Pittsburgh ? The coach had no national identity, his team had been invisible on the NCAA scene for a decade.
While it’s hard to come out of nowhere when playing in a major league city, that’s exactly what Pitt has done by advancing to the NCAA round of 16 behind a star named Knight and an unswerving commitment to defense.
The Panthers (29-5), enjoying the best season in school history, play Kent State (29-5) Thursday in an NCAA South Regional semifinal that no one envisioned when they appeared in a little-noticed Thanksgiving tournament at Robert Morris.
There, before crowds of 1,000, Kent State was ousted by Hofstra in the first round and Pitt lost to South Florida in the championship game. Fast forward four months later, and either Pitt or Kent State will be among the final eight teams.
“Anything can happen in college basketball,” Pitt coach Ben Howland said. “That’s why we all have dreams. That’s why we shoot for the stars.”
And if it’s an opposing player shooting, he’s likely to have a Pitt defender draped all over him.
College coaches stress the importance of playing defense. But, in a sport in which scoring averages are the most talked-about statistic, defense often seems to be a largely ignored art.
Howland, however, successfully sold this team on playing aggressive defense during the preseason. The result has been the school’s best defense (60.7 points per game) since the early 1950s, before there was dunking or three-point shooting.
“But I don’t have to sell them any more,” said Howland, chosen Monday as the Naismith coach of the year. “Our guys love to play good defense because they love to win.”
Cal acknowledged being frustrated by Pitt’s never-let-up defense usually, a man-to-man while going scoreless for 912 minutes and without a basket for 11 minutes in its 63-50 second-round loss Sunday in Pittsburgh.
“We expect to win every game,” star point guard Brandin Knight said. “But we know we have to commit to it (playing defense). A lot of guys don’t like to sacrifice, but we sacrifice to win.”
Knight’s backcourt teammate, Julius Page, said, “No one on this team wants to be the one who’s scored on.”
That’s something that doesn’t happen much against Pitt; in its first two NCAA games since 1993, against Central Connecticut State and California, the Panthers allowed 104 points. That’s one fewer point than Cincinnati permitted in its 105-101 loss to UCLA on Sunday.
Pittsburgh ? The coach had no national identity, his team had been invisible on the NCAA scene for a decade.
While it’s hard to come out of nowhere when playing in a major league city, that’s exactly what Pitt has done by advancing to the NCAA round of 16 behind a star named Knight and an unswerving commitment to defense.
The Panthers (29-5), enjoying the best season in school history, play Kent State (29-5) Thursday in an NCAA South Regional semifinal that no one envisioned when they appeared in a little-noticed Thanksgiving tournament at Robert Morris.
There, before crowds of 1,000, Kent State was ousted by Hofstra in the first round and Pitt lost to South Florida in the championship game. Fast forward four months later, and either Pitt or Kent State will be among the final eight teams.
“Anything can happen in college basketball,” Pitt coach Ben Howland said. “That’s why we all have dreams. That’s why we shoot for the stars.”
And if it’s an opposing player shooting, he’s likely to have a Pitt defender draped all over him.
College coaches stress the importance of playing defense. But, in a sport in which scoring averages are the most talked-about statistic, defense often seems to be a largely ignored art.
Howland, however, successfully sold this team on playing aggressive defense during the preseason. The result has been the school’s best defense (60.7 points per game) since the early 1950s, before there was dunking or three-point shooting.
“But I don’t have to sell them any more,” said Howland, chosen Monday as the Naismith coach of the year. “Our guys love to play good defense because they love to win.”
Cal acknowledged being frustrated by Pitt’s never-let-up defense usually, a man-to-man while going scoreless for 912 minutes and without a basket for 11 minutes in its 63-50 second-round loss Sunday in Pittsburgh.
“We expect to win every game,” star point guard Brandin Knight said. “But we know we have to commit to it (playing defense). A lot of guys don’t like to sacrifice, but we sacrifice to win.”
Knight’s backcourt teammate, Julius Page, said, “No one on this team wants to be the one who’s scored on.”
That’s something that doesn’t happen much against Pitt; in its first two NCAA games since 1993, against Central Connecticut State and California, the Panthers allowed 104 points. That’s one fewer point than Cincinnati permitted in its 105-101 loss to UCLA on Sunday.
