You guys really think RU will score less than 60?
Pitt 73, RU 68
This is the Jacob Young game.....
I've stayed out of the prediction threads, because this roster is still sorting out it's roles. Jacob Young and Montez Mathis will need to bulldog Xavier Johnson, who can get to the basket....Young and Mathis need to keep him out of transition and out of the paint.
Offense helps the defense.....make shots, get to the FT line and get the defense set.....miss shots and if Johnson gets downhill in transition, Pitt will get to the line.
These are two programs still sorting out young rosters. If Jacob Young can take care of the ball and be a bulldog on defense, we can take Pitt out of what they want to do on offense....they're not efficient and will force up bad shots....they can be frustrated.
If RU can get Myles Johnson to an efficient 20-22 minutes and he alters a couple of shots per half, RU wins....I assume Jacob Young has bought into closing the loop on becoming a stopper with Mathis. if both can rotate and keep Johnson in check, I don't see consistent reliable scoring from Pittsburgh.....and Geo will have time to find shots and open shooters.
RU 70, Pittsburgh 62....
look at the scores of the Pitt games. I expect an ugly half court game. They have a crappy offense and RU is pretty bad in the half court themselves. Thats why I dont like this matchup. I think the UMass game was great but RU won through transition, can we do that against a tough Pitt defense. If RU wins its going to be because they grinded it out on D
I get and agree with your original take. What concerns me is this goes from our OOC 70 possession game to 62-63 possession half court game where mistakes offensively are maginfied.....same holds true on the other end which is why I am 100% in agreement that this is Jacob Young time.
Now the part with Myles playing 20-22 minutes.....that is in a perfect world, but our roster is not perfect. Last year it was terrible not having a backup PG and it was torture watching us with Geo on the bench. Although not nearly as bad, this year is the backup center that gets me really worried. Geo was our MVP last year without any hesitation, this year it is clear as day Myles is our MVP.