Panthers Pounce On Golden Eagles
South Region: Pittsburgh 82, Oral Roberts 63
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Thursday, March 20, 2008; 5:19 PM
DENVER, March 20 -- Pittsburgh continued the torrid streak it began last week by winning the Big East tournament, overwhelming 13th-seeded Oral Roberts 82-63 in the first round of the NCAA tournament's South Region on Thursday afternoon at Pepsi Center. The victory sets up a bruising, blue-collar matchup with fifth-seeded Michigan State on Saturday.
The fourth-seeded Panthers fended off an early push by the Summit League champion by scoring 18 consecutive points midway through the first half. The Panthers, paced by the three-point shooting of Levance Fields and Ronald Ramon and physical inside play, led 47-24 at halftime and held at least a 16-point advantage for the entire second half.
Fields emerged as one of the tournament's early stars, scoring 16 of his 23 points in the first half, sinking four of his seven three-point attempts and making seven assists. Freshman DaJuan Blair handled the rebounding, the 6-foot-7, 270-pound forward snaring 10 as Pittsburgh out-rebounded Oral Roberts, 50-33.
Pittsburgh won four games in four days last week to claim the Big East title, a grueling run that many believed would wear down the Panthers and undermine their tournament chances. The last team to win the Big East tournament by winning four games, Syracuse in 2005, lost its first-round game as a No. 5 seed.
But Pittsburgh, which last week was barely assured a spot in this tournament, played like a possible championship contender. The Panthers (27-9) held ORU to 25 percent shooting in the first half, too quick on the perimeter and too strong inside.
It seemed, momentarily, Pittsburgh was in for a fight with Oral Roberts (24-9), a 3,800-student liberal arts school in Tulsa, Okla. The Golden Eagles took a 13-10 lead after point guard Robert Jarvis drilled a three-pointer eight minutes into the game. But the Panthers unleashed their 18-0 run at that point, and the lead only swelled from there.
Oral Roberts made another change late in the second half when it switched to a zone defense, closing the deficit to 16 with less than seven minutes remaining. Pittsburgh, though, quickly surged back ahead by 20.
Jarvis, a reserve, led Oral Roberts with 16 points in the Golden Eagles' second consecutive first-round tournament loss.
Pittsburgh, which advanced to the regional semifinals last season, won an NCAA tournament game for the sixth time in seven years.
