By RALPH D. RUSSO
Associated Press
NEW YORK (AP) — The difference between how Virginia has played during its four-game winning streak as opposed to how it played during the four-game losing streak that preceded it is not that drastic.
Coach Tony Bennett said the Cavaliers have made a few adjustments. They have been hitting a few more shots and taking a little better care of the ball since their February slump. And of course, this being Virginia, there is no problem that can't be solved with defense — especially at this time of the year.
"Our defense is built for March because we're going to play teams with high-powered offenses, but as long as our defense is there night in and night out, we'll be able to give ourselves a good shot to win games," London Perrantes said.
Perrantes scored 13 points in the second half to help No. 21 Virginia pull away for a 75-63 victory against Pittsburgh in the second round of the Atlantic Coast Conference Tournament on Wednesday night.
The sixth-seeded Cavaliers (22-9) are in the ACC quarterfinals for the sixth straight season and meet third-seeded and No. 22 Notre Dame at Barclays Center on Thursday night.
Jamel Artis led Pitt (16-17) with 18 points and Michael Young had 14. The two seniors were benched for the first 10 minutes of the Panthers' regular-season finale loss to Virginia on Saturday by coach Kevin Stallings.
Just four days after scoring just 42 points against the Cavaliers, Pitt surpassed that number with 13:08 minutes left on a dunk by Sheldon Jeter that cut Virginia's lead to 44-43.
"We certainly had the momentum at that point," Stallings said.
That was as good as it got for the Panthers.
Perrantes made his first 3-pointer of the game with 8:15 left in the second half to make it 54-46. After Artis responded with a 3, Perrantes made it two in a row from long range in a span of 56 seconds.
"It felt like it was one and then it seemed like it was seven or eight real quickly there," Stallings said.
Perrantes, the only senior in Virginia's rotation, is now the first Cavaliers player to advance in four consecutive ACC Tournaments.
"Obviously, it's going to be a grind, but like we said before, our program is built for stuff like this," Perrantes said.
Freshman Kyle Guy scored 20 points to match a career high and carried the Cavaliers until Perrantes, who scored two points in the first half, heated up. Fellow freshman guard Ty Jerome scored 11 and had seven rebounds and four assists.
"They're not afraid of the moment," Bennett said of the newbies.
Mostly, the freshmen try to follow Perrantes' lead.
"Yeah, I basically just do whatever he tells me," Guy said. "So he's been a tremendous leader on and off the court, for me especially, and the rest of the guys. When he tells us that he loves us and he has confidence in us, it's really easy to play free."
BIG PICTURE
Pitt: Hard to believe after the Panthers managed only 105 points in losing twice in four days to Virginia, but this same team hung 88 on the Cavaliers — the most by any Virginia opponent — in early January. Pitt was 12-3 at that point, but with only two reliable scorers (Artis and Young) the offense dried up in ACC play and the Panthers hit the skids.
Virginia: During their four-game slump, Virginia's opponents shot 43.5 percent from the floor. In the four games since, Pitt at 40 percent was the only opponent to crack 35.
UP NEXT
Pitt: The Panthers are done for the season, finishing with a losing record for the first time since 1999-00.
Virginia: The Cavaliers are 5-0 against Notre Dame since the Fighting Irish joined the ACC in 2014, including a victory in South Bend, Indiana, this season.
"Obviously, our defense is a huge part," Perrantes said. "They can spread the floor, just like Pitt. But it gives people trouble. As long as we hang our head on our defense, I guess that's why we've been having a good record with them."
Showing posts with label Pitt. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Pitt. Show all posts
Thursday, March 9, 2017
Thursday, December 29, 2016
Jackson powers Northwestern past Pitt in Pinstripe Bowl
By DAN GELATIN
Associated Press
NEW YORK (AP) — Justin Jackson has the last name made for the bright lights at Yankee Stadium.
He had the kind of postseason game worthy of the setting.
"Big city. Big stage," he said. "We walked into Yankee Stadium and everything kind of really hit us."
Jackson made his case in the home of the Yankees to become Northwestern's Mr. December.
Unlike Hall of Fame slugger Reggie Jackson, the Wildcats' stud running back did his damage one step at a time instead of one swing. Jackson ran for 224 yards and three touchdowns to power Northwestern to only its third bowl victory, 31-24 over No. 22 Pittsburgh in the Pinstripe Bowl on Wednesday night.
"Justin's day will go down as one of the great performances by a Northwestern running back," coach Pat Fitzgerald said.
