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Defense remains missing as Pitt falls to Louisville
PITTSBURGH - Rebounding, defense and clutch play from Levance Fields - three primary components of Pitt's early season play - have gone missing from the Panthers' repertoire.
And their once-solid NCAA tournament standing is slipping by the game.
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"We've got to defend better and rebound better," Pitt coach Jamie Dixon said. "We got outrebounded again and that's been our calling card."
The loss was the third straight for Pitt (19-8, 7-7), which shares eighth-place in the Big East Conference with Villanova. It's the first time that's happened since the 2004-05 season.
Pitt also allowed 70-plus points for the third-straight game. Opponents scored that many in just five of the Panthers' first 24 games.
Thanks to the offensive display, No. 18 Louisville (22-6, 12-3) moved into a first-place tie with Georgetown, plus the Cardinals became the first team to win two games on Pitt's home floor.
"Generally, we're winning with our defense," Louisville coach Rick Pitino said. "(Sunday), we won it with our offense."
The Cardinals made 30 of 52 shots, and their field-goal percentage of 57.7 percent was the highest Pitt has allowed this season. The damage was inflicted in a variety of ways.
Senior center David Padgett finished with 21 points and six rebounds. Besides muscling Pitt center DeJuan Blair (20 points, 11 rebounds) when Padgett wanted, the injury-prone seven-footer scored on a layup and made three free throws during the final minute to help the Cardinals hold on to a lead.
Edgar Sosa scored 18 points in 27 minutes and his three three-pointers came at opportune situations. His final three came when the shot clock had run down and it put Louisville ahead, 57-51.
"We have depth and we execute well," Pitino said. "Padgett just helps everything offensively and defensively. You generally don't see that from a seven-footer."
After trailing early, Pitt grabbed its first lead at 14-12 on a Sam Young three-pointer. Tyrell Biggs capped a 9-0 run with a bucket inside but Louisville took the lead for good on a steal, layup and free throw from Sosa.
And every time Pitt needed a stop, Louisville either scored as the shot-clock expired - like when Sosa beat the halftime buzzer with a layup - or got an easy basket - like when Juan Palacios dunked a perfect feed from Padgett for a 63-58 lead.
"I guess if I knew (what was wrong) we'd be winning," said Young, who finished with 20 points, seven rebounds and five assists. "I'm really not quite sure. It could be a combination of a lot of things. We've got to find a way to get it done."
Pitt did a number of things right against Louisville, which made the loss more frustrating for the players.
Levance Fields, in his first start since breaking his left foot against Dayton on Dec. 29, scored eight points with seven assists and no turnovers.
The Panthers had a season-low four turnovers against Louisville's pressure defense.
"We just couldn't stop them getting to the basket," Young said.
Pitt also missed its share of shots from the perimeter. The Panthers were 6-for-21 from three and Fields shot a miserable 4-for-13, including misses on all four of his three-point attempts.
With just over a minute remaining, Fields missed a three-pointer after Palacios was called for traveling. Pitt trailed 68-65 at the time and Padgett made a layup on Louisville's next possession.
"I'm shooting bricks," Fields said. "(Young) did a great job finding me. I just couldn't do nothing with my shooting on the perimeter, My teammates look at me as a point guard or leader and I didn't come up down the stretch."
With 12 seconds remaining, Fields had another opportunity for a game-tying three points but opted to pass inside to Blair, who missed and Louisville was on the way to its seventh-straight win.
"I thought we had enough time to get a layup," Fields added. "I thought we could get down one and try to get the ball back in time. I felt we had enough time."
