SI.com - Pittsburgh outslugs Central Florida in defensive struggle

MILWAUKEE (AP) -- Central Florida's band had the house rocking and Wisconsin fans were jumping on the Golden Knights' bandwagon as fast as they could find a seat, sensing an upset.

Only problem was, Central Florida's offense was as dismal as Pittsburgh's.

The Panthers outlasted Central Florida 53-44 in the first round of the NCAA tournament Friday night, getting their school-record 30th win. Fans threw blue-and-yellow confetti as the final buzzer sounded, but this milestone was hardly one to celebrate.

The Panthers shot a season-worst 29.5 percent, and had their fewest field goals (13) and assists (seven). Carl Krauser led Pittsburgh with 18 points and Chevon Troutman added 13 on 5-for-5 shooting. The Panthers had 13 turnovers, nine in the first half alone.

"We didn't play as good as we should have, but this is something to build on," said Julius Page, who had 10 points but was just 2-of-12. "We got past. We got the win."

Yes, but if the Golden Knights (25-6) had had any kind of offensive game, the Panthers would likely be heading back to Pittsburgh instead of spending the weekend in Milwaukee. The third-seeded Panthers will play sixth-seeded Wisconsin in the second round of the East Rutherford Regional on Sunday.

The Badgers beat Richmond 76-64.

"It's definitely a wakeup call game," said Chris Taft, who had a career-high 16 rebounds, but just six points. "We can't play like that no more."

Much had been made of Pittsburgh, the regular-season Big East champs, only getting a third seed. But they didn't even look as if they deserved that for much of the night. It was bound to be a defensive game with Pittsburgh and Central Florida among the nation's stingiest teams, but this was ridiculous.

While Krauser and Troutman were 9-of-18, the rest of the Pittsburgh squad went 4-of-26. Krauser scored 12 of Pittsburgh's first 13 points in the second half, and the Panthers didn't get a field goal from anyone else until Troutman's driving layup with 5:28 to play.

Central Florida, meanwhile, shot less than 31 percent. Neither team cracked the 40-point mark until Taft's three-point play -- with 4:11 left to play.

"Offensively, both of us were kind of slacking," said Dexter Lyons, who had 12 points for Central Florida. "We couldn't get into a rhythm. Things couldn't get going."

Central Florida has only one victory over a Top 25 team and is 0-for-3 in the NCAA tournament. But it seemed for a bit as if this might be their night, especially with the Wisconsin crowd adopting them.

When Roberto Morenti made a layup with 10:07 left, it gave the Golden Knights a 36-33 lead. But their already sputtery offense fell apart from there, as they made just one field goal the rest of the way.

"We couldn't take care of the all the details that got us that lead," Lyons said. "We just got away from all of the things that we were doing."

Give Pitt some credit. While the Panthers looked out of sync and disinterested for most of the game, they buckled down when they had to. They outscored Central Florida 20-8 over the final 10 minutes. Page came through with a big 3 after missing 10 of his first 11 shots, putting Pittsburgh comfortably ahead 43-38.

The Golden Knights tried to mount a last comeback, but they didn't have the energy. Or the offense.

"We'd like to make every shot, but sometimes that doesn't happen," Pittsburgh coach Jamie Dixon said. "I'm very happy with how we finished it off. That's always the big part. I guess we just look at how we played the last five minutes of the game."

Winning ugly

Pittsburgh outlasts Central Florida 53-44 in defensive struggle


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