No. 22 Pitt and No. 2 Syracuse hooked things up Saturday afternoon in what was the early ACC Game of the Year. Watching the two teams play, it was an ACC game in name early as for 40 minutes it seemed liked just another Big East Conference battle as it turned out to be another Pitt-Syracuse classic. However Syracuse freshman point guard Tyler Ennis played like a senior down the stretch, making two big baskets and sinking two huge free-throws as the Orange stayed unbeaten, handing Pitt ... Read More
Pitt’s unselfishness continues to carry team
Throughout Jamie Dixon's era as the Pitt head coach, we have heard the fact that Pitt is an unselfish and defensive minded team about a thousand times. That mantra has carried the Panthers to outstanding success over the past decade plus, but during Pitt's first season in the ACC, they are taking playing unselfish, great team basketball to another level. One of the reasons that Dixon's teams have always relied on unselfish play is they never really had a go-to guy at the offensive end that ... Read More
Pitt stays perfect in ACC with road win over Georgia Tech
With the way he has been playing lately, you had to wonder how No. 22 Pitt would fare on a night where Lamar Patterson didn't have his best scoring game. It turned out to be no problem at all. Talib Zanna scored 22 points, James Robinson added 16 and Pitt pulled away in the second half, remaining perfect in the ACC with a bruising 81-74 victory over Georgia Tech on Tuesday night. With Patterson not shooting well and Durand Johnson out for the season with a torn ACL, Pitt was committed ... Read More
Pitt improves to 3-0 in ACC with dominating performance vs. Wake Forest
Jamie Dixon’s Pitt Panthers made a big statement Saturday afternoon with a convincing 80-65 victory over Wake Forest in ACC action as the Panthers improved to 15-1 on the season and a perfect 3-0 to start their first season in the ACC. It was a game that Pitt dominated from the outset as they led wire to wire as unlike their first two conference games, the Panthers jumped on their opponent quickly from the opening tip. ‘That was nice,” said Pitt point guard James Robinson. “N.C. State ... Read More
Pitt takes care of Maryland in first ever ACC home game
In the first ACC game in the history of the Petersen Events Center, the Pitt Panthers had their hands full with Maryland for much of the night. But used a late first half surge to pull ahead for good and ultimately improve to 2-0 in the conference with a convincing 79-59 victory over the Terps. Both teams found things tough early on as neither team got much in their half court sets. But Pitt closed the first half on an 11-2 run to take a 36-30 lead into the locker room. Pitt head coach ... Read More
Panthers pass first ACC test in win over NC State
It didn't take long for Jamie Dixon's Pitt Panthers basketball team to get their first real "Welcome to the ACC," moment. But after digging themselves an early hole, seniors Lamar Patterson and Talib Zanna turned in huge second halves to lead Pitt to a 74-62 victory over North Carolina State in the long awaited first ACC game in program history. Patterson scored 22 points, 17 in the second half, to go along with eight rebounds and six assists, while Zanna chipped in 15 points and nine ... Read More
Is Pitt ready to begin ACC play?
Saturday afternoon, the Pitt Panthers basketball program will make history as they take on North Carolina State in the inaugural ACC game in Pitt program history. Yet once the two team’s line up to tip things off, it will fulfill a long awaited moment for Jamie Dixon, Steve Pederson and everyone associated with Pitt athletics. However the question remains- is Pitt ready? On the surface, that’s not an easy question to answer as you simply don’t know. “We got a lot of positives out of ... Read More
Pitt improves to 12-1 with win over Albany
For a while Jamie Dixon’s Pitt Panthers basketball team experienced a bit of a holiday hangover, going 10 days in between games. But Pitt eventually figured things out en route to a 58-46 victory over Albany in the Panthers final non-conference game before beginning ACC play. Pitt (12-1) struggled big time shooting the basketball in the first half, going 0-for-7 from behind the arc and 0-6 from the free-throw line. But while Pitt couldn’t get a jump shot to go until Cameron Wright canned a ... Read More
Lamar Patterson’s career game pushes Pitt past Cal Poly
After suffering their first loss of the season against Cincinnati, Pitt’s Lamar Patterson made sure it wouldn’t be two in a row for the Panthers. Patterson scored a career-high 30 points, carrying the Panthers on his back for most of the afternoon as Pitt improved to 11-1 on the season with a 73-56 victory over Cal Poly Saturday afternoon at the Petersen Events Center. “Good performance I thought,” said Pitt head coach Jamie Dixon. “We have to get better obviously, but it was nice to see ... Read More
Panthers scratch and claw their way to victory over Penn State
It wasn't as easy as Pitt head coach Jamie Dixon may have liked, but eventually the size and depth of the Panthers wore down visiting Penn State as Pitt improved to 8-0 on the season with a 78-69 victory in the ACC-Big Ten Challenge. But the Panthers had their hands full with the Nittany Lions all night long. Penn State took a 30-28 lead at the half thanks to the fact that the Panthers could not buy a bucket. "Not a good first half," said Dixon. "I spent halftime emphasizing the amount ... Read More