Jackson was the straw that stirred Northwestern's offense in the Bronx and helped etch this performance alongside the 1948 Rose Bowl and 2012 Gator Bowl victories in the program's oft-futile history.
Jackson, the game's MVP , was awed by the lights and monuments at the stadium. But it was a more discreet spot in the locker room Northwestern borrowed from the Yankees that really bowled over Jackson.
"Like, Derek Jeter has peed in that urinal," he said.
Jackson had TD runs of 8 and 16 yards in the second quarter, then went deep on a 40-yard burst in the third that left one defender face down on the turf following a fantastic fake and gave the Wildcats (7-6) a 21-17 lead.
Rallying without injured quarterback Nathan Peterman and running back James Conner, Pitt yanked the lead away in the fourth on a short TD pass before it collapsed the rest of the quarter.
The Wildcats turned a fourth-and-1 into a 21-yard play-action TD pass that made it 28-24 and a hit late field goal for a seven-point lead.
The Panthers (8-5), who had wins over No. 2 Clemson and Big Ten champion Penn State, still had time to spoil Northwestern's upset bid with a late drive for the tying score. Scott Orndoff failed to hang on to backup quarterback Ben DiNucci's strike in the end zone on third down. DiNucci had his fourth-down pass picked off by Jared McGee, who helped bust up the previous pass play, to clinch the win for the Wildcats.
Northwestern's defense made the stops late. Jackson carried the Wildcats to a celebration on a purple-glittered baseball field .
"We didn't tackle a really good tailback," Pitt coach Pat Narduzzi said.
Jackson stiff-armed one defender, then bowled over a second for a 16-yard score that helped Northwestern take a 14-10 lead into halftime.
After some confusion over his final rushing total, Jackson fell just shy of setting the Pinstripe Bowl mark of 227 yards by Indiana's Devine Redding.
"We'll go over every yard," Fitzgerald said.
Peterman, who threw for 253 yards, gave Pitt a 17-14 lead on a 5-yard scamper in the third. Peterman's solid outing ended late in the quarter when he was sandwiched between two defenders and his head slammed the turf.
DiNucci was picked on Pitt's final drive with 30 seconds left in the game and the Wildcats would get their kicks from storming the field in a frenzy.
Conner, who capped a triumphant return from Hodgkin lymphoma, suffered a brutal helmet-to-helmet blow to the head late in the first half and did not return. Unlike some draft prospects, Conner played the bowl game even though he decided to skip his senior season and declare for the NFL draft. The 6-foot-2, 240-pound Conner, who had 1,060 yards rushing and 20 total touchdowns entering the game, was far from a sure-fire early NFL pick.
"One of the defenders turned around and went for him, I guess, instead of going for the ball. Kind of interesting," Narduzzi said.
Conner was stuffed when he tried to go over the top on a failed fourth-down try in the first quarter.
THE TAKEAWAY
Northwestern: The Wildcats were stout all around. Clayton Thorson was 23 of 36 for 214 yards passing and had the winning TD pass. Garrett Dickerson caught the go-ahead TD and had five catches for 46 yards. The Wildcats can chalk this one up to a fantastic four: 4 for 4 on fourth-down conversions.
Pittsburgh: The Panthers may have pulled out a victory had their offensive stalwarts not been sidelined late with injuries. Losing to a 6-6 Big Ten definitely ends the year on a down note.
POLL IMPLICATIONS
Pitt will fall out of the Top 25 and failed to finish the season ranked and with nine wins for the first time since 2009.
UP NEXT
Northwestern can only hope Jackson's latest breakout game in the national spotlight will propel the program to great heights in the loaded Big Ten.
Jackson led the Big Ten with 1,300 yards rushing and became the first Wildcat to rush for 1,000-plus yards in three straight seasons. He said he would return for his senior season. "You don't come here and not get a degree," he said.
Fitzgerald cracked: "There's no way. Your dad will kill you."
Pitt has to replace Conner in the backfield and find a new offensive coordinator. Pitt offensive coordinator Matt Canada called the shots for the final time before packing up for the same position at LSU.
Associated Press
NEW YORK (AP) — Justin Jackson has the last name made for the bright lights at Yankee Stadium.
He had the kind of postseason game worthy of the setting.
"Big city. Big stage," he said. "We walked into Yankee Stadium and everything kind of really hit us."
Jackson made his case in the home of the Yankees to become Northwestern's Mr. December.
