any standard and the offense has been inconsistent. Coach Jamie Dixon's biggest concern after the South Florida game Wednesday night, however, was turnovers, and that was after allowing a season-high shooting percentage and shooting a season-low percentage.
The Panthers had 17 turnovers against South Florida, including nine from starting guards Tray Woodall and Ashton Gibbs.
- Matchup: Pitt (15-10, 4-8 Big East) vs. Seton Hall (16-8, 5-7), noon today, Prudential Center, Newark, N.J.
- TV, radio, Internet: WTAE, KDKA-FM (93.7), www.pittsburghpanthers.com.
- Pitt: Coming off 63-51 loss at South Florida. ... 1-5 in Big East road games. ... 10-13 in games played at Seton Hall. ... Previous trip to Seton Hall was in January 2010, a 64-61 loss. ... Senior G Ashton Gibbs (16.3 ppg, 2.4 rpg) was held to a season-low four points in the South Florida game. ... The 51 points scored against South Florida were the second fewest in a game for Pitt this season.
- Seton Hall: Snapped a six-game losing streak with a 59-54 victory Wednesday night at Rutgers. ... Senior F Herb Pope (15.7 ppg, 10.3 rpg) became the 39th player in Seton Hall history to score 1,000 points. Pope, an Aliquippa native, has 1,024 career points and 816 career rebounds. ... Senior G Jordan Theodore (15.8 ppg, 3.1 rpg) scored a game-high 24 points against Rutgers. ... Head coach Kevin Willard, a former Pitt point guard, is in his second season with the Pirates and owns a 29-26 record.
First Published February 12, 2012 12:00 am
