Pitt didn’t play great defensively today, but the name of the game is still to outscore your opponent. The Panthers did just that winning 89-81 at the Pete to improve to 3-0 in conference play.
I wrote in the preview that Pitt needed to contain Marquette’s trio of Darius Johnson-Odom, Jimmy Butler, and Jae Crowder. Not only did they not do that, giving up 47 points to those players, they allowed Dwight Buycks to score 19 – ten more than his season average. The smaller Marquette played Pitt tightly for part of the first half, but the Panthers led most of the game.
Pitt, though, shot an incredible 60% from the field and 55% from three-point range. When Pitt shoots that well, they are obviously going to be difficult to beat.
Ashton Gibbs led the way with 19 points and 5-8 from three-point range. Brad Wanamaker, Gary McGhee, and Nasir Robinson chipped in a total of 41 points. And speaking of Robinson, he was plagued by foul trouble throughout the game and only registered 15 minutes of playing time. The hard-working Robinson didn’t record a rebound for the first time since he was a freshman, playing much less.
Pitt doesn’t get a break when it travels to Georgetown on Wednesday. West Virginia didn’t do Pitt any favors when they defeated the Hoyas on Saturday. Expect Georgetown to come out fighting.