Know Thy Enemy: Pitt Edition

The USF Bulls, after a rough loss to Georgetown, return home to the Forum to take on the red hot Pitt Panthers.  Pitt has won 4-straight Big East games and is playing some of its best basketball of the season.  The Bulls are facing a huge test in this game and will need to come out strong if they want to keep their hopes for an NIT (or other tournament) alive.  To find out more about the Pitt Panthers, I asked Bryan of the Pitt Script Blog to answer some questions for the Bulls take on the Panthers (make sure to check out the PittScriptBlog for great great content, even though they are leaving for the ACC soon).

1. Ashton Gibbs was the pre-season player of the year, but has struggled to find his range all year.  What has been the biggest struggle for him this year to live up to the hype?

Gibbs is a great shooter, but he struggles to setup his own shots and is not a natural leader out on the court.  He was able to run the point last season because he had Brad Wanamaker to help lead and distribute the ball.  However, when Tray Woodall went down against Duquesne in late November and Gibbs moved back to the point, he struggled to find a rhythm and was often forcing up bad shots.

2. With Tray Woodall back in the lineup and running the point, the Panthers seem to be finding their stride.  What does having him back in the lineup mean for the Pitt team?

Without a doubt, having Woodall back means Pitt has their leader back, and their best playmaker.  Woodall is averaging 6.8 assists a game, 4 more than Gibbs, and a number that would put him in the top 10 in the country if he had played more games this season.  Woodall can also put up the points when needed.  In his five games back, he has had a game of 17, 24 and 29 points.  Oh, and did I mention that he is also shooting 48% from 3pt range and has made 20 of 21 free throws?  Yeah, it's nice to have someone back that can step up when needed.

3. How will Pitt attack the size of the USF front line?

By being physical.  While this may not be as big a strength for the Panthers as it has been in the past, they are still one of the best rebounding teams in the conference, second only to West Virginia.  In fact, the Panthers have only been out-rebounded four times all season.  If Pitt can continue their dominance on the boards and out-rebound South Florida, this would go a long way in improving the Panthers chances of winning.

4. Pitt struggled early at the start of conference play, but with Woodall they are finding their way right now.  Aside from his play, what has been the reason for the recent success?

In addition to all of the attributes I mentioned earlier about what Woodall brings to the court, his presence alone brings confidence.  Getting that first win against Providence, even though it was Providence, was huge.  Everyone, particularly Ashton Gibbs, began to relax and have stopped trying to force passes and shots that were not there.  Turnovers are down 3 a game and shooting has increased nearly 9% over this win streak compared to the eight game losing streak immediately prior to it.

5. Final score prediction?

South Florida has done fairly well at home this season, only losing one game...that being to then #9 UConn. However, coming off a 30 point clubbing by the Hoyas and Pitt having a hot hand, I'm going to say 78-70 Panthers.  Not going to lie, the completely irrelevant early season South Florida loss to Penn State may have made this an easier choice.  Penn State?  Really?

Thanks again to Bryan for taking the time to provide great in-depth information on the Panthers, hopefully he is wrong with his final score prediction.