Pitt v Tenn

[Palmetto Steel]

Repayment plan
Panthers hit road seeking revenge for last season's blowout at hands of Tennessee
Saturday, December 03, 2011
By Ray Fittipaldo, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

KNOXVILLE, Tenn. -- The 83-76 final score from Pitt's loss against Tennessee last season at Consol Energy Center did not accurately reflect how thoroughly dominating the Volunteers were against the Panthers. They held a 21-point lead against the third-ranked Panthers in their home city and cruised to a rare victory.

Tennessee became one of only three opposing non-conference teams to beat Pitt in Pittsburgh during Jamie Dixon's tenure as Panthers coach.

Today, the Panthers come to Thompson-Boling Arena looking for some payback, though the Volunteers are much different than they were a year ago. Tennessee has a new coach, four new starters and low expectations.

The Volunteers, who were No. 11 in the polls last year when they knocked off the Panthers, were selected 11th in the 12-team SEC in a preseason poll of the league's head coaches.

About the only similarity is the type of players former coach Bruce Pearl left behind.

"They have similar personnel," Dixon said. "Those were kids who were recruited by coach Pearl. You're going to get a certain type of athlete, a high-level recruit. That didn't change."

And that could be bad news for the Panthers if they don't find an answer to the problems the Volunteers caused them last season. Tennessee shot 56 percent from the field, outrebounded the Panthers, 34-32, and forced 15 turnovers that led to 17 points off the fastbreak.

The Panthers could not contain Tennessee's Scotty Hopson, who poured in 27 points, or Melvin Goins, who had 19. Hopson, Goins and two other starters are gone. The only familiar face in the starting lineup will be guard Cameron Tate, who also has good memories from last year's game, when he scored 14, going 2 for 3 from 3-point range.

Tatum is the team's fourth-leading scorer this season. Trae Golden and Jordan McCrae, reserves who played sparingly last season, are averaging 17 and 15.3 points per game. Forward Jeronne Maymon, a transfer from Marquette, is averaging 13 points and 8.8 rebounds per game.

"We really don't know who their main guy is," Pitt sophomore forward Lamar Patterson said. "Last year we knew who their main guy was. This year, they have a few options who can cause us problems."

New coach Cuonzo Martin, who came to the Volunteers from Missouri State, has Tennessee playing to its strengths with an up-tempo style. The Volunteers are 10th in NCAA Division I scoring, averaging 84.7 points per game.

Two of Tennessee's three losses came in the Maui Invitational against Duke and Memphis, top 10 teams at the time of the meetings. The Volunteers competed well in both games, losing to the Blue Devils by 10 and to the Tigers in double overtime. The other loss came on the road at Oakland, Mich.

Under Martin, Tennessee has not been a strong defensive outfit. The Volunteers rank among the worst teams in the country in scoring defense, allowing 75.0 points per game.

Pitt had its own set of problems to solve before today's tip-off. The Panthers committed 23 turnovers in their game against Duquesne, an 80-69 victory that came in large part from a dominating effort in the rebounding department.

"It's hard to win a game with 23 turnovers," Patterson said. "We're lucky we did it. Hopefully, we won't repeat that ever. We're letting people speed us up, get us out of our tempo. That's causing some of the turnovers, being careless with the ball. Those are all things that can be fixed. It's early in the season. We're addressing them right now."

This is Pitt's first visit to Knoxville since December 1998. The Panthers lost to the Volunteers, 56-53, in the fifth game under new coach Ben Howland. Dixon was a 33-year old assistant on Howland's staff.

http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/11337...#ixzz1fUXnqt5V

[Palmetto Steel]

Scouting report

• Matchup: No. 17 Pitt (6-1) vs. Tennessee (3-3), 5:15 p.m. today, Thompson-Boling Arena, Knoxville, Tenn.
• TV, radio, Internet: ESPN, KDKA-FM (93.7), www.pittsburghpanthers.com.
• Pitt: Coming off an 80-69 victory against Duquesne. ... Lost to the Volunteers, 83-76, at Consol Energy Center last season. ... 1-4 all time against the Volunteers. ... Led by senior G Ashton Gibbs (19.1 ppg, 2.6 rpg) and senior F Nasir Robinson (12.9 ppg, 4.3 rpg). ... Leads the Big East in 3-point shooting percentage (45.8).
• Tennessee: Coming off 89-81 loss at Oakland. ... Led by sophomore G Trae Golden (17.0 ppg, 3.7 rpg), sophomore F Jordan McCrae (15.3 ppg, 1.8 rpg) and junior F Jeronne Maymon (13.3 ppg, 8.8 rpg). ... Shooting 43.5 percent from 3-point range and 74.5 percent from the line. ... Coach Cuonzo Martin is in his first season as head coach with the Volunteers. ... Martin led Missouri State to the Missouri Valley Conference regular-season championship last season.
• Hidden stat: Former Pitt reserve Dwight Miller, who played for the Panthers from 2008-10, is averaging 2.8 points and 1.8 rebounds per game as a reserve for the Volunteers.

[Steelreign]

Pitt is up 27-26 at the half. They looked a little sloppy at the half, but if they tighten it up they should win this game by 8-10.

[BlackNGoldRules]

Pitt is up 27-26 at the half. They looked a little sloppy at the half, but if they tighten it up they should win this game by 8-10.

They started playing better defense the last couple minutes of the half and some shots finally started going down. They were shooting just 34% at one point.

[Steelreign]

They started playing better defense the last couple minutes of the half and some shots finally started going down. They were shooting just 34% at one point.

well they one and imo, Pitt did more damage to themselves than Tennessee did although pitt should get better as the season wears on.

[BlackNGoldRules]

well they one and imo, Pitt did more damage to themselves than Tennessee did although pitt should get better as the season wears on.

Gibbs finally started to heat up some in the 2nd half and that helped them take control of the game. They did their best toward the end to try and give it away missing free throws and letting Tennessee hit some shots and close the gap in a hurry, but they held on. I like what I'm seeing from Birch so far. He has the potential to be a complete player. He's a shot blocking machine already.

[Steelreign]

this group really has the potential to be the best Dixon has had. I agree with you on Birch, the kid is gonna be good, I can't wait to see how much this team progresses by the end of the year.