Scouting Pitt - Senior Night

Coach Jamie Dixon wants to spoil Senior Night for the Bulls, can USF stop him?

Here we go USF fans, the final home game for the men's 2010-2011 basketball season. It has been an ugly year, but the team showed some life in the win over DePaul, as they avoided the basement of the conference again. The Bulls reward for beating DePaul, a match up with #6 Pittsburgh. The Panthers are coming off of an overtime loss to Louisville and are now 25-4 (13-3) on the season (still looking for a number one seed if possible).

The first time the Bulls played Pitt on the road, the team came out in the first half and battled hard, falling in the second half 67 to 55. Guard Brad Wanamaker was not available for Pitt at the time, but is healthy and ready to cause USF more headaches in this match up.

Pitt is one of the best teams not only in the country, but in the nation. They average 75.4 points per game (39th in the nation) while USF struggles to average 62.3 per game (308th - wow). Pitt pulls down 40.6 rebounds per game (7th) while USF gets 36.6 per game (92nd - we keep sliding in the ranks). Pitt moves their offense with 18 assists per game (3rd) while USF averages 12.6 (273rd - explains the bad offense). Pitt also makes their shots, shooting .475 from the field (21st) while USF can't hit the broad side of a barn, shooting .419 (273rd). [keep reading]

Here are the players to watch out for on Senior night for USF (only senior leaving is center Jarrid Famous).

Guard Ashton Gibbs is the main scorer for Pitt. The 6'2" 190-pound guard averages 16.4 points per game (shooting 46% from 3-point range) and dishing out 2.9 assists per game. Crater and Robertson will be pressured to keep him in check. Guard Brad Wanamaker (6'4" 210-pounds) is back and healthy for the Panthers. He averages 12.3 points per game, 5 rebound per game, and 5 assists per game. He is the catalysts for the offense and slowing him down will be a tall task. Forward Gilbert Brown (6'6" 215-pounds) averages 10.8 points per game and 4.4 rebounds per game. Gilchrist, Famous, and Anderson will be pressured to slow him down. They will also have to slow down forward Nasir Robinson (6'5" 220-pounds) as well. Robinson averages 8.8 points per game and 5.2 rebounds per game. Center Gary McGhe (6'11" 250-pounds) is the big man in the paint for Pitt. He averages 7.3 points per game and 7.8 rebound per game. The Bulls will have to keep him off the glass in order to stop second chance points.

Other players to watch:

Guard - Travon Woodall - 5'11" 190-pounds - 6.8 PPG 3.6 APG

Forward - Talib Zanna - 6'9" 225-pounds - 3.7 PPG 3.4 RPG

Forward - Dante Taylor - 6'9" 240-pounds - 5.6 PPG 4.4 RPG

Outcome of the game: It's senior night and there should be a large crowd on hand to cheer the Bulls in the final home game of the season. The Bulls usually play tough at home and have shown they can step up at times and push the top teams in the conference. The Bulls will come out fighting in the first half and should have the game fairly even for the first 20 minutes. Pitt has struggled on offense at times and may be a bit flat as they sleep walk in the 1st half. But the second half, the scoring and ball movement by Gibbs and Wanamaker will help build a lead for Pitt and the Bulls simply won't have an answer on offense. I hate to say it, but the game could get away from the Bulls late.

Final score prediction: Pitt 76 USF 65