Its never been this easy for Pitt. Particularly in the NCAA Tournament under coach Jamie Dixon. However, today Pitt reversed some past history in Orlando, FL and throttled the Colorado Buffaloes 77-48 in a second round match-up.
The story of the game was Pitt’s defense which forced 17 Colorado turnovers and held the Buffaloes to 35% (17 for 42) shooting from the floor. Most of the turnovers were created as a result of double-teams in which the young Buffs struggled to find the open man.
The Panthers were led by senior center Talib Zanna (18 points on 6 for 7 shooting and a perfect 6 for 6 from the line) who had 5 rebounds, 2 blocks and 1 steal.
Pitt (26-9 overall and 11-7 in the ACC) also received contributions from junior guard Cam Wright (11 points on 3 for 4 shooting) and senior Lamar Patterson (10 points on 4 for 11 shooting).
The game was so out of reach that coach Jamie Dixon benched the starters after Pitt led 46-18 at halftime and played the reserves for the majority of the 2nd half.
The Pitt bench didn’t disappoint and contributed 26 points including 8 points from reserve guard Chris Jones, 7 points from freshmen forward Jamel Artis and 5 points from power forward Derrick Randall.
Pitt also shot a blistering 91% (11 for 12) from the line and controlled the boards with 33 rebounds (24 defensive and 9 offensive).
Colorado (23-12 overall and 10-8 in the Pac-12) was led by forwards Josh Scott (14 points on 4 for 7 shooting including 6 for 7 from the line) and Xavier Johnson (11 points on 5 for 8 shooting from the floor).
Next Up: Sat 3/22 vs the #1 ranked Florida Gators, who dispatched Albany today 67-55, in Orlando, FL. Time: TBD.