While ACC/Big Ten Challenge gets considerable more coverage, there is another challenge that is going on this week. It involves the Big East Conference and the SEC. This will be 6th year that the two conferences face off but only the second where there will be 12 games played as the first three years there were only four games played between the conferences. This challenge will get a considerable makeover in the coming years as the Big East is in state of realignment. As for now, I am going to ... Read More
Conference Realignment: A Game of Musical Chairs
With Louisville departing the Big East Conference for the ACC, this is another blow for fans of Big East basketball. Under Rick Pitino, the Cardinals were an exciting team to watch and follow. They've been to 2 Final Fours and were always a contender for a league title. This year, they started the season out as the No. 2 team in the country. Now they are gone to the ACC to join Pittsburgh, Notre Dame and Syracuse. Coupled with the loss of Rutgers, The Big East lost two members in a matter of ... Read More
Duquesne Edges Appalachian State 73-72, Picks Up First Road Win
Boone—Jerry Jones scored a career-high 22 points and the Dukes shot 41 percent from the field in a game that came down to the final minute. Kadeem Pantophlet also had one of his best games of the season, with 11 points and 7 rebounds. Duquesne came out with guns a-blazing, shooting 50 percent in the opening period, including 7 of 12 from 3-point range. This helped them get out to a commanding 19 point lead with less than two minutes to play in the 1st half. The visiting team managed to go ... Read More
Lamar Patterson Starting to Heat Up for Panthers
When the Pitt Panthers closed out the 2011-12 season with a run that led to a CBI championship, one thing was very clear- sophomore Lamar Patterson was the Panthers best player. A lot of the expectations for the Panthers this season were based some on the fact that Patterson would improve off the way he closed the season and possibly become a major scoring threat. However through Pitt's first four games of the season, that was not the case. Patterson was held scoreless in Pitt's opener ... Read More
Panthers use strong second half to cruise past Howard
The Pitt Panthers started a string Tuesday night of seven consecutive home games against lower competition when they hosted the Howard Bison at the Petersen Events Center. It took Pitt a while to get going, but Jamie Dixon’s squad did exactly what they were supposed to do to a team like the Bison- win going away. Pitt tied a season-high with eight three-pointers, including a career-high five from Lamar Patterson as the Panthers cruised to a 70-46 victory to improve to 6-1 on the ... Read More
Duquesne Heads South to Seek First Road Win
Pittsburgh—The Duquesne Dukes (2-3) travel to Boone, NC on Wednesday to take on the Appalachian State Mountaineers (1-4). The Dukes opened the season with back-to-back road losses, but followed up with a 2-1 home-stand at the Palumbo Center last week. That home-stand featured some distinct highs and lows—a thrilling overtime victory in the first game, followed by poor shot selection in the next, and finally ending with a dominant rebounding performance and 84-74 victory over Youngstown State. ... Read More
Jamie Dixon has options to replace Trey Zeigler
Much has been made of the depth that Jamie Dixon's Pitt Panthers currently have and with the news of Trey Zeigler's suspension, that depth will be tested immediately. However the loss of Zeigler may not be felt as badly as some people may believe. Dixon has consistently been playing 10 guys and it's fair to think that number would shrink anyway once Big East Conference play begins. Zeigler, a former top 30 recruit, has been Dixon's first guard off the bench in most games, but has received ... Read More
Trey Zeigler Charged with DUI, Suspended Indefinitely
Through six games, Jamie Dixon's Pitt Panthers have shown great depth en route to a 5-1 start to the season, but junior transfer guard Trey Zeigler will be testing exactly how deep the Panthers really are. Zeigler has been charged with driving under the influence, stemming from an incident over the weekend. The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reports Zeigler will "be charged by mail summons with two misdemeanor counts of driving under the influence. Details of the arrest were not immediately ... Read More
Duquesne Played “Ferry’s Way” Last Wednesday
Pittsburgh—Toughness in the game of basketball can often be measured with a particular statistic. Sure, the opponent’s score can measure a team’s toughness on defense. But on the glass is where a basketball team shows its true grit. At every level of the game, coaches often look at their team’s rebounding numbers as a measure of toughness. While rebounding is only one part of being a tough team, it is nevertheless a necessary component. When Coach Ferry started at Duquesne this past ... Read More
Pitt’s Bigs Dominate in Win Over Delaware
Well that was more like it. Just two days after suffering their first loss of the season to No. 4 Michigan, Jamie Dixon's Pitt Panthers bounced back nicely with an 85-59 victory over Delaware in the Consolation Game of the Preseason NIT in Madison Square Garden. And they did it the way they won the first four games of the season- with great defense, balanced scoring and a big day from their frontcourt. The Panthers had five players in double figures on the night and the starting ... Read More