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Pittsburgh vs Oakland

In the West Region on the 2010 NCAA Tournament Friday, the #3 seed Pittsburgh Panthers take on the #14 seed Oakland Golden Grizzlies at 2:45 EST. Most 3-seeds are huge favorites in the opening round, and that’s the case again here in this match-up as The lines show us Pittsburgh -10.5 over Oakland.

The Panthers were the surprise of the Big East this season, and if not for the job that Jim Boeheim did at Syracuse, Pitt head coach Jamie Dixon would have won Big East Coach of the Year and possibly National Coach of the Year honors. The Panthers were a long shot to make the Big Dance in the preseason, but they overcame their expectation to post a 24-8 record and a 13-5 mark in Big East play, finishing 2nd in the conference during the regular season. Their trip to the Big East Tournament lasted just one day as they lost to Notre Dame, 50-45, and ran into an Irish team playing their best basketball of the season. The Panthers made it to the Elite 8 last season behind Sam Young, Levance Fields and DeJuan Blair, but with those three gone it’s up to guards Ashton Gibbs (15.8 PPG), Brad Wannamaker (12.1) and Jermaine Dixon (10.7) to carry the load this time around.

Oakland had a great season in the Summit League, going 26-8 overall and 17-1 in conference play. Oakland cruised through the Summit League Tournament as well, winning three straight games by double-digits. Pittsburgh will have to contend with an Oakland offense that put up 77.3 points/game in their conference tournament. The Golden Grizzlies put up at least 65 points in every game but one this season, and that resulted in their only conference loss. Of their six losses this season, four came against NCAA Tournament teams in Wisconsin, Kansas, Michigan State and Syracuse, so they have experience against NCAA Tournament teams. This team has a dominant big man in center Keith Benson (17.0 PPG, 10.5 RPG, 3.4 BPG), and they also have G Jonathan Jones (12.4 PPG, 6.4 APG) and F Derick Nelson (12.4 PPG) for a very balanced attack offensively. This certainly isn’t going to be a walk-through for the Panthers.