SB Nation Pittsburgh - Pitt Vs. Penn: Panthers Defeat Penn On The Road, 78-58https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/community_logos/48827/pitt-fv.png2011-11-26T00:04:05-05:00http://pittsburgh.sbnation.com/rss/stream/23512922011-11-26T00:04:05-05:002011-11-26T00:04:05-05:00Pitt Vs. Penn: Panthers Win Big In The Palestra, 78-58
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<p>Pitt shook off the rust after three lackluster performances and looked like, well, Pitt in a 78-58 win over Penn on the road.</p>
<p>The Panthers haven’t looked that impressive in close wins against Rider and La Salle and a loss to Long Beach State, but had a big win over the Quakers in the Palestra.</p>
<p>Even more impressive was the fact that Pitt was playing without two key players. Starting center Dante Taylor was out with migranes and starting forward, Lamar Patterson, missed the game as part of a two-game suspension for disciplinary reasons. It wasn’t immediately clear what he did wrong. But the two players starting in their place filled in admirably.</p>
<p>Freshman Khem Birch started in place of Taylor and easily turned in his best game of his career with 15 points, ten rebounds, three blocks, and a steal in 28 minutes of action. J.J. Moore, who was believed to be the starter heading into the season, turned in his second consecutive quality game, playing for Patterson. He had 12 points and six rebounds.</p>
<p>Getting back to Birch a bit, he was seen as Pitt’s best recruit in a while – perhaps in the history of the program. We’re starting to see glimpses of stardom from him, and I expect him to get more time going forward. With Taylor’s play being a bit up and down, Birch could even take over as the starter at some point.</p>
<p>For Penn, Zack Rosen was as advertised, scoring 22 points in defeat. But it wasn’t nearly enough as the Quakers shot only 40% from the field to Pitt’s 58%.</p>
<p><a href="http://www.cardiachill.com" target="new">For more on Pitt, check out SB Nation blog Cardiac Hill</a>.</p>
https://pittsburgh.sbnation.com/pittsburgh-panthers/2011/11/26/2587263/pitt-vs-penn-quakers-basketball-pittsburgh-panthers-ashton-gibbs-khem-birch-zack-rosenAnson Whaley2011-11-25T08:01:50-05:002011-11-25T08:01:50-05:00Pitt Vs. Penn: Panthers On The Road Over Thanksgiving
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<p>Pitt goes on the road for the first time this season, taking on Penn in a Black Friday contest at the Palestra.</p>
<p>Despite a 3-1 record, Pitt has clearly struggled this season -particularly in their past three games. Penn, though, hasn't been all that impressive, either.. Sitting at 3-2, the Quakers dropped games against Temple and Wagner. Pitt and Penn do have a common opponent in Rider - the Panthers defeated them by eight at home while Penn needed overtime to beat the Broncs by six on the road.</p>
<p>Penn's best player is clearly Zack Rosen, who leads the team in scoring with nearly 23 points per game and also averages more than four rebounds and five assists per contest. The two teams squared off last season and Rosen had a <a href="http://espn.go.com/ncb/boxscore?gameId=303310221" target="_blank">modest 11 points in the game</a>, but this year he's looked like a different player.</p>
<p>Other than Rosen, though, the Quakers don't have a great offense and this could be the perfect opportunity for Pitt's defense, which has struggled a bit, to get back on track. One thing to watch for will be the play of true freshman <a href="http://www.sbnation.com/ncaa-basketball/players/145934/khem-birch" class="sbn-auto-link">Khem Birch</a>. Birch made an impact in the last game with his rebounding and blocks, and it will be interesting to see if his good play warrants more minutes in the mind of Jamie Dixon. Another player to watch is <a href="http://www.sbnation.com/ncaa-basketball/players/124156/j-j-moore" class="sbn-auto-link">J.J. Moore</a>. After serving a one-game suspension for Summer League play, Moore finally stepped up in the last game against La Salle, hitting three big three-pointers. Both Birch and Moore are going to be relied upon heavily this season.</p>
<p>Pitt had a hard time putting away La Salle in its last matchup. This game should be a good indication of if the Panthers have made any improvements.</p>
<p><a href="http://www.cardiachill.com" target="_blank">For more on Pitt basketball, check out SB Nation blog Cardiac Hill</a>.</p>
https://pittsburgh.sbnation.com/pittsburgh-panthers/2011/11/25/2585334/pitt-basketball-pitt-vs-penn-pittsburgh-panthers-quakers-2011Anson Whaley