Cincinnati Outplays Pitt In 44-43 Win

Cincinnati outplayed Pitt from the opening whistle and beat the Panthers 44-43 last night at Madison Square Garden in the Jimmy V Classic in New York City.

Led by 12 points from Forward Justin Jackson, Cincinnati used hard-nosed defense and rebounding to win the ball game. Pitt looked slow, boxed out on the boards and listless at the foul line.

In fact, Pitt shot just 65% (19 for 29) from the line and was outrebounded 37-27 by the BearCats.

Despite 12 points from Center Talib Zanna and 11 points from winger Lamar Patterson, Pitt played tight, nervous and extremely tentative. It was eerily reminiscent of many of Pitt’s early round NCAA tourney exits under Jamie Dixon. The parallel being a neutral court game against a strong opponent.

With the loss, Pitt fell to 10-1 while Cincinnati improved to 8-2 on the year. The BearCats also lead the overall series now against Pitt 10-9.

Next up: Sat 12/21 at 4pm vs Cal Poly at the Peterson Events Center, Pittsburgh, PA.