Anyone who has followed college basketball with some interest knows that when Curtis Shaw is listed as a referee for the game, there are going to be a lot of whistles and likely a technical foul. Shaw is the guy who tossed the Rice Owl mascot earlier. On this past Saturday, his crew blew 53 fouls in the Syracuse-Villanova game. So, really, was it any surprise that there were 38 fouls called between West Virginia and Pitt, including a technical foul and two players fouling out? In a game that had little flow and had Jay Bilas exclaim, "My ears hurt from all of the whistles," Pitt beat West Virginia 70-59. That's a sweep of the season series.
In a game that had both teams sitting their top two players for most of the first half with foul trouble, Pitt held the decided advantage. Pitt has more depth and experience. Not to mention, Pitt has more than just two top players. Sam Young was still on the court for Pitt.
The depth and experience really came into focus in the second half. Pitt made better adjustments to the way the game was being called and avoided the foul calls early in the second half. West Virginia did not and with their best players unable to defend or having to sit, Pitt converted 10-for-14 to race out to a double digit lead in the second half that they never relinquished.
This was a brutal loss for the Mountaineers. They fell below .500 in the Big East and still lack a big win in the Big East as that Georgetown win looks a lot less impressive. They do not have any bad losses, but their best wins are at Ohio State and at Ole Miss. Solid, but not great wins. They are a true team living on the bubble.
