Blogs

Midway through the spring, the overriding theme of Pitt practice appears to be balls bouncing off the turf, either through errant passes or botched snaps. Coach Paul Chryst won’t say it, but I will: The defense is ahead of the offense. To be fair, that’s probably the case on most college teams this spring. Offense [...]

Pitt might catch Washington State shorthanded in the CBI opener on Monday. The Cougars’ best player, all-PAC-12 forward Brock Motum, is questionable with a sprained ankle. WSU coach Ken Bone said on Saturday there was “a very slim chance” the 6-foot-10, 245-pound junior from Australia will play in Game One of the best-of-three series in Pullman, Wash. Motum, who leads the Cougars [...]

Rain forced Pitt coach Paul Chryst to move practice from Heinz Field to the indoor facility on the South Side where it still appears to me that the defense is ahead of the offense. The star of the spring, clearly, has been junior defensive tackle Aaron Donald, who looks like a guy who will be [...]

Pitt routed Princeton, 82-61, in the CBI quarterfinals to move into a semifinal rematch with Butler. Here is the early-game story.

If Pitt and Butler both win tonight, Pitt will travel to Indianapolis to play Butler in a rematch of last year’s NCAA third-round game — held one year ago to the day – in the CBI semifinals. If Penn beats Butler, Pitt will host Penn. The game will be 8 p.m. on Wednesday.

Pitt strapped on the pads Sunday morning for the first time this spring, with mixed results. Coach Paul Chyrst tried to set a tone by scheduling 11-on-11 drills within the first 15 minutes. At times, you could hear shoulder pads crack, but coaches, predictably, weren’t satisfied. Early on, Chryst stopped practice to call the team [...]

Spring football started at Pitt on Thursday, only a little more than two months after the last game of the 2011 season and less than 15 weeks after Todd Graham coached his last game for the Panthers. I guess the thing that struck me more than anything is the great number of coaches – not [...]

No. 2 Ohio State (28-7) vs. No. 7 Gonzaga (26-6) 2:55 p.m. (approximate), CBS Announcers: Kevin Harlan, Len Elmore, Reggie Miller, Marty Snider (sideline) Tournament history: None ABOUT OHIO STATE Last game: Defeated No. 15 Loyola (Md.), 78-59. Coach: Thad Matta, eighth season (18-9 NCAA Tournament) Shining star: Forward Deshaun Thomas had game highs of [...]

MATCHUP No. 1 Syracuse (32-2) vs. No. 8 Kansas State (22-10) 12:15 p.m., CBS Announcers: Kevin Harlan, Len Elmore, Reggie Miller, Marty Snider (sideline) Tournament history: Syracuse defeated Kansas State, 95-87, in overtime in the 1975 East Regional Final to reach its first Final Four. ABOUT SYRACUSE Last game: Defeated No. 16 UNC Asheville, 72-65 [...]

The boos grew louder each time the Syracuse-UNC Asheville score was announced during Thursday’s second session. Fans were still stinging over some controversial officiating calls against Asheville late in its 72-65 loss in the afternoon session. Syracuse guard Scoop Jardine heard the crowd’s wrath during the game, particularly when a lane violation was called on Asheville [...]