Pitt braces for tough Big East opener

[IE]

The Big East opener is always special, but this season is like a late Christmas present.

No. 6 Pitt (12-1) will begin its conference play against No. 4 Connecticut (10-0) on Monday in one of the most highly anticipated Big East debuts in league history.

This marks only the second time Pitt will open against the rival Huskies ? the other was 1996-97 ? and will stake the winner to an early head start in a grueling 18-game schedule in a conference with five teams ranked in the top 10 in the nation.

"It will be a nice kickoff," said coach Jamie Dixon, who earned his 200th victory with Pitt's 61-45 win over American on Wednesday. "It's pretty hard to get those two teams ranked and playing together, especially in the first conference game of the year."

Pitt has opened Big East play against a ranked team 11 times, including an 80-78 loss to top-ranked Syracuse in a 1989 thriller at Civic Arena and a victory over No. 5 Notre Dame in '02 in the first-ever Big East game at Petersen Events Center.

But UConn-Pitt games always seem to have more at stake, settling Big East titles and NCAA top seeds in recent seasons.

"It's going to be a tough battle," senior forward Gilbert Brown said. "But we're definitely looking forward to it."

Pitt has won three in a row against Connecticut, which bolted to a surprising start after coach Jim Calhoun's youthful team was picked 10th in the Big East. Guard Kemba Walker, the nation's leading scorer at 26.5 points per game, said he is unable to accurately describe to the freshmen what to expect in league play.

"Words can't even explain what is going to happen," Walker told reporters in Hartford. "They have to be mentally tough. That's it."

Pitt will hold a practice on Christmas Day to prepare for its only regular-season meeting with Connecticut.

"It's a grind," guard Brad Wanamaker said. "Yeah, we want to be home with our families. But we've got something to do."

While the rest of the Big East teams open later in the week, the Pitt-UConn game got an early start because the Huskies lose two Saturdays - days typically used for Big East games ? due to nonconference national TV games in January against Texas and Tennessee.

Dixon, for one, said he isn't surprised by UConn's undefeated start, which includes victories over Michigan State and Kentucky.

"To underestimate a Jim Calhoun team, that's pretty hard to do," he said. "Here they are, back where they usually are."

 

[IE]

UConn has landed, beats storm

Saturday PM

Anyone concerned about Connecticut potentially being unable to make the trip to Pittsburgh with the blizzard along the Northeast, there are no worries. The team?s chartered flight, which left Connecticut at about 1 p.m., has landed in Pittsburgh and the coaches and players are making their way to the Petersen Events Center for an afternoon shootaround. Between 12-20 inches of snow is predicted in the Hartford area.

 

[IE]

Pitt, Crowd 1st Big East Tests For UConn Men


The Hartford Courant

8:32 p.m. EST, December 26, 2010





The UConn Huskies traveled more than 5,000 miles to make an early statement with three victories at the Maui Invitational. Before and after, they bounced between Hartford and Storrs, defeating a collection overmatched nonconference opponents while tinkering with the rotation and addressing potential flaws.

Tonight, they will engage in something more daunting and more important. No. 4 UConn opens the Big East season against No. 6 Pittsburgh at the Petersen Events Center, one of the most intimidating venues in college basketball.

"We haven't been on foreign shores yet," said coach Jim Calhoun, whose team is 1-4 at Petersen, the win coming in 2005. "And this is definitely foreign."



Pittsburgh is staging a "Gold Out" tonight, handing out T-shirts to everyone in the sellout crowd of more than 12,000. Kemba Walker is the only UConn player to have played at Petersen, and the Huskies can only wonder how freshmen will react.

"I don't think it could be a tougher place," Walker said. "The ["Oakland Zoo"] student section is one of the best in the country, so we're going to see where their hearts are at."

Of course, crowd noise is a supplementary disruption. Over the last 10 years, UConn-Pitt has developed into a special rivalry because the Panthers have been one of the few teams to match the Huskies' toughness. Pitt, a well-rounded group and the preseason Big East favorite, is outrebounding opponents by an average of 16.1 a game.

Gary McGhee anchors a deep, bruising front line, and guard Ashton Gibbs (16.5 points a game) is one of the best playmakers in the conference. Pittsburgh is 12-1, its only loss coming at home to Tennessee ? but that game was across town in the Consol Energy Center, not Petersen, where the students are right on top of the court.

Pittsburgh is 7-0 all-time against top-five opponents at Petersen. The Panthers have won the last three meetings against UConn, including last season at the XL Center. Since 2002-03, Pittsburgh has more victories overall and in-conference (259, 109) than any Big East team. UConn is second (235, 103).

"Pittsburgh is one of those teams that traditionally gives us as tough a time as anyone," said Calhoun, whose team was picked to finish 10th in the Big East in a preseason poll of conference coaches.

"I don't know how you can be surprised by anybody in our league that's had a history of success," Pitt coach Jamie Dixon said of UConn's start. "We look at our [ballots] and rankings come out, you go through our league and you have to pick somebody ninth and 10th that has won year after year. Last year, we were in the same spot, picked ninth and finished second. It shouldn't be a surprise. Syracuse a few years back, every year I would say they're rebuilding. I've given up on that. Connecticut, same thing."

Walker, the nation's scoring leader (26.5 ppg), has made the Huskies go. After dominating in Maui, he spent much of a five-game home stand trying to instill confidence in teammates he'll need help from. Pittsburgh will call on Gibbs, Brad Wanamaker and Travon Woodall as the primary defenders on Walker ? and a host of others. Pittsburgh's post players will be encouraged to leave their man as Walker drives, and Pitt's emphasis is on limiting Walker's possessions in the open court.

"We have to make sure everyone is in gaps, keep a guy in front of him, throw a lot of looks at him and stop him in transition," McGhee said. "That's the main thing, because he gets a lot of layups, gets in the passing lane and just pushes the tempo of the game, so we have to slow him down and force him into a half-court game."

UConn freshmen such as Jeremy Lamb, Shabazz Napier and Roscoe Smith need to maintain the confidence they've developed, and forward Alex Oriahki's ability to play as he did in Maui victories over Michigan State and Kentucky is key.

Rebounding has been Calhoun's main concern, and he hopes a rotation of Oriakhi, Tyler Olander and centers Charles Okwandu and Enosch Wolf hold its own. Calhoun feels more comfortable with Okwandu coming off two decent performances and with the addition of Wolf (7 feet 1).

When you come to Pittsburgh, Calhoun said, "It's like you're visiting the Steelers."

The Huskies have lost four of their last five Big East openers.

"I kind of know who we are and what we are," Calhoun said. "I don't know how they are going to adjust to the crowd here. They're going against a team that does test you, mentally. We always say we can outwork people, out-will them. That's basically their credo, too."

 

[Woodson]

IE,

Interesting game here. Pomeroy has Pitt by ten also UConn ranked #26.

Havent looked to hard at this game but it looks as if Vegas is asking for UConn money.

:toast:

 

[Woodson]

Also, an unbeaten team getting 7.5... :scared