Jermaine Dixon is Panthers' tough guy
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Coach Jamie Dixon is given something to grimace about Sunday ... but only momentarily. Following the victory, Dixon was all positives when asked about senior Jermaine Dixon: "He's our leader."
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This Pitt win doesn't ease the awful pain from the previous time Pitt and Villanova played a basketball game. It will be a long time -- if ever -- that anything makes up for Villanova's 78-76 win in the 2009 NCAA tournament, which denied Pitt its first trip to the Final Four in 68 years. "That's a game we'll be seeing forever," Pitt guard Jermaine Dixon said.
In their worst nightmares.
Still ...
"This one feels pretty good," Dixon said with just about the biggest grin you'll ever see on a college kid's face.
Pitt's 70-65 win Sunday at the Petersen Events Center was significant for reasons that go beyond the fact it came against No. 3 Villanova. It left the third-place Panthers just a game behind Villanova and two games behind Syracuse in the Big East Conference standings. It made Pitt the first team this season to beat three Top 5 opponents, counting earlier wins against No. 5 Syracuse and No. 5 West Virginia. And it gave Pitt a 10th league win, leaving no doubt -- as if there were any -- that the Panthers will be extended an NCAA tournament bid March 14 for the ninth consecutive season.
Those are wonderful team accomplishments, but I want to take a minute this morning to talk about one player.
Dixon.
"He's our leader," Pitt coach Jamie Dixon said. "It's his team. We follow him."
The win meant everything to Jermaine Dixon.
The kid blamed himself for that crushing defeat in March because of a late turnover and a defensive lapse that led to Villanova's great Scottie Reynolds scoring the winning layup at the buzzer. He said he thought Pitt had a chance to win the national championship and he blew it for seniors Sam Young, Levance Fields and Tyrell Biggs and for DeJuan Blair, who was headed for the NBA.
First Published February 22, 2010 12:00 am
