The Pitt Panthers have not lost a City Game to Duquesne since 2000. That streak could be tested Friday night at the Consol Energy Center if the Panthers don’t start getting defensive.
Good man-to-man defense has long been a staple under Pitt head coach Jamie Dixon, but Pitt’s performance at the defensive end through the first seven games of the season has left Dixon frustrated and many Panthers’ fans scratching their heads.
Early on, the signs point to the fact this could be the worst defensive team Dixon has ever put on the floor.
The athletes are there. Make no mistake about it, this Pitt team is talented.
But while they are talented, they are also extremely young and that often catches up with you in terms of team defense.
It doesn’t help matters much that Durand Johnson, who was expected to play a big role on this Pitt team, has been suspended for the season. It also doesn’t help that Cameron Wright, Pitt’s only real good man-to-man defender is still out nursing a foot injury.
That has led to a few different guys likely being thrown into the fire earlier than Dixon may have wanted and the results have not been pretty.
Pitt has allowed the opposition to shoot 43.8 percent (158-for-360) from the floor on the season. That number also includes a couple of solid performances to start the season against Niagara and Samford.
Look more closely at the past five-game stretch once the Panthers left for Hawaii and the numbers are eye-popping.
In the past five games Pitt has allowed the opponent to shoot a whopping 50.1 percent (127-for-253) from the floor.
Needless to say that you aren’t going to win many games in that fashion.
Pitt ranks 135th in the nation in points against (63.6) and the rebounding has all but disappeared, ranking 317th in the nation at 20.7 per game. Pitt ranks near the bottom in both blocks and steals as well.
The problem is fixable, but it all starts with guard play.
Teams are having a field day getting to the rim against the Pitt guards and whether that results in an easy uncontested layup or a kick out to an open shooter, things have been too easy.
The Panthers will get some help there when Wright eventually returns, but until then guys like James Robinson, Josh Newkirk, Chris Jones and others have to do a better job at stopping the ball.
Another problem is the true lack of an interior presence other than Michael Young.
Pitt can’t be competitive at either end of the floor with the likes of with Derrick Randall and Joseph Uchebo manning the middle.
Dixon did recruit Shaquille Doorson, a 6’11” center from Amsterdam. But he decommitted and plays for Rutgers, leaving Dixon with just Randall and Uchebo for the time being. Every good Pitt team lately has had a solid big man that could be disruptive, whether it be Steven Adams, Talib Zanna, DeJuan Blair, Aaron Gray or others.
This Pitt team simply doesn’t have that.
What’s the answer?
There really isn’t one as Dixon isn’t going to go zone for more than a few possessions here and there. When he has turned to a zone this season, the results haven’t been much better. We also won’t see Pitt pick up full court, even though they have the athletes to do so.
Dixon is a man-to-man guy and Pitt is going to sink or swim with their ability to defend straight up.
These Panthers are a better defensive team than what they have shown through seven games. They have to improve their communication and the results should improve.
But make no mistake about it, this Pitt team may be as vulnerable as any team Dixon has ever coached.
The good news is that if Pitt starts to dig in defensively, the next six games are all winnable on paper before they begin their ACC conference schedule.
The bad news is if they don’t show more commitment on the defensive end beginning Friday night, they won’t win their next six games.
Duquesne can score the ball.
The Dukes are fourth in the nation, currently averaging 88.8 points per contest, although that has been in only four games.
Led by junior guards Jordan Stevens (17.3 ppg.) and Micah Mason (13.5 ppg.), this Duquesne team has the ability to knock down shots from anywhere on the floor as they are shooting 52.3 percent from the floor on the season (12th in nation) and have drained a whopping 49 percent (leads nation) of their attempts from behind the arc.
They are exactly the type of team that can give this Pitt team fits.
If the Panthers don’t figure out how to get back to playing solid defense and do so rather quickly, they will see their streak of City Game victories come to a screeching halt.
Photo Credit: Associated Press