Pittsburgh ? The coach had no national identity, his team had been invisible on the NCAA scene for a decade.
While it’s hard to come out of nowhere when playing in a major league city, that’s exactly what Pitt has done by advancing to the NCAA round of 16 behind a star named Knight and an unswerving commitment to defense.
The Panthers (29-5), enjoying the best season in school history, play Kent State (29-5) Thursday in an NCAA South Regional semifinal that no one envisioned when they appeared in a little-noticed Thanksgiving tournament at Robert Morris.
There, before crowds of 1,000, Kent State was ousted by Hofstra in the first round and Pitt lost to South Florida in the championship game. Fast forward four months later, and either Pitt or Kent State will be among the final eight teams.
“Anything can happen in college basketball,” Pitt coach Ben Howland said. “That’s why we all have dreams. That’s why we shoot for the stars.”
And if it’s an opposing player shooting, he’s likely to have a Pitt defender draped all over him.
College coaches stress the importance of playing defense. But, in a sport in which scoring averages are the most talked-about statistic, defense often seems to be a largely ignored art.
Howland, however, successfully sold this team on playing aggressive defense during the preseason. The result has been the school’s best defense (60.7 points per game) since the early 1950s, before there was dunking or three-point shooting.
“But I don’t have to sell them any more,” said Howland, chosen Monday as the Naismith coach of the year. “Our guys love to play good defense because they love to win.”
Cal acknowledged being frustrated by Pitt’s never-let-up defense usually, a man-to-man while going scoreless for 912 minutes and without a basket for 11 minutes in its 63-50 second-round loss Sunday in Pittsburgh.
“We expect to win every game,” star point guard Brandin Knight said. “But we know we have to commit to it (playing defense). A lot of guys don’t like to sacrifice, but we sacrifice to win.”
Knight’s backcourt teammate, Julius Page, said, “No one on this team wants to be the one who’s scored on.”
That’s something that doesn’t happen much against Pitt; in its first two NCAA games since 1993, against Central Connecticut State and California, the Panthers allowed 104 points. That’s one fewer point than Cincinnati permitted in its 105-101 loss to UCLA on Sunday.
Pittsburgh ? The coach had no national identity, his team had been invisible on the NCAA scene for a decade.
While it’s hard to come out of nowhere when playing in a major league city, that’s exactly what Pitt has done by advancing to the NCAA round of 16 behind a star named Knight and an unswerving commitment to defense.
The Panthers (29-5), enjoying the best season in school history, play Kent State (29-5) Thursday in an NCAA South Regional semifinal that no one envisioned when they appeared in a little-noticed Thanksgiving tournament at Robert Morris.
There, before crowds of 1,000, Kent State was ousted by Hofstra in the first round and Pitt lost to South Florida in the championship game. Fast forward four months later, and either Pitt or Kent State will be among the final eight teams.
“Anything can happen in college basketball,” Pitt coach Ben Howland said. “That’s why we all have dreams. That’s why we shoot for the stars.”
And if it’s an opposing player shooting, he’s likely to have a Pitt defender draped all over him.
College coaches stress the importance of playing defense. But, in a sport in which scoring averages are the most talked-about statistic, defense often seems to be a largely ignored art.
Howland, however, successfully sold this team on playing aggressive defense during the preseason. The result has been the school’s best defense (60.7 points per game) since the early 1950s, before there was dunking or three-point shooting.
“But I don’t have to sell them any more,” said Howland, chosen Monday as the Naismith coach of the year. “Our guys love to play good defense because they love to win.”
Cal acknowledged being frustrated by Pitt’s never-let-up defense usually, a man-to-man while going scoreless for 912 minutes and without a basket for 11 minutes in its 63-50 second-round loss Sunday in Pittsburgh.
“We expect to win every game,” star point guard Brandin Knight said. “But we know we have to commit to it (playing defense). A lot of guys don’t like to sacrifice, but we sacrifice to win.”
Knight’s backcourt teammate, Julius Page, said, “No one on this team wants to be the one who’s scored on.”
That’s something that doesn’t happen much against Pitt; in its first two NCAA games since 1993, against Central Connecticut State and California, the Panthers allowed 104 points. That’s one fewer point than Cincinnati permitted in its 105-101 loss to UCLA on Sunday.
