arbitragegls
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Bilas has picked 4 teams that look like they have turned the season around for the good. Two of the four are BE brethern...and one sits at the lower end of the conference in wins and the other in the middle of the pack...so either could become a 'Cuse competitor in the BE Tournament...of course we still have 2 games to play with Louisville in conference.
Just like we get Melo back, both Pitt and Louisville have gotten starters that were injured back and since their return Pitt and Louisville have played better and won. So here is Bilas' view of these two teams on the upswing:
Pitt
When the Panthers lost Tray Woodall to an injury, he was averaging 14 points and eight assists per game. Without him, Pitt lost seven in a row, including an embarrassing loss at home to Wagner. Without making excuses, coach Jamie Dixon said that having Woodall out changed his team, and he stayed on course and stayed positive. Dixon maintained that Pitt was a good team and the Panthers would play like themselves again soon. But Pitt couldn't make shots and couldn't guard anybody and, from the outside, things looked bleak.
Then, with Woodall back, Pitt lost its eighth in a row to Louisville at home, and Woodall did not look like he was going to make a big enough difference. But a funny thing happened after Pitt was written off. The Panthers won games against Providence and Georgetown, and on Monday they won a game at West Virginia in which Woodall played an extraordinary game and Pitt looked like Pitt again. The team I saw in Morgantown did not resemble the team that lost eight in a row, and Woodall looked like the best point guard in the country. He was driving the ball, pulling up, blasting off ball screens and controlling the game on both ends.
Woodall wound up with 24 points, four rebounds and three assists, Pittsburgh got the W, and Dixon said that he preferred to view his team as 3-0 rather than 3-7. With eight Big East games remaining, it is conceivable that Pitt could go on a win streak and put itself into the at-large conversation. Pitt remains the best offensive rebounding team in the Big East and appears to be a new team with new life. Don't be surprised to see Pitt in the NCAA tournament.
And if Pitt keeps going look for Louisville to get back in the swing too:
Louisville was 12-0 and ranked No. 4 in the country, but the Cardinals' shooting numbers were unusually low. But after a win against Western Kentucky where Louisville was on the ropes, the Cards lost five of their next seven games, including a 31-point loss to Providence and a double-digit loss to Marquette -- a game in which Cardinals were up by 16 points early. When Kyle Kuric went out with an injured foot, Louisville lost its swagger and its perimeter shooting.
But when Kuric returned for the Pittsburgh game, he was outstanding, and Louisville looked pretty darn good again. After ripping off three straight wins, Louisville is far from living up to the early No. 4 ranking, but for a team that doesn't shoot well from the perimeter and turns it over too much, Louisville looks like a team that is on the upswing and NCAA tournament-bound.
Just like we get Melo back, both Pitt and Louisville have gotten starters that were injured back and since their return Pitt and Louisville have played better and won. So here is Bilas' view of these two teams on the upswing:
Pitt
When the Panthers lost Tray Woodall to an injury, he was averaging 14 points and eight assists per game. Without him, Pitt lost seven in a row, including an embarrassing loss at home to Wagner. Without making excuses, coach Jamie Dixon said that having Woodall out changed his team, and he stayed on course and stayed positive. Dixon maintained that Pitt was a good team and the Panthers would play like themselves again soon. But Pitt couldn't make shots and couldn't guard anybody and, from the outside, things looked bleak.
Then, with Woodall back, Pitt lost its eighth in a row to Louisville at home, and Woodall did not look like he was going to make a big enough difference. But a funny thing happened after Pitt was written off. The Panthers won games against Providence and Georgetown, and on Monday they won a game at West Virginia in which Woodall played an extraordinary game and Pitt looked like Pitt again. The team I saw in Morgantown did not resemble the team that lost eight in a row, and Woodall looked like the best point guard in the country. He was driving the ball, pulling up, blasting off ball screens and controlling the game on both ends.
Woodall wound up with 24 points, four rebounds and three assists, Pittsburgh got the W, and Dixon said that he preferred to view his team as 3-0 rather than 3-7. With eight Big East games remaining, it is conceivable that Pitt could go on a win streak and put itself into the at-large conversation. Pitt remains the best offensive rebounding team in the Big East and appears to be a new team with new life. Don't be surprised to see Pitt in the NCAA tournament.
And if Pitt keeps going look for Louisville to get back in the swing too:
Louisville was 12-0 and ranked No. 4 in the country, but the Cardinals' shooting numbers were unusually low. But after a win against Western Kentucky where Louisville was on the ropes, the Cards lost five of their next seven games, including a 31-point loss to Providence and a double-digit loss to Marquette -- a game in which Cardinals were up by 16 points early. When Kyle Kuric went out with an injured foot, Louisville lost its swagger and its perimeter shooting.
But when Kuric returned for the Pittsburgh game, he was outstanding, and Louisville looked pretty darn good again. After ripping off three straight wins, Louisville is far from living up to the early No. 4 ranking, but for a team that doesn't shoot well from the perimeter and turns it over too much, Louisville looks like a team that is on the upswing and NCAA tournament-bound.
