The Pitt Panthers basketball team has been busy preparing for their second round opponent in the 2013 NCAA Tournament, the Wichita State Shockers.
The Shockers are familiar to Jamie Dixon and his staff as Pitt played Wichita State three years ago in a tournament in Kansas City during the 2009-10 season.
“As soon as I saw we were going to play them I knew how they played,” said Dixon. “I know Coach Marshall and how he has played over the years. Without seeing them you can get a good idea of how they are going to play- physical, hard, a lot of plays and a lot of sets. We remember that from when we played them a couple of years ago.”
The first thing that Pitt has to do is get over the shock of being a No. 8 seed and come out to play. They will have to play good teams along the way no matter what and that starts Thursday afternoon.
“I think everyone was shocked, honestly,” said senior point guard Tray Woodall. “By the reaction when our seeding came, I felt like everybody reacted the same. We just didn’t think it would be us. But I think everybody is happy that we’re back here in the NCAA Tournament, so we have a program that’s not going to put on and complain about the seed. We’re happy to be here and being able to compete with the rest of the teams in the tournament. So we just got to go out here and play. A seeding is just a — that’s NCAA Tournament’s choice to give us the 8-seed, so we’re going to take it and run with it.”
With that being said, let’s look at how the two teams matchup and keys to victory.
How They Finished
Wichita State (26-8, 12-6, second in MVC)
Pitt (24-8, 12-6, fourth in Big East)
Record vs. NCAA Tournament Teams
Wichita State: 2-3 (beat VCU and Creighton)
Pitt: 5-7 (beat Syracuse, Georgetown, Cincinnati and Villanova twice)
How they Stack Up
Wichita State: 69.4 points per game (117th in nation)
38.4 rebounds per game (27th)
13.8 assists per game (111th)
44.3 percent field goal percentage (115th)
33.7 percent three-point percentage (194th)
68.8 percent free-throw percentage (194th)
Pitt: 69.6 points per game (115th in nation)
35.3 rebounds per game (138th)
16.5 assists per game (7th)
47.5 percent field goal percentage (18th)
36.0 percent three-point percentage (78th)
66.4 percent free-throw percentage (267th)
Keys For Wichita State to Win
1. Rebound- The Shockers are a good rebounding team and when Pitt gets outrebounded, they typically lose. The Panthers have been beaten on the glass eight times this season and lost six of those games. If they can get Steven Adams, Dante Taylor and Talib Zanna in foul trouble it will help their cause.
“We are a team; we like to bang, rebound, and they’re the same way, play hard just like us,” said Pitt senior Dante Taylor. “So it’s going to be an interesting game. We just got to focus on blocking them out and rebounding, because their big guys are relentless on the offensive glass. We have to contain that and everything should go smooth for us.”
2. Make Shots- Wichita State isn’t a particularly good shooting team from the perimeter, but for an upset to occur they will have to make shots. If they have a good day from behind the arc, they will put pressure on Pitt.
3. Good Start- The Shockers can’t dig themselves a hole. If they get off to a good start and keep the game close late, the crowd will be on their side and anything can happen late if the game is close.
Keys for Pitt to win
1. Offensive rebounding- Rebounding in general is big for the Panthers but creating multiple possessions will be a factor. If the Pitt bigs do the job on the offensive glass, everything else should take care of itself.
“It’s something that we say every game,” added Dixon “We take great pride in rebounding. We think if we win that battle, we have a good chance to win the game. And that’s pretty much how it’s been. If your program is built that way, if that’s what you’re built around you have to do what you do well to win games. So I think they take — they have that same mentality, and I do too. So we’re preach that to our players, no question. We do that every game and we’re certainly not going to change now.”
2. Take Care of the ball: The Panthers are among the top teams in the nation when it comes to assist-to-turnover ratio. They take care of the ball and their defense thrives off forcing turnovers. If they win the turnover battle and turn Wichita State miscues into easy baskets, then Pitt will win going away.
3. Make Free-throws: I don’t think this needs much explanation, but judging by the way the season went, if this turns out to be a free-throw shooting contest then the Panthers are in trouble.
Prediction
With every game the Panthers play, it stands to potentially be the final game of the careers of both Woodall and Taylor, something that is certainly on their minds.
“It’s been nerve-wracking for me because I’m a senior,” added Woodall. “I don’t know if I can speak for Dante. As a team we have been preparing just as we prepare for any other game. We have a great coaching staff and they have done a great job preparing us for the upcoming game.”
With that being said, if Pitt sticks to their gameplan and executes it, Woodall and Taylor will get at least one more opportunity. Pitt 61, Wichita State 52
Photo Credit: Getty Images
