IU vs. Pittsburgh

This is the second game of a very tough three-game stretch. IU played well but fell apart late against Maryland. They get Kentucky on Saturday. On Tuesday night, they take on the Pittsburgh Panthers, a number one seed in last year's NCAA tourney. Pitt is off to a very good start this season. They have a 7-1 record and their only loss came to #2 Texas. In my opinion, this is a bad matchup for the Hoosiers. As a program, Pittsburgh has three goals. They want to defend, rebound and be more physical than their opponent. Indiana doesn't do well against teams that make them run a half-court offense and they haven't shown the ability to play against a tough opponent. This one could get ugly.

Get to the Basket
IU is not going to be able to get a lot of fast break baskets. That is going to put them in a lot of half-court situations where they will need to find a way to get points. The best way to score is to attack the basket. You either finish or get fouled. For the offense to be successful against the Panthers, Jeremiah Rivers (if he's healthy), Verdell Jones, Maurice Creek, Jordan Hulls and Devan Dumes are going to have to get to the basket. IU can't afford missed layups or free throws in this one.


Be Tough
Pittsburgh always has a gritty and hard-nosed team. Tom Crean has been imploring his team to be tougher and meaner but he admits they just don't know how yet. I hope they have learned a little bit about it in the past week, if not, Pitt will beat them up. There is a lot of muscle on this Panthers squad and I don't know if Indiana is ready to compete with them in that department. They are going to need to be more physical tonight.

The Great Equalizer
The three-pointer can make or break a team's chances. I am not advocating 30 three-point attempts in this game. However, I think Indiana is going to have put up some threes and they need to shoot well from behind the arc to win. I don't want to put an arbitrary number on this but they will need to shoot it pretty well to hang around.

Player of the Game
Jermaine Dixon, Pitt's best returning player, might be coming back from a foot injury tonight. If he does, he might take this. Ashton Gibbs is currently their top scorer at 16 a game. I think Maurice Creek will have another nice game and he will be IU's best player. However, my pick for player of the game is Brad Wanamaker. Wanamaker is averaging 12 points and six rebounds. Rivers will be guarding Gibbs so Wanamaker might have more open looks.

Prediction
I hope I am wrong but this matchup looks awful for IU. Pitt by 15.