Top of the Heap

What do Georgetown, Duke, Notre Dame, and Connecticut all have in common?

Come on. You know this.

Each team came into Madison Square Garden a top-10 team, expecting a win against the plucky seniors of St. John’s.

And each left Madison Square Garden with the sounds of the home fans in their ears, avoiding possible court-stormings, and with an L on their record.

But you probably knew that.

Pittsburgh comes to New York City at 24-2, with a 12-1 conference record in the Big East, looking to make it 13. This will be the 6th time the Panthers have played in Madison Square Garden in the past 2 years. Besides a home game against St. John’s last year and a loss in the Big East tournament, they played Indiana in the Garden in the Jimmy V classic last year and defeated Texas and Maryland in the Coaches vs. Cancer tournament. The Panthers also have a 6-0 record in true road games.

The Panthers won’t be fazed by the Garden. They are the top of the Big East heap, and they love playing in New York. Can St. John’s whip out some giant-killing magic and get their best road win to date?

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Pittsburgh (24-2, 12-1 Big East)

Right now, Pittsburgh is best in the Big East class. And by a wide margin. By efficiency margin, by record, by the way they dispatch teams – the Panthers look down into the valley of the Big East. The Panthers are 2 games better than the next-place team (Notre Dame), an 3 games better than the mudwrestling match that is the rest of the parity-filled league – 9 teams are within 3 conference wins of each other with 4-6 games to go in their seasons.

The Panthers are the most efficient team on offense and the most effective team on defense in the Big East. They play slowly, deliberately, execute as well as always, crash the glass, and get to the free throw line. Ashton Gibbs is the leading scorer at 16 per game. He is coming off of an injury but is expected to play for the Panthers. Interestingly, in conference play he’s hitting 48.6% of his shots outside of the arc… and 32% inside the arc. He shoots from the outside more frequently, but that is interesting to see.

But the real engine for the Panthers is Brad Wanamaker. I have no idea what his real position is, but he just makes plays. he leads the team in assists, grabs rebounds, is the second-leading scorer, leads the team in free throw attempts, is a real ballhawk… he does it all. For a basketball fan, he’s a joy to watch, even if he’ll never make all-American, and might not even make all-Big East. But he’s a difference-maker, and enjoys the mid-range jump shot.

The other guards and wings include the athletic Gilbert Brown, a good passer and a very good finisher with an outside shot, and Brooklyn’s Travon Woodall, who is the team’s best passer, but is in need of a better jump shot.

Up front, the Panthers are led by a rotation of big men, and a strangely effective little big man. Nasir Robinson is only 6’5″ but is one of the team’s most effective bigs if only for his energy. He plays along with the very large Gary McGhee, who has developed into a good big man – efficient, rebounds well, uses his size. He’s a poor free throw shooter. Behind him is the former McDonald’s All-American Dante Taylor, who has been excellent in short stretches – a lot of thunder dunks. Talib Zanna is getting more time and can be quite effective. But as a unit, the bigs really dominate the glass, and they can take advantage of the guards’ playmaking for easy dunks.

Keys to the Game

Force them out of their rhythm. St. John’s needs turnovers in this one, badly.  Both to get easy opportunities against the great Pitt defense, but also to take Pitt out of its rhythm.  The team can look almost clinical at times carving up teams… St. John’s needs to impose chaos (without getting out of control).

Stop Ashton Gibbs. Gibbs is the team’s most consistent scorer, though others take their turns taking over; forcing Ashton into a poor shooting night puts a lot more pressure on the rest of the Panthers.

Don’t get crushed on the defensive glass/ in the paint. The Panthers are dominant rebounders on both ends, imposing their will on other teams. St. John’s has to body up the Pitt players and get to the ball first, and get to the ball aggressively.

Stifle the inside game/ no dunks. Expect Pitt to use their size advantage inside. St. John’s has to keep the Pitt bigs from making a real impact (and the slashing Gilbert Brown as well).

Protect the ball. …And get the ball into the right spots. St. John’s will have to play smart, heady basketball against the defensively tight Panthers in the halfcourt.

Prediction: Pittsburgh is just too much for St. John’s (I’ve said that before and the Johnnies have won). Pitt 67, St. John’s 64