Why is Pitt always tougher than us?

[Eric15]

What is it about the culture and coaching style of Pitt that makes them inherently tougher than us year after year after year?

They have 11 first half offensive rebounds - that is absolutely unacceptable and mind-boggling to me.

Thank God we're twice as talented.

 

[asj410]

Well, for one, they don't get called for all of their clutch-and-grab BS.

 

[HakAttack]

What is it about the culture and coaching style of Pitt that makes them play dirtier than us year after year after year?

They had 11 first half dirty plays - that is absolutely unacceptable and upsetting to me.

Thank God we're twice as talented.

There. Fixed for you.

 

[44PRIDE]

dixon kicks his players in the balls during warmup's

 

[jec1521]

Fouling every play is not "tough."

 

[orangefan13]

I would venture to guess one reason is they play physcial man to man which tends to get away with bodying more then zone

 

[PauliePeppas]

They recruit tougher guys...only drawback is they cant play basketball

 

[tbonezone]

"if you can rebound a wrench..."

 

[OrangeCrush22]

It's Dixon's coaching style. Play hard the whole game, and it doesn't matter if you get a few fouls doing it. You have 5 fouls to use, might as well use 'em.

 

[dasher]

that toughness has helped them a lot in the NCAA tournament.

 

[Eric15]

Fouling every play is not "tough."

Two more offensive rebounds by Pitt in the first 30 seconds of the second half. I rewound and there were no fouls committed.

 

[Whitey23]

NYC vs Philly & Baltimore. Different game I guess

 

[Orangello]

What is it about the culture and coaching style of Pitt that makes them inherently tougher than us year after year after year?

They have 11 first half offensive rebounds - that is absolutely unacceptable and mind-boggling to me.

Thank God we're twice as talented.

Me thinks that thug ball will not translate well to the ACC. Watch the first time they play Duke. Game, set, match.

 

[General20]

What is it about the culture and coaching style of Pitt that makes them inherently tougher than us year after year after year?

They have 11 first half offensive rebounds - that is absolutely unacceptable and mind-boggling to me.

Thank God we're twice as talented.

Pitt is not a tough team, they are a dirty team. It works in the Big East, but it doesn't work anyplace else. Which is why when they are very talented they lose an early tournament game to a mid major and when they are not very talented they lose to teams like Wagner.

Trust me, you dont ever want Syracuse to play that way.

 

[MyMeloMyMan]

Pitt is not a tough team, they are a dirty team. It works in the Big East, but it doesn't work anyplace else. Which is why when they are very talented they lose an early tournament game to a mid major and when they are not very talented they lose to teams like Wagner.

Trust me, you dont ever want Syracuse to play that way.

Can't you say the same thing about SU lately? Good regular season team, doesnt translate into deep NCAA runs.

 

[NKR1978]

Pitt sets a moving screen on every single offensive possession. They play Butler style: clutch, push, grab, slap and dare the referees to call the foul.

And our non-tough kids took a punch in the face tonight against a team for pride that was willing to do everything possible to win, and they got back up and punched back.

 

[Orangezoo]

Hang on a second.. injury stopped us in 09-10 then last year... Rick dissapeared and a bad call helped Marquette win when we had a favorable bracket.

 

[Orangezoo]

I hear they are hiring James Harrison for their offensive line.. err I mean director of basketball operations..

 

[General20]

Can't you say the same thing about SU lately? Good regular season team, doesnt translate into deep NCAA runs.

The tournament is always a crap shoot. But Syracuse plays a style of basketball that can and has won in the tournament. Pitt has chosen to give up on tournament success in order to get a few cheap Big East wins. I think that is a major difference.

Frankly, I dont respect Dixon or the style of "basketball" he chooses to play, and the Big East has hurt its teams for years by allowing the kind of dirty play that no other conference allows.

 

[RF2044]

Pitt sets a moving screen on every single offensive possession. They play Butler style: clutch, push, grab, slap and dare the referees to call the foul.

And our non-tough kids took a punch in the face tonight against a team for pride that was willing to do everything possible to win, and they got back up and punched back.

Yes they do.

 

[Marsh01]

Yes they do.

Its almost comical how obvious it is, yet never, ever called.

 

[SoBeCuse]

Again...everybody sets moving screens including our guys. They just year after year know how to attack the zone. Good, crisp passing and movement as well as the rebounding. If they had more playmakers this season then we would've been toast tonight.

 

[PeteCalvin]

Fouling every play is not "tough."

There's a lot to be said for this statement. There are grade school AAU teams that I have coached against that employ a similar philosophy. They basically crowd and reach the entire game knowing that the refs are not going to call it every time. It works at that level because there are not many great ball handlers and the refs want the clock to run. I think Dixon figures similar odds regarding the number of calls, and, as evidenced by his record, has been quite successful doing it.

What continues to kill me, though, is that Pitt usually has LESS fouls than their opponents. I just don't see how that is possible.

All that said, our guys need to be stronger with the ball. That's all there is to it. If we hold onto the ball, say for even 10 of the Pitt misses, they don't get the easy put backs and we win going away.

 

[Scotch]

Again...everybody sets moving screens including our guys. They just year after year know how to attack the zone. Good, crisp passing and movement as well as the rebounding. If they had more playmakers this season then we would've been toast tonight.

Great post. We were outcoached and largely outplayed tonight. Thank god we're twice as talented and Pitt missed a million free throws. If Chevy Troutman or Sam Young were on that team, look out. Dixon knows how to attack the zone, and their style is a great fit against our style (offensive boards against the zone, solid mid-range shooting, good interior passing, etc.). It's frustrating as hell.

 

[SoBeCuse]

Great post. We were outcoached and largely outplayed tonight. Thank god we're twice as talented and Pitt missed a million free throws. If Chevy Troutman or Sam Young were on that team, look out. Dixon knows how to attack the zone, and their style is a great fit against our style (offensive boards against the zone, solid mid-range shooting, good interior passing, etc.). It's frustrating as hell.

Yep...no brainer. Troutman/Young/Brown are great zone players. Tired of the moving screens whines too. Every slip screen is basically a moving screen. Fab/Baye set lots of moving screens all game long.