Weekend Highlight #1: Pitt beats Nova

Pitt rode another rollicking Petersen Events Center Crowd to a 70-65 victory over No. 3 Villanova. The Panthers were led by Ashton Gibb's 21 points and Gilbert Brown's 16, and 7 points and 10 rebounds from Gary McGhee. 8 of those rebounds came on the offense end, and Pitt's 18 offensive rebounds overall was the key to victory on a day when the Panthers shot only 35% from the field.

The win puts the Panthers into a tie with West Virgina for third place in the Big East with 10-4 conference record. The top 4 teams receive a double-bye in the Big East Tournament, and Pitt is one game ahead of fifth place Louisville and holds the head-to-head tie breaker. All this remember, after being picked to finish ninth in the preseason Big East coaches poll. With another marquee win against a top 5 opponent, the Panthers have also put themselves in position for a good seed in the NCAA tournament as well. Hopefully, they will move up when the new polls are released this week. If the Panthers finish off their remaining slate (at Notre Dame, at St. John's, Providence, and Rutgers) and thus get the automatic bye into the Big East quarterfinals, they could go as high as a 3 seed in the NCAAs.

Pitt leads after the first half

Though it was an ugly first half from a basketball standpoint, it was beautiful in the eyes of Pitt fans. Villanova star Scottie Reynolds played only nine minutes before he picked up his second foul, prompting Nova coach Jay Wright to send him straight to the bench. What I'll be looking for in the 2nd half is for one player on either team to step up and take this game over. At halftime, no player has more than 6 points. Will it be Reynolds? Will it be Ashton Gibbs? Someone else? The answer to that question could be the factor that decides this game.

Dixon, Gibbs lead U19 team

After one of the most successful seasons in Pitt history, Jamie Dixon has turned his attention towards coaching another team; no not USC. This off-season, Jamie is focusing on leading USA's Under 19 Team to a World Championship. Team USA started the tournament off with a bang by thrashing Iran by a final of 106-55. Dixon doesn't have any superstars, but a solid class of players who can work together. The team features former Liberty star Seth Curry, Butler's Gordon Hayward, Kansas Sophomore Tyshawn Taylor, Washington State Sophomore Klay Thompson, and Big East 3 point % leader Ashton Gibbs. The team showed balance in their first game with seven guys in double figures, led by Taylor with 13. Team USA has two more games in this round against France (Friday) and Egypt (Saturday). The second round begins Monday, followed by the quarterfinals, semifinals, and finals from July 10th-12th. This team has talent, butit's no "Redeem Team." There is no LeBron James, Dwyane Wade, or Dwight Howard. This team is led by a great coach that doesn't whine about every call but instead preaches playing defense and limiting turnovers. If this version of Team USA adheres to Dixon's coaching strategies and plays hard team ball, then this should be a championship team.