They opened the year with a 40 point loss against a shoddy Purdue team picked to finish 13th in the Big Ten just ahead of Rutgers and behind Penn State. So let's see here, Pitt is playing a home game against a low-major team with a new coach trying to replace 5 of his top 6 scorers from a 20 loss team who just lost their opener by 40 points to a team that is barely better than Rutgers.
Obviously, Pitt would find a way to be in a one-possession game against this team with half a minute to play because Pitt.
The Southern Conference might be for Pitt basketball what the MAC is for Pitt football. In the 2009 season opener Pitt trailed Wofford the majority of the game before eking out a 63-60 victory. However, that Wofford team won 26 games and made the tournament. This Samford team will struggle to win 26 games the next two years.
The good news is that Pitt shot 51% from the field to Samford's 32%. The bad news is that Samford had 13 offensive rebounds with every one of their 9 players grabbing at least 1. Here are some thoughts.
Michael Young - Young didn't have much of a post game last year. There were times when he would get the ball underneath and not know what to do with it. That has changed a lot. Young scored every which way inside today. There were dunks, layups, reverses, everything you'd expect from a high-level big man. Young needs to have a huge year for Pitt to have a chance at the Sweet 16. He had a game high 20 on 10-13 shooting.
Grade: A+
Jamel Artis - He led Pitt in scoring with 14 against Niagara. He had 12 today. Two games into the season and he is already halfway to his 2013 season total of 8 three-pointers made. He's 4-6 from long range so far this season. He slimmed down and is almost unrecognizable from last year.
Grade: A
Chris Jones - He missed a bunch of shots and will soon be relegated to backup duty when Wright returns.
Grade: C
James Robinson - Tell me if this stat line seems familiar. 2-6 shooting 4-4 from the line, 8 assists, 2 turnovers. Typical Robinson for better or for worse. I do think he'll eventually break out, but it hasn't happened yet. He did have 6 rebounds and 2 blocks which was a nice surprise.
Grade: A-
Joseph Uchebo - Two games in and no exploded knees. That's a good thing.
Grade: C
Derrick Randall - He didn't commit a foul! He didn't commit a foul!
Grade: A because although he only scored once (a layup off a great feed from Young) he automatically gets an A any game he does not foul someone (even if he only played four minutes).
Sheldon Jeter - He made all 3 of his shots including an alley-oop. Jeter is a transfer who played one year at Vanderbilt before sitting out last season. He's from Beaver Falls. If you grow up in Beaver Falls, there is approximately a 59% chance your last name is Jeter.
Grade: A-
Josh Newkirk - He had surprising 7 assists off the bench, but 3 turnovers and 4 fouls prevent a higher grade.
Grade: B
Cameron Johnson - He bricked a three after getting a block on the other end. That was his only shot in 13 minutes. The Niagara game might have been an aberration.
Grade: C
Pitt heads to Hawaii for a road game against the Rainbow Warriors on Friday before the Maui Invitational November 24-26. Pitt gets to play an extra game because an NCAA rule states you get an extra non-conference game if you play a road game in Hawaii. That games starts at 11:59 pm so I will probably not liveblog it.
Probably.
So basically, Pitt is going 41-0 and breaking the record for most wins in a college basketball season. The 2011 Baylor Brittney Griners and 2013 UConn Women went 40-0.
Okay, maybe they will win less than that.
Maybe.
Hail to Pitt,
J.O.
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