By From the Archives

Published: March 17, 2009

BY BRIAN T. SMITH
BRISTOL HERALD COURIER
JOHNSON CITY, Tenn. – Murry Bartow was waiting on the goods to arrive.
The East Tennessee State University men’s basketball coach said Tuesday morning he was anticipating the delivery of a package containing a video collection of the Pittsburgh Panthers. Once Bartow received the parcel, he hoped the Buccaneers would be able to figure out what makes the Panthers work – and work so well.
But considering Pittsburgh is the No. 4-ranked team in the country in the Associated Press and ESPN/USA Today polls, ETSU already has a pretty good idea of why the Panthers are so tough. And why the NCAA Tournament East Region first-round matchup between the No. 16 seed Bucs and No. 1 seed Pittsburgh weighs heavily in the Panthers’ favor.
Tipoff is scheduled for 2:55 p.m. Friday at the University of Dayton Arena in Dayton, Ohio. The game will be televised in a national broadcast and will be carried locally by CBS (11).
Physical play in the paint, a dynamic offense and a magnet-like ability to collect and secure rebounds propelled Pitt to the No. 1 ranking in the country for three weeks during the 2008-09 season. And Pittsburgh’s powerful trio of sophomore forward DeJuan Blair, senior forward Sam Young and senior guard Levance Fields gives the Panthers a set of weapons most college coaches would do nearly anything to acquire.
“Pittsburgh’s a different animal,” ETSU assistant coach Scott Wagers said.
It’s an animal East Tennessee State’s coaches know will be difficult to tame, and video footage alone won’t show the Bucs (23-10) the light.
The Panthers (28-4) rank second out of 330 Division I teams in rebounding margin (9.9) and assist-to-turnover ratio (1.5), third in won-loss percentage (87.5) and fifth in scoring margin (13.9).
Moreover, no matter how many times the Buccaneers review and dissect what makes the Panthers tick, ETSU will still have to do what’s never been done before – carry the weight of a No. 16 seed and knock off a No. 1 in the first round of The Dance.
It doesn’t help that the Bucs have struggled this season in the same categories Pitt has excelled. East Tennessee State ranks 223 in D-I in scoring defense (70.0), 203 in assist-to-turnover ratio (0.89) and 131 in rebounding margin (1.5).
Bucs redshirt freshman forward Isiah Brown said ETSU will have to employ a defense-by-committee approach to shut down the Panthers inside and prevent Pittsburgh from constantly cleaning the glass.
The 6-foot-8, 200-pound Brown pointed toward the Bucs’ all-for-one effort in the Atlantic Sun conference tournament championship game as an example of how ETSU must combat the Panthers. The Buccaneers downed the Jacksonville Dolphins, 85-68, March 7 in Nashville, Tenn., and the victory handed East Tennessee State the A-Sun tournament title and an automatic bid in the NCAA Tournament. Brown said the Buccaneers’ focused, team-driven approach, in which ETSU confidently displayed a no-quit effort and aggressively attacked the Dolphins from the opening tip, is the same way the Bucs need to confront the Panthers.
“We all have to play well for a chance at Pittsburgh,” Brown said. “They’re not a regular team. They’re a No. 1 seed and probably one of the best teams in the country.
“It’s a team-mentality thing. You can’t just psyche yourself [up]. The whole team gotta know they can do it.”
Brown said that since none of Buccaneers have played in the NCAA Tournament, all 10 of the blue-and-gold must walk on the court knowing each of their teammates has their back.
ETSU freshman center Seth Coy agreed with Brown.
The 6-foot-11, 240-pound Coy said he had heard a lot about Pittsburgh’s Blair, whose double-double average of 15.6 points and 12.2 rebounds per game is a statistical nightmare for an ETSU squad that lacks a true starting center and has been forced to rely on a rotation of forwards to shore up the middle all season.
Blair recorded 10 or more rebounds in 20 of the Panthers’ 32 contests this season, including a season-high 23 in Pitt’s 76-68 victory over Big East rival Connecticut on Feb. 16.
Shutting down Blair and the rest of the Panthers’ front line is a tall task for the Bucs. But Coy said it’s one East Tennessee State must accept if the Buccaneers want to keep their season alive.
“We’ve just got to come out and play and do what we do,” Coy said. “Their ability to jump and rebound … that’s just something that we’ll have to overcome.”

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Who: East Tennessee State University (23-10) vs. Pittsburgh Panthers (28-4)
What: NCAA Tournament first round men’s basketball game
When: 2:55 p.m., Friday
Where: The University of Dayton Arena in Dayton, Ohio
TV: CBS (11)