The Bocker.com

Let’s ignore the fact that I called out Pitt coach Jamie Dixon before the game. It’s not like I said Pitt would lose.

Honestly, though, I did not expect to see what happened at Madison Square Garden last night. Pitt beats Duke on a last-second shot after trailing by 12 at halftime? That’s exactly the sort of situation where I expected Pitt to fold. It looked like the Panthers were on the verge of being knocked out after a big run by Duke in the first half, but they played tough and kept themselves in the game.

I know that recent Pittsburgh teams are known for “playing with emotion,” but they aren’t necessarily known for playing with “being careful with the ball,” “taking smart shots,” or “rebounding.”Anyone, Pitt fan or otherwise, who watched Aaron “The Ghost” Gray fumble his way through the last two seasons should be rejoicing right now. It is great that the Ghost is gone to haunt the NBA, but even more amazing is that Pitt acquired DeJuan Blair, the homegrown talent who dropped 15-and-20 on the Blue Devils last night. Pitt hasn’t seen that kind of effort in the post since the departure of Chevon Troutman. It might be enough to get Pitt over the Sweet Sixteen hump (Note: not a reference to Jamie Lynn Spears; I hope they are over that already).

Props to Fields for hitting the game-winning shot. That was huge–much bigger than the shots missed in recent years by Carl Krauser and Antonio Graves. Congratulations as well to Coach Dixon, who got his first big victory as the Pitt head coach. Keep ‘em coming, Jamie.

Also, the Bocker sends out condolences to Pitt forward Mike Cook, who appeared to completely obliterated his knee last night. Get well, Mike.

-Post written by Matt Tynan