Tennessee beat Pitt at its own game, 83-76
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Tennessee's John Fields blocks a shot by Pitt's Ashton Gibbs in the first half at Consol Energy Center Saturday.
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It's not very often that Pitt loses in Pittsburgh under men's coach Jamie Dixon. It happened for only the 12th time in eight-plus seasons Saturday at Consol Energy Center. But that wasn't the most shocking aspect of the 83-76 defeat at the hands of No. 11 Tennessee.
Most of those other losses came against teams that presented matchup problems for the Panthers. On this occasion, Dixon and the Panthers were administered a dose of their own medicine by the Volunteers.
Tennessee (7-0) was the better defensive team. The Volunteers were the better rebounding team and the more disciplined team on offense.
"They beat us at our own game," Dixon said.
Tennessee shredded Pitt's defense like few others have in recent years. The previous time Pitt gave up as many points in a regulation game was Feb. 18, 2006 in an 84-82 loss at Marquette.
The Volunteers shot 56.3 percent from the field. They drove to the basket for easy baskets and were able to knock down their 3-point attempts with just as much ease. The Volunteers were 7 for 11 from 3-point range and scored 34 points in the lane, where the Panthers pride themselves on their tough interior defense.
The final seven-point margin does not accurately portray how thorough the Panthers were beaten. With less than 12 minutes remaining, Tennessee was 22 for 36 from the field for a whopping .611 shooting percentage. Had the Volunteers maintained that pace, it would have set a record for shooting percentage against a Dixon-coached team. Only a few Tennessee misses in the final stages of the game prevented that from happening.
The Panthers (10-1) did not have an answer for junior guard Scotty Hopson, who poured in 27 points. He was 10 for 13 from the field, 3 for 3 from 3-point range, and paced the Volunteers with 16 points in the first half. Hopson's first-half performance set the tone for the game.
First Published December 12, 2010 12:00 am
