2009-2010 Pittsburgh Basketball: Pitt vs Nova

The Villanova Wildcats like their tempo fast, their games high-scoring, and their shots uncontested.

They played the wrong kind of opponent on a Sunday afternoon that wasn't for the faint of heart.

Make no mistake: Coach Jay Wright's club did play hard against the Pittsburgh Panthers. Villanova gave as good as it got in a bare-knuckle Big East brawl, warring in the paint and diving for loose balls with complete abandon for 40 full minutes. This all-Pennsylvania passion play between two kinds of Cats - the fast ones from Philadelphia and the slow ones from Pittsburgh - featured a phenomenal degree of effort and intensity on both sides. Villanova didn't shame itself with the sweat and elbow grease it spilled at the Petersen Events Center.

But the Wildcats - trying to keep pace with Syracuse for the conference lead in late February - did walk away with something they would have cared to avoid: a loss.

Playing hard is commendable, but as much of a virtue as it most certainly is, it's not the whole story in a sporting competition. Pittsburgh - just as fierce and feisty - possessed a knack for making the clutch play, while Villanova didn't. That's why coach Jamie Dixon's Panthers remained unbeaten at home in 2010.

Villanova - which came into this game averaging 85 points per contest - quickly found out that it would have to endure a grinder in the Steel City. The Wildcats endured their lowest-scoring half of the season in the first 20 minutes, posting only 23 points in the face of Pittsburgh's pressure. The Panthers - thanks in large part to defensive stopper Jermaine Dixon - were able to contain Nova scoring stud Scottie Reynolds, who finished this game with 20 points but as many turnovers as made field goals (six).

If you contain Reynolds, the chances are good that you'll hold the rest of the Wildcats in check. Nova guard Corey Fisher (12 points) was the only other Wildcat to score in double figures, as Pitt regularly put a hand in the face of a shooter regardless of the location on the floor. Reynolds hit two quick threes early in the second half, but aside from that six-point burst, he never found much operating space against the Panthers' unflagging pressure. With the rest of Villanova's roster being unable to pick up the scoring slack, the boys from the City of Brotherly Love fell 20 points below their normal average, and that final tally of 65 points was largely inflated by the rhythms of endgame basketball, in which Pitt (like other teams nursing a multi-possession lead) allowed a series of easy layups in order to deny the 3-point shot.

This game remained competitive down the stretch, but just when Villanova had a golden opening, the Panthers closed the door with their defense.

Here was the way the action unfolded in Pittsburgh: With 45 seconds left and Pitt leading 62-58, Villanova fouled Panther guard Ashton Gibbs, a 90 percent foul shooter. The ill-advised foul figured to bump the margin to six points, but Gibbs astonishingly bricked both charity pitches. Suddenly, Nova had an opening, a chance to complete a last-minute comeback. Yet, just seven seconds later, Reynolds had a cross-court pass picked off by Gibbs, who was fouled with 38 seconds to go. While it's true that Gibbs missed yet another foul shot and pushed Pitt's lead to only five, the exchange still benefited the Panthers by the margin of an extra point. Had Reynolds taken care of the ball and guided his team to a layup, the Panthers would have led by only two, and the pressure of endgame basketball would have fallen even more heavily on the home team's shoulders, which were tightening up until that Gibbs turnover. When Reynolds missed a wild layup with 15 seconds remaining and the Panthers leading 64-60, the final nail had been driven into the Cats' coffin. Pittsburgh - with its mastery of tempo and its ability to hound Villanova on defense - had earned its fifth consecutive win after losing four of six earlier in the season.

Villanova's level of hustle wasn't deficient in a Sunday slugfest. However, when you put up your dukes against the Pittsburgh Panthers, you have to be precise as well as passionate. The folks from Philly forgot that lesson, and now they'll have to remember this loss for the rest of the 2010 season.

Pittsburgh vs Villanova Basketball Recap