Good luck.... from a Pitt fan

[UPitt89]

Hi guys.

I think Marquette and Pitt are the two best teams in the conference.  I look forward to a tough game on Sunday on National TV.

If Pitt plays like it did last night against UConn, you will win by a dozen.

If any of you are coming out to Pittsburgh for the game, let me know if you have any questions.

I've been following your threads the past couple of days... good stuff!

Good luck on Sunday...

[TVDirector]

right back atcha..
but not too sincere!
really wanted you guys to show bucky who was boss.
guess we'll have to punish you for letting us down!

[tower912]

The real crap of it is that this game boosts bucky's RPI (like they need it) regardless of who wins.   But, whoever controls the tempo wins the game.  If we can get it to >75 pts, we have a good shot.  If it is a low scoring ugly game like your last two, you should win.

[rocky_warrior]

Thanks & welcome '89 - glad you found us. 

FWIW, I'm kinda happy that we'll be heavy underdogs in this game.  Lists the pressure off the fan's shoulders that we HAVE to win, but give the team more motivation because they'll get fired up from the media predicting a Pitt win.  Based on last years experiences (and even the 2003 tourney game), I suspect it will be a battle from both ends.

I think the consensus here is that Marquette is capable of hanging with & beating just about any team depending on how we play that given day.  Unfortunately, play has been erratic.  It's becomes even more important against your guys, because you play as a team so well.  Marquette will need more than a couple "solo" efforts to beat Pitt - and we'll probably need more bench points than the Louisville game too.

What's the over/under on someone getting hurt in this game?  Both teams will remember last years physical battles well...

[downtown85]

What's the over/under on someone getting hurt in this game?  Both teams will remember last years physical battles well...

I expect the game to be extremely physical with both sides dishing it out and taking it. MU will not be caught off guard by Pitts game like they were in last year's first game.   I would imagine Crean will have the tackling dummy in full use this week in practice to get the troops prepared.  What are the odds a Marquette player gets hurt BEFORE the Pitt game? 

[Marquette84]

The real crap of it is that this game boosts bucky's RPI (like they need it) regardless of who wins. 

It should have no significant impact--one of us is going to win, one of us is going to lose.

The only way bucky's RPI goes up is when we both win.

[rocky_warrior]

Just read this on the Rival's Pitt board

Any Status on Aaron
The papers were all over his hurt wrist, how severe it hurt when he woke up from his nap, then played through it and had his best game of the year. Now he's supposed to have it reevaluated today, hopefully there isn't one of those hairline things that is enough to keep a giant down.

Hope he's ok, though I wouldn't mind if he had to sit out a game - say - on Sunday.  Of course, I still think Pitt's bench gives us more problems than Gray himself, but he is an important part of their offense.

[UPitt89]

The real crap of it is that this game boosts bucky's RPI (like they need it) regardless of who wins.   But, whoever controls the tempo wins the game.  If we can get it to >75 pts, we have a good shot.  If it is a low scoring ugly game like your last two, you should win.

I agree that the UConn game was low scoring and ugly... .but the Georgetown game?

Pitt and GTown both shot 60%....  Pitt had 22 assists on 28 baskets and only 7 turnovers.  GTown had 16 assists and just 10 turnovers.   There were a TOTAL of 41 rebounds between the two teams... because of the lack of missed shots.

Pitt had 16 assists on their first 16 made baskets.

The game Saturday night was anything BUT ugly.  It may have been the best game played... combined by both teams... in the Big East season so far.

If the Pitt from Saturday night shows up... I like our chances.   If the Pitt from last night shows up, you guys will throttle us.