Unlike Hall of Fame slugger Reggie Jackson, the Wildcats' stud running back did his damage one step at a time instead of one swing. Jackson ran for 224 yards and three touchdowns to power Northwestern to only its third bowl victory, 31-24 over No. 22 Pittsburgh in the Pinstripe Bowl on Wednesday night.
"Justin's day will go down as one of the great performances by a Northwestern running back," coach Pat Fitzgerald said.
Jackson was the straw that stirred Northwestern's offense in the Bronx and helped etch this performance alongside the 1948 Rose Bowl and 2012 Gator Bowl victories in the program's oft-futile history.
Jackson, the game's MVP , was awed by the lights and monuments at the stadium. But it was a more discreet spot in the locker room Northwestern borrowed from the Yankees that really bowled over Jackson.
"Like, Derek Jeter has peed in that urinal," he said.
Jackson had TD runs of 8 and 16 yards in the second quarter, then went deep on a 40-yard burst in the third that left one defender face down on the turf following a fantastic fake and gave the Wildcats (7-6) a 21-17 lead.
Rallying without injured quarterback Nathan Peterman and running back James Conner, Pitt yanked the lead away in the fourth on a short TD pass before it collapsed the rest of the quarter.
The Wildcats turned a fourth-and-1 into a 21-yard play-action TD pass that made it 28-24 and a hit late field goal for a seven-point lead.
The Panthers (8-5), who had wins over No. 2 Clemson and Big Ten champion Penn State, still had time to spoil Northwestern's upset bid with a late drive for the tying score. Scott Orndoff failed to hang on to backup quarterback Ben DiNucci's strike in the end zone on third down. DiNucci had his fourth-down pass picked off by Jared McGee, who helped bust up the previous pass play, to clinch the win for the Wildcats.
Northwestern's defense made the stops late. Jackson carried the Wildcats to a celebration on a purple-glittered baseball field .
"We didn't tackle a really good tailback," Pitt coach Pat Narduzzi said.
Jackson stiff-armed one defender, then bowled over a second for a 16-yard score that helped Northwestern take a 14-10 lead into halftime.
After some confusion over his final rushing total, Jackson fell just shy of setting the Pinstripe Bowl mark of 227 yards by Indiana's Devine Redding.
"We'll go over every yard," Fitzgerald said.
Peterman, who threw for 253 yards, gave Pitt a 17-14 lead on a 5-yard scamper in the third. Peterman's solid outing ended late in the quarter when he was sandwiched between two defenders and his head slammed the turf.
DiNucci was picked on Pitt's final drive with 30 seconds left in the game and the Wildcats would get their kicks from storming the field in a frenzy.
Conner, who capped a triumphant return from Hodgkin lymphoma, suffered a brutal helmet-to-helmet blow to the head late in the first half and did not return. Unlike some draft prospects, Conner played the bowl game even though he decided to skip his senior season and declare for the NFL draft. The 6-foot-2, 240-pound Conner, who had 1,060 yards rushing and 20 total touchdowns entering the game, was far from a sure-fire early NFL pick.
"One of the defenders turned around and went for him, I guess, instead of going for the ball. Kind of interesting," Narduzzi said.
Conner was stuffed when he tried to go over the top on a failed fourth-down try in the first quarter.
THE TAKEAWAY
Northwestern: The Wildcats were stout all around. Clayton Thorson was 23 of 36 for 214 yards passing and had the winning TD pass. Garrett Dickerson caught the go-ahead TD and had five catches for 46 yards. The Wildcats can chalk this one up to a fantastic four: 4 for 4 on fourth-down conversions.
Pittsburgh: The Panthers may have pulled out a victory had their offensive stalwarts not been sidelined late with injuries. Losing to a 6-6 Big Ten definitely ends the year on a down note.
POLL IMPLICATIONS
Pitt will fall out of the Top 25 and failed to finish the season ranked and with nine wins for the first time since 2009.
UP NEXT
Northwestern can only hope Jackson's latest breakout game in the national spotlight will propel the program to great heights in the loaded Big Ten.
Jackson led the Big Ten with 1,300 yards rushing and became the first Wildcat to rush for 1,000-plus yards in three straight seasons. He said he would return for his senior season. "You don't come here and not get a degree," he said.
Fitzgerald cracked: "There's no way. Your dad will kill you."
Pitt has to replace Conner in the backfield and find a new offensive coordinator. Pitt offensive coordinator Matt Canada called the shots for the final time before packing up for the same position at LSU.
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