ORUTerry Posted March 20, 2008 Share Posted March 20, 2008 Pitt vs. Oral Roberts: Defensive-minded Golden Eagles out to 'shock the world' Thursday, March 20, 2008 By Ray Fittipaldo, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette (excerpt) Oral Roberts senior Moses Ehambe has been to the NCAA tournament the past two seasons and experienced the agony of defeat that is expected of lower seeds in the first round..... Link ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Pitt Notebook: Rugged play doesn't translate well outside Big East Thursday, March 20, 2008 By Ray Fittipaldo, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette (excerpt) DeJuan Blair: Can he stay out of foul trouble? DENVER -- Through its first 35 games, Pitt had become as familiar with the Big East Conference officials as it had the opposition. Now, in addition to preparing for an unknown team from a minor conference, the Panthers face the likelihood of having a new set of officials in the first round of the NCAA tournament. The NCAA assigns officials from other parts of the country to do tournament games, so the Panthers might get officials who work in the Midwest, South or West and are unfamiliar with the rugged Big East style of play........ Link ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Pitt opens NCAA tourney play this afternoon By John Grupp TRIBUNE-REVIEW Thursday, March 20, 2008 (excerpt) DENVER - The Pitt Panthers a sexy pick in March? Sure, recent Pitt teams waltzed into the NCAA Tournament with a better seed or a superior record. But there has never been this kind of buzz. "We showing people that we are very feisty," junior forward Sam Young said. "We are very feisty team. We can do pretty much everything that any one of the teams picked for the Final Four can do." ......... Link ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Matchup: Pitt vs. Oral Roberts By John Grupp TRIBUNE-REVIEW Thursday, March 20, 2008 (excerpt) No. 13 Oral Roberts (24- vs. Pitt (26-9) When: approximately 3 p.m. today Where: Pepsi Center, Denver TV/Radio: KDKA/WWSW-FM (94.5); WBGG-AM (970) Series: First meeting Line: Pitt by 9 What to expect This is the first meeting between the teams, and they are very similar to each other. Both are coming off conference titles and pride themselves on tough, man-to-man defense. Oral Roberts, located in Tulsa, Okla., led the Summit League in points allowed per game and opponents' field goal percentage. The Golden Eagles have won 17 of their past 20 games, and held a rebounding edge in 11 of the past 13. Pitt gets a big edge on the interior with Big East Tournament MVP Sam Young and freshman DeJuan Blair. Pitt's defense keeps getting better, and Oral Roberts doesn't get much scoring in the paint, so expect a physical, low-scoring game...... Link --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Pitt star's pump fake keeps fooling 'em (excerpt) By Joe Starkey TRIBUNE-REVIEW Thursday, March 20, 2008 DENVER The Summit League's Defensive Player of the Year is a sixth-year senior who recently turned 23, claims to have stymied NBA star Chris Bosh in high school and has played 127 college games. But he will encounter something new today -- something downright freakish -- when he bellies up to Pitt star Sam Young in a first-round NCAA Tournament game at the Pepsi Center. "I've played against a lot of guys," says Yemi Ogunoye, the resident stopper at Oral Roberts University. "But I've never seen anybody pump fake like that." ............. Link ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Pitt favored by nine, but dark cloud looms By John Grupp TRIBUNE-REVIEW Thursday, March 20, 2008 (excerpt) Pitt is a nine-point favorite over No. 13 Oral Roberts, but maybe the line should go down based on the CBS television crew. One of the announcers is Gus Johnson, who has a long history of witnessing shocking NCAA upsets. Johnson, nicknamed "the Angel of Double-Digit Seeds," by one New York sports columnist, called Princeton's 1996 stunner over UCLA, Gonzaga's upset over Florida in 1999, Syracuse's loss to Vermont in 2005 and two of George Mason's upset victories on the way to the Final Four two years ago. Johnson will be joined by Len Elmore.......... Link Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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