Pitt did what it needed to do to stay undefeated as they took down 3-1 Kent State by a final score of 85-76. Up next will be against 6-0 Purdue in the Big Ten/ACC Classic on Tuesday December 1st, but first a breakdown of Saturday’s contest.
This game was a needed test for the Panthers after the blowout win on Wednesday. Kent State did not back down and that much evident as it was only a one point game with five minutes left in the first half. Dixon’s squad did a great job closing the half leading by 10. The second half was altogether an even 20 minutes of play and the Panthers were able to walk away without any kind of a scare.
Michael Young was the star of the game putting up 23 points, six assists, and four rebounds on 10-15 from the floor. Young did not carry the team by himself as both Jamel Artis and James Robinson aided him. Artis had 19 points and four rebounds on 8-10 from the floor and 3-3 from three. Robinson on the other hand had 18 points and dished out 10 assists both of which were season highs.
Also, Sterling Smith should not be forgotten has he joined both Artis and Robinson in the three-point attack hitting three of his own. In the game those three starters made nine of the team’s 10 threes.
The starting unit was huge in this contest and without there effort who knows what could have happened.
Offensive Grade: A+
It is hard to find fault with Pitt’s offense in these last two games. Against Kent Sate they had 26 assists on 31 total made field goals, while turning the ball over just 10 times. That type of smart play led to some extremely impressive shooting as the Panthers were 31-55(56.4%) from the field, 10-16(62.5%) from three, and 13-14(92.9%) at the line. Those numbers are ridiculously good no matter who your playing against. For the season Pitt is averaging 89.3 points per game, while shooting just over 50 percent from the field, 42.7% from three, and 77.5% at the line. The offense is just plain scary good right now.
Defensive Grade: C+
The defense was not terrible by any stretch of the imagination in this game, but they did not force Kent State into uncomfortable positions. For the game they shot right near their three point and field goal percentages on the season, while scoring 76 points, which is exactly their season average. When a team comes in and do exactly what they have done all year it is not a complete success, the goal should be to make them worse than their season averages. Also, defensive rebounding was not up to standard and forward Jimmy Hall got what he wanted to the tune of 21 points. The defense was not awful, but it still needs work.
Coaching Grade: A-
Dixon had his team prepared even though they could have looked ahead to their big game against Purdue. The offense continues to look great and the defense made enough stops to win, which shows good coaching. As well, I liked his move of trusting his starters with more minutes in the game. Only seven Panthers played above 10 minutes on Saturday and of those three were over 30 minutes. Having a deep bench is good, but Dixon will need his best unit to play significant minutes in order to succeed. The only side effect of that rotation I did not like was seeing Damon Wilson lose minutes. He is a playmaker who is still developing, getting only four minutes against a team like Kent State is not good. He has potential Dixon should let him prove it.
Up next is Purdue who was ranked 16th last week, but should be even higher when the Panthers see them Tuesday.