Team Infidel
Forum Spin Doctor
ALAN ROBINSON
Associated Press
PITTSBURGH - College students look forward to spring break. College basketball coaches such as Pitt's Jamie Dixon do not.
When Dixon saw a nine-day layoff in his team's schedule, he was concerned. That is an uncommonly long break for a team that likes to stay busy - the Panthers played three games in three days in November - and there were worries about getting rusty and losing their competitive edge.
To make up for the lack of a game last weekend, Dixon decided to make one of his own. The Panthers divided themselves into two squads picked by the seniors and held a 24-minute scrimmage Saturday.
"We actually thought about opening it up and having some people there, but then you get into some rules technicalities," Dixon said Monday. "It was definitely a good atmosphere, the way people (his players) were talking before and after the game. They were arguing, which is a good sign for me, and they were mad when they lost."
The No. 7 Panthers (20-3, 8-1 Big East) haven't played since beating Villanova 65-59 on Jan. 29.
"Guys were able to run their mouths and have a little bit of fun," senior forward Levon Kendall said. "Guys get to hassle each other and exchange words and compete at the same time."
The Panthers won't lack for competition the rest of the season, as their remaining eight games - two against West Virginia - are against opponents with winning records. Four teams have 16 wins or more, including the Mountaineers (18-4) and No. 11 Marquette (20-4), both of whom Pitt plays twice this season.
Pitt's schedule gets much busier starting with Wednesday's game in Morgantown, followed by home games against Providence (14-7) on Saturday and Louisville (16-7) on Monday. Pitt also has Saturday-Monday games the following weekend against Washington (14-8) at home on Feb. 17 and Seton Hall (12-10) on the road Feb. 19.
The Panthers have lost at West Virginia the last two seasons, but beat the Mountaineers twice in three games last season - once in the Big East tournament. The games have been close and competitive, though Dixon won't point to West Virginia as his team's biggest rival.
"In our conference, you can't focus on one game being a rivalry," Dixon said. "There was talk that UConn was a rivalry, but every game seems to be made up as a rivalry and there's no question people talk about us. Every place we go to play, the crowds seem to be bigger than what they've had. We understand wherever we play, it's going to be a big game for them."
Kendall and the other seniors haven't warned the freshmen what it's like to play in the WVU Coliseum, where the fans - and the noise - can be intimidating. Kendall can't wait to see how the younger players react to hearing the musket-shooting Mountaineer mascot for the first time.
"That's one of the toughest places to play, for sure," Kendall said. "Their fans are almost always the most ruthless and always getting on you before the game. They've got a big student section ... and they're right there on top of you."
West Virginia lost four of the top five players from its NCAA round of 16 team from a season ago, but still shoots the 3-pointer well and causes numerous turnovers with its 1-3-1 defense. The Mountaineers make an average of 10.5 3-pointers per game, led by Frank Young and his 3.27 per-game average.
"They have something that works, they're getting it done," Kendall said. "It's kind of the same formula they had in the past, guys that are unselfish, guys that can shoot the ball. They do what they do and they do it well."