PIT DEPTH POSSIBLY MARCH X-FACTOR

February 11, 2009


It was quite a contrast on Monday night when West Virginia head coach looked down his bench for some relief as his starters racked up some early foul trouble and did not find a suitable answer while across the way Jamie Dixon did not hesitate calling on his reserves as Pittsburgh made a run with DeJuan Blair and Levance Fields saddled with two fouls.

With Brad Wanamaker and Ashton Gibbs emerging in their reserve roles and Gilbert Brown being a steady bench contributor, Pitt's Reserves Don't Miss a Beat Spelling Foul-Plagued Starters (Post-Gazette) Monday. Nasir Robinson and Gary McGhee also saw minutes of action in the game.

While the common denominator in both of Pitt's losses (at Louisville, at Villanova) was DeJuan Blair missing significant portions of the game with foul trouble as their opponents went on runs to wipe out Pitt leads, Pitt Was Fine Defending Withouth Big Man Blair (Tribune-Review) in the 1st half and went on a game-clinching run when he went to the bench with personal fouls three and four (via a 'T') in the second half. It was a question on the Panthers that needed to be answered before March against a good team (they also were able to do it at Rutgers earlier in the season).