Pitt's potent inside game bears watching after comeback victory
Florida State held a 59-51 lead over Pitt and was picking up the scent of victory against a Panthers team in the midst of an identity crisis.
Instead of following a familiar path littered with perimeter jump shots, the Panthers played big-boy basketball.
Junior forward Jamel Artis scored three layups during a 3-minute span to tie the score at 65-65. Then, with Florida State's defenders collapsing inside, Artis drilled a 3-pointer for the Panthers' first lead of the second half in a 74-72 comeback victory.
The change in strategy ? pounding the ball inside for high-percentage shots ? bears watching when the Panthers (16-3, 5-2 ACC) visit Clemson (12-7, 5-2) at 7 p.m. Wednesday in Greenville, S.C.
Will the Panthers play the same way against one of the hottest teams in the ACC? Not only has Clemson defeated No. 15 Miami, No. 16 Louisville and No. 24 Duke at home, the Tigers rank No. 1 in the ACC in blocks, No. 3 in scoring defense and No. 5 in field-goal defense.
?We played better getting the ball inside,? Pitt coach Jamie Dixon said. ?We ran pretty good offense that turned into shots we didn't knock down.?
When that occurs, Dixon said, ?We've got to get more layups, more scores around the basket.?
In a double-digit loss the previous game against N.C. State, Dixon said, Pitt ?took a lot of jump shots and didn't make them. They were sagging, they were in the lane. We didn't finish. Missed some layups.?
Artis, who shot 4 of 10 against N.C. State, got off to another slow start against Florida State. This time, however, Artis didn't settle for jumpers as he did against N.C. State.
?We wanted to keep attacking, so I kept attacking,? Artis said.
After connecting on 3 of 11 attempts as the Panthers trailed 43-33 at intermission, Artis hit 4 of his final 8 shots. More importantly, he stopped settling for jump shots and attacked the rim.
?We wanted to get more aggressive and get to the basket,? Dixon said. ?Jamel did the things we wanted him to do. Stronger finishes. Stronger attacks. Playing off two feet. Shot fakes.
?We did a better job getting guys to the right spots. We've had some games where we haven't been as good for that reason. It's spacing, where we need to be.?
Fellow junior Michael Young, Pitt's other starting forward, followed a similar offensive strategy in the second half and refused to settle for jumpers.
Young scored 11 of his 13 points after intermission and hit 7 of 12 free throws (all in the second half).
Young and Artis combined for 20 points on 6-of-12 shooting during the comeback.
?(Dixon) is not always going to be happy with what we do,? Artis said. ?But he believed in us.?
--Tribune-Review staff writer
Florida State held a 59-51 lead over Pitt and was picking up the scent of victory against a Panthers team in the midst of an identity crisis.
Instead of following a familiar path littered with perimeter jump shots, the Panthers played big-boy basketball.
Junior forward Jamel Artis scored three layups during a 3-minute span to tie the score at 65-65. Then, with Florida State's defenders collapsing inside, Artis drilled a 3-pointer for the Panthers' first lead of the second half in a 74-72 comeback victory.
The change in strategy ? pounding the ball inside for high-percentage shots ? bears watching when the Panthers (16-3, 5-2 ACC) visit Clemson (12-7, 5-2) at 7 p.m. Wednesday in Greenville, S.C.
Will the Panthers play the same way against one of the hottest teams in the ACC? Not only has Clemson defeated No. 15 Miami, No. 16 Louisville and No. 24 Duke at home, the Tigers rank No. 1 in the ACC in blocks, No. 3 in scoring defense and No. 5 in field-goal defense.
?We played better getting the ball inside,? Pitt coach Jamie Dixon said. ?We ran pretty good offense that turned into shots we didn't knock down.?
When that occurs, Dixon said, ?We've got to get more layups, more scores around the basket.?
In a double-digit loss the previous game against N.C. State, Dixon said, Pitt ?took a lot of jump shots and didn't make them. They were sagging, they were in the lane. We didn't finish. Missed some layups.?
Artis, who shot 4 of 10 against N.C. State, got off to another slow start against Florida State. This time, however, Artis didn't settle for jumpers as he did against N.C. State.
?We wanted to keep attacking, so I kept attacking,? Artis said.
After connecting on 3 of 11 attempts as the Panthers trailed 43-33 at intermission, Artis hit 4 of his final 8 shots. More importantly, he stopped settling for jump shots and attacked the rim.
?We wanted to get more aggressive and get to the basket,? Dixon said. ?Jamel did the things we wanted him to do. Stronger finishes. Stronger attacks. Playing off two feet. Shot fakes.
?We did a better job getting guys to the right spots. We've had some games where we haven't been as good for that reason. It's spacing, where we need to be.?
Fellow junior Michael Young, Pitt's other starting forward, followed a similar offensive strategy in the second half and refused to settle for jumpers.
Young scored 11 of his 13 points after intermission and hit 7 of 12 free throws (all in the second half).
Young and Artis combined for 20 points on 6-of-12 shooting during the comeback.
?(Dixon) is not always going to be happy with what we do,? Artis said. ?But he believed in us.?
--Tribune-Review staff writer
