Coach Pitino said in his post-game that it is very tough to sweep a team during a season. This is especially true when that team is riding high on a three game winning streak like Pitt was on Wednesday night. The Cards used one of their most impressive stretches of the season to sweep Pitt beating the Panthers 69-56. This is the Cardinals 6th straight win over the Panthers in a series they now lead 10 to 5. With this big win tonight our Cardinals clinched their thirteenth straight 20+ win season.
There was really nothing spectacular about the first half of this game and other than Montrezl hitting jump shots from all over the gym it was just dull. He scored 14 of the Cards 27 first half points. With Wayne going out early with a hip injury and 0 points from the bench it looked like it was going to be just another night.
When the second half started Pitt looked like they had come out of the locker room on a mission. They were hitting shots and the Cards weren’t doing much to slow them down. They took the lead and kept it for pretty much the first 12 minutes. Then you could see the lights come on in the Cardinals that were on the court. Peyton Siva was in the house tonight and in the final 8 minutes of this game the defense looked as good as it did during some of the games he played. The Cardinals were flying all over the court, deflections, blocked shots, steals, close outs, solid rotation it was a thing of beauty. The offense wasn’t too shabby either during this stretch. Alley-oop dunks, great passes the Cards found their mojo on both ends of the court. They closed out the second half on a 14-1 run.
On Wednesday afternoon Montrezl Harrell and Terry Rozier were named to the Wooden Award Late Season Top 20. On Wednesday night and especially in that second half stretch they showed why. Montrezl finished with 28 points, 12 rebounds, 1 assist, 5 blocks and 1 steal. Terry finished with a perfect 10-10 on the free-throw line, 22 points, 10 rebounds, 3 assist and 1 blocked shot. This is the second game this season where these guys both finished with a double-double. This was Trezl’s ninth double-double and Terry’s second this season.
In my Pregame breakdown I said that I would like to see the bench start coming around and that the time was now. I mentioned specifically Snider, Aaron, Gill, and in that 5 spot from Mango and Anas. On Wednesday night these guys answered my call. Every one of them had a hand in this game. Their team needed them especially with Wayne out and Chris sitting in the dog house. The Bench scored 8 points, had 12 rebounds, 3 assist, 2 blocks, and 1 steal.
There’s no doubt that some of these guys grew up a little bit tonight. And I think it speaks volumes about the direction this team is headed. Progress is being made and these guys have continued to work hard. When you’ve got new players that come into a program you need this type of game and this kind of reward. Faced some adversity, were asked to step up, and answered the call.
If this team can build on this game especially the young guys and play segments like in the final eight minutes then they are going to be a force in the tournament and could very well make a solid run. I know it’s just one game and I may be a little too happy with some of the things I seen. But Cardinal fans I’m excited… Go Cards!
