Victory at Villanova

The Panthers are breathing a sigh of relief after an anxious final second play on Saturday. Fourth ranked Pittsburgh escaped The Pavilion in Pennsylvania with a 57-54 victory over the Villanova Wildcats. The Panthers quieted the Cats in snapping Villanova’s 43-game home winning streak. Villanova rallied to make it a one possession game with one minute to go, but Pittsburgh survived down the stretch to squeeze out the three point win in a Big East battle. The Panthers proved they remain the team to beat in the rugged conference. Pittsburgh owns a 23-2 overall record and is 11-1 in the Big East. Pittsburgh has won six consecutive road games and is poised for a riveting run in the conference finals. ‘Nova dropped to 7-5 after falling at home for the first time since January 2007.
Brad Wanamaker, a Philadelphia native playing for Pittsburgh, led all scorers with 21 points. The Panthers played without Ashton Gibbs, but Pitt’s counter-punchers came up with big baskets in his absence. The Wildcats led 27-24 after the low scoring first half. The home team was also playing without their top starter in Corey Stokes. Villanova’s Mouphtaou Yarou collected eight points and five rebounds in the first eight minutes of the game. Yarou blocked four shots and made Pitt think twice about driving the lane. The Panthers went 0-5 beyond the arc to open the game and finished just 10% from the rainbow. Nasir Robinson had a team high seven buckets for Pitt in the first half while Antonio Pena and Corey Fisher paced the Cats with seven points apiece.
Villanova slowed down to begin second half play. The Cats made just three baskets in fourtheen minutes. Wanamaker gave Pitt their first lead midway through the first half with a three point play at 14:23. The Pittsburgh senior guard converted another three point play with 2:46 after the Wildcats scored eight unanswered points. The Panthers’ offense improved after the intermission, shooting 50% from the field. The game also became more physical, as Fisher and Robinson were called for technicals. The Pittsburgh starters carried the bulk of the load. Jamie Dixon’s bench provided just three points in the victory. Pena hit a three-pointer with 58 seconds left to make it a three point affair.
Wanamaker scored 15 of his 21 points in the second half but committed a key turnover with 27 ticks on the clock. Maalik Wayns was stopped on his way to the basket following a ‘Nova timeout and the home team were forced to attempt a three-pointer with four seconds remaining. Dominick Cheek’s trey caromed off the rim and Maurice Sutton hauled in the rebound. Sutton relayed the ball back to Wayns for one last shot. Wayns sank the three but it was after the buzzer as the Panthers held on to win. Wayns finished with 13 points (obviously not including the key three after time expired).

Parting Points: Ohio State has fallen as many suspected. Wisconsin beat the Buckeyes in Madison to hand the last unbeaten college team their first loss of the season.