Pitt Going to First Elite Eight in Dixon Era

Wow.  That is all I can say.

Wow.

I had to work and missed the first half.  I was getting text message updates the whole time.  Pitt down two.  Pitt down five.  Pitt down eight at half.

Dang.

Pitt bringing it back.  Pitt on 7-0 run to open second half.  Pitt has taken the lead.

Sweet.

I finally got home to see Pitt ahead by one, only to go ice cold, missing 10 straight shots.  Although, there was something about the game and about the way that Pitt’s defense was playing in the second half that just told me Pitt was going to pull it out.

However, it stayed ugly for a while.  Then Pitt took a five point lead.  Then they gave up the lead just as fast, after a 7-0 run by Xavier.

Then Mr. Clutch took it upon himself.  Levance Fields showed himself to be the most clutch player this program has seen.  He hit, yet another, contested step-back three to take the lead—this time for good.  Add to that, a DeJuan Blair steal on the next play that led to a Fields fast break layup and a three point lead with 26 seconds to go and that the nail in the coffin.

Wow, 60-55, what a game.  What a team. Pitt finally broke the barrier of the Sweet 16 and got themselves into the Elite Eight.

That is the best part.  The pressure is off.  They are over the hump.  A loss on Saturday wouldn’t be catastrophic the way a loss tonight would have been.  It doesn’t mean it won’t be hard to swallow, but it won’t be a catastrophe either.

Before tonight’s win, Pitt was playing for the legacy of this program.  Now they can play for the legacy of this team.  The Elite Eight was for validation of everything Jamie Dixon has put in place the last six years.  A Final Four or national championship would be all about this team.

And this team is highly capable of going all the way.

They are also capable of losing to any of the upcomming potential matchups.  But that doesn’t even matter.  What matters is, they finally got over the hump.

Also, they did it with a superb defensive effort, especially in the second half.  The Panthers held Xavier to 18 points in the final 20.  At this stage of the tournament, against a fourth seed ,that has been ranked as high as the top 10 this season, that defensive effort is truly remarkable.

The analysts will likely talk about the low score and how Pitt struggled to win again.  But the real story is, they played absolute lock down defense.  With under 30 seconds in the game and a one point lead, they didn’t even let Xavier get a shot off.  Pitt held Xavier to under 25 percent shooting in the second half (7-29).  They didn’t even let the Musketeers score until six minutes had passed in the second half.

What a game.  As a Pitt fan, it is unbleiveable to see them finally get past the Sweet 16.  This is a team and a season to be proud of.

Only three more to go.