Texas and Pittsburgh are two of the most productive teams of the current decade. The two programs have combined to make ten appearances in the NCAA Tournament Sweet Sixteen over the last eight seasons. Over that same stretch, they have five seasons of at least 27 wins. For two programs with so much recent success, it’s a shame they have only played once, 18 years ago.

Unfortunately, tonight’s Pitt team won’t be as polished as the previous squads Coach Jamie Dixon has led during his six-plus years at the helm. The Panthers are but a shell of their former selves, as six members of last year’s Elite Eight team won’t be on the court tonight. They lost 52 points per game from last year’s lineup thanks to the departures of DeJuan Blair, Sam Young, Levance Fields, and Tyrell Biggs. Jermaine Dixon, the team’s only returning starter and senior, will be unavailable after breaking his foot in September. Add in the fact that junior forward Gilbert Brown is academically ineligible this semester, and many fans won’t even be able to recognize the remaining Pitt roster.

Don’t let the new look fool you, however. Coach Dixon has always done less with more, having achieved his impressive results without the benefit of a single McDonald’s All-American recruit in his first six seasons. Just two years ago, he led the Panthers to 27 wins and an NCAA second-round appearance without Fields or Mike Cook, who both were injured. You can be sure that Pittsburgh will be well-disciplined and well-coached on the fundamentals, and should give Texas a run for their money tonight.

By the numbers

As a disciple of UCLA’s Ben Howland, Dixon is a defense-first coach whose team will get in your face and force mistakes. They love to quickly double down on the wings and the blocks, causing bad passes, charges, and travels.

This season, however, the Panthers have flipped the script. Through their first four games, it’s the offense that is leading the charge. Ranked by efficiency, the Panther attack is 14th in the country, while the defense is just 141st-best in the land. As usual, the Panther tempo stats are near the bottom of the barrel, with their 64.9 possessions per game checking in at 286th nationally.

Pitt’s biggest problem is — just like the Longhorns — at the free throw line. The Panthers have made just 62.4% of their attempts so far this year, slightly behind Texas’ 63.2% mark. If this game turns into a physical hackfest, the ensuing free throw display could very well be a crime against humanity.

Meet the Panthers

The new-look Pittsburgh team is led by sophomore combo guard Ashton Gibbs. Although he’s just in his second year, he gained valuable experience this summer on the gold-medal winning U.S. U-19 team coached by Dixon. Gibbs played so well on that squad, he worked his way up to a starting role by the end of the summer. While Gibbs is a heady floor general, he’s also a very dangerous shooter. Last year, he led the Big East in three-point percentage, and is off to another quick start this year, knocking down 42.9% of his looks.

Travon Woodall is just 5’11”, but has lightning-quick speed that more than makes up for his short stature. Starting alongside Gibbs, Woodall is the primary distributor, dishing out 28 assists through the first four games. The tiny guard has incredible court vision and is often lasering passes through tiny windows that no one else can see. He’s also fantastic on the fast break, able to dart in and out of traffic like a waterbug.

Perhaps the biggest impact player to return from last year’s team is junior Brad Wanamaker, a stocky 6’4″ guard who embodies Dixon’s intense defensive mindset. He’s not solely a one-trick pony, though, as he knows how to get to the rack and finish, to the tune of ten points per game this season. With so much talent missing from last year’s team, Wanamaker is being looked at to lead this young bunch through the tough Big East slate.

Nasir Robinson is a 6’5″ sophomore forward who can also fill the center role when Dixon wants to go with a smaller lineup. He wasn’t much of a contributor in his freshman season, but has started all four games this year. He’s responded well, posting ten points and five boards per game so far.

The key to this year’s team, though, will likely be the development of center Gary McGhee. He spent last season backing up Blair, playing less than seven minutes per game. This year, he’s being thrust into the spotlight as the team’s sole post option, and the team’s success could very well ride on how well he responds.

So far, McGhee is averaging 6.3 rebounds per game and 7.5 points. He’s not an incredibly quick guy, and his footwork still needs some improvement. Tonight should be a good test for him against the slimmed-down, more explosive Dexter Pittman.

Off the bench, the Panthers really only run three deep. Chase Adams is the first guard off the pine, and he has a history with the Longhorns. Adams is a new arrival in Pittsburgh, having transferred from Centenary, where he once faced Kevin Durant and the Horns in the Erwin Center. Back on December 28th, 2006, then-freshman Adams provided fourteen points and six assists in a losing effort against Texas. Since then, he’s improved his assist-to-TO numbers and even was named defensive player of the year in the Summit League last season thanks to 83 steals.

Freshman Dante Taylor is Dixon’s first McDonald’s All-American recruit, and his undeniable talent has earned him a bunch of early playing time. Coming out of Houston, Taylor is still working his way back from a foot injury, and will likely be even more of a force by conference play. He’s already quite impressive, though, grabbing six boards per contest in just 18 minutes per game.

Lamar Patterson rounds out the core rotation for Coach Dixon. Just a freshman, he already has an excellent basketball body at 6’5″, 220 pounds. While he’s playing just over twelve minutes a game, this swingman is already showing brief flashes of his potential. While he likely won’t make a huge impact on tonight’s game, he has a bright future ahead of him.

Keys to the game

Just like Iowa, the Panthers move the ball around very, very well. They play unselfish basketball and wear out opponents with crisp passing and great floor spacing. In a dominating 71-46 win over Binghamton, the Panthers had a ridiculous 24 assists on 27 field goals. Texas will once again have to play great team defense, communicating, rotating, and helping each other out against the precision Panther offense.

Texas will also need to earn extra possessions against a Pitt team that is ninth-best in the country when it comes to keeping opponents off the offensive glass. The Panthers can score in bunches, so the Longhorns need to get second and third chances when they fail to score.

Playing in front of a crowd that is decidedly anti-Texas also means that the Longhorns need to get ahead early. While this is technically a neutral-site game, last night’s crowd made it clear that the Sprint Center is going to be a road arena for Texas. If the Horns can take them out of it early — and not give the lead away like last night — the freshmen won’t have to deal with a hostile crowd in the waning moments of a close game.

Tonight’s tip is set for 9:15 P.M. Central, but once again it will be affected by the earlier game. Iowa and Wichita State tip off in the consolation game at 6:45, and there will be a 30 minute window between the two contests. If you’re out and about tonight, be sure to add time to the end of those DVR settings.

We’ll be hitting the road back to Austin immediately following tonight’s game, so look for a delayed post-game sometime Wednesday evening.