With its NCAA Tournament hopes slipping away, Pitt turned to its senior leader and James Robinson delivered. Robinson broke open a tie game with a steal and a layup with just over a minute left and gave the Panthers a cushion with a jumper in the lane with 22 seconds left as Pitt advanced in the ACC Tournament with a 72-71 victory over Syracuse. With the win Pitt advances to the quarterfinals where No. 1 seed North Carolina awaits. They also likely all but punched their ticket to the NCAA ... Read More
Pitt gets signature win; crushes No. 15 Duke
The Pitt Panthers basketball team has spent all season looking for a signature win, having gone 0-6 against ranked teams prior. Sunday afternoon at the Petersen Events Center they got one against No. 15 Duke and they got it in a big way. Led by Jamel Artis with 17, five Panthers players scored in double figures as Pitt led wire-to-wire in a 76-62 rout of the defending national champions. “We may have had our two best practices of the year the past couple of days,” said Artis. “We knew ... Read More
Pitt’s James Robinson Named Candidate for Senior CLASS Award
Pitt point guard James Robinson is having an excellent season on the court and is being recognized not only for his performance on the hardwood, but his performance off it as well. Tuesday, Robinson was named one of 30 candidate for the 2015-16 Senior CLASS Award in collegiate basketball. To be eligible for the award, a student-athlete must be classified as an NCAA Division I senior and have notable achievements in four areas of excellence: community, classroom, character and competition. ... Read More
James Robinson taking game to new level
A rare occurrence happened late in Pitt's victory over Georgia Tech on Wednesday night. So rare that if you blinked you would have missed it. That was the fact that Panthers' point guard James Robinson committed a turnover. For most guards in the country that would be no big deal, but Robinson, and the Panthers entire team for that fact, has been so good with the basketball this season that it is eye popping on those few instances where he makes the wrong play. A big reason that the ... Read More
Pitt holds off charging Georgia Tech for ninth straight win
The Pitt Panthers had a fight on their hands Wednesday night at the Petersen Events Center in the form of visiting Georgia Tech. But while the Yellow Jackets gave the Panthers everything they had, ultimately Pitt had too much firepower as the Panthers improved to 13-1 on the season and 2-0 in ACC play in an 89-84 ACC victory. Jamel Artis and James Robinson each finished with 18 points, leading five Pitt players in double figures in the win. Pitt used an early 10-1 first-half run to gain ... Read More
Pitt getting it done from the free-throw line
If there seems like one major problem that has plagued the Pitt Panthers throughout the Jamie Dixon era, it likely has been poor free-throw shooting. On more than one occasion the Panthers inability to knock down big free throws during crunch time has cost them in a major way. That's not the case any longer. One of this Pitt teams biggest strengths is being able to go to the line and knock down free throws. It hasn't just been one guy either as the entire roster is built with very good ... Read More
Pitt could boast best offensive team of Jamie Dixon era
As the Pitt Panthers prepare to take on Eastern Washington Friday night in one of their four games as part of the Gotham Classic, Panthers’ head coach Jamie Dixon has to be all smiles. That’s basically due to the fact that through seven games the Pitt offense has performed at a level unlike anything Dixon has seen the past few years. “We are certainly skilled,” Dixon said. ‘We have guys up and down the roster who are skilled offensively. We just have to keep doing what we are doing and ... Read More
Pitt suffers first loss of season to No. 11 Purdue
The competition was much better than it had been during their first four victories of the season and although the Pitt Panthers competed, ultimately they fell short for the first time this season in a 72-59 loss to No. 11 Purdue in the ACC/Big Ten Challenge. Purdue (7-0) seven footer A. J. Hammons was unstoppable in the second half, scoring 17 of his game-high 24 points during the second 20 minutes to help lead the Boilermakers to the victory. Hammons also added 12 rebounds in the ... Read More
Pitt leans on experience to beat Kent State
The Pitt basketball team had a fight on their hands for much of the afternoon against Kent State, but Pitt leaned on its experience to come away with a win. Michael Young (23), Jamel Artis (19) and James Robinson (18) combined to score 60 points as Pitt defeated the Golden Flashes 85-76 to remain unbeaten on the season. ”Those three guys were terrific,” said Pitt head coach Jamie Dixon. “The numbers speak to that. I like the passing and the shot selection was as good as you can get. The ... Read More
Pitt game vs. Gonzaga cancelled after first half
For Jamie Dixon and the Pitt Panthers basketball team, the trip to Okinawa, Japan for the Armed Forces Classic against No. 9 Gonzaga was to be an early measuring stick on how the new look Panthers would measure up against good competition after a disappointing 2014-15 campaign. Unfortunately, Pitt only got half the chance to find out. After one half of play, the officials decided to cancel the rest of the game due to unsafe floor conditions. At the time of the decision to stop the ... Read More