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↵Game: Pitt-ETSU. Never would I have thought that I’d see this sight when 16-seed ETSU met one-seed Pitt:
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↵Pitt coach Jamie Dixon had serious cause for concern. ETSU kept it within four for most of the game, but Pitt slowly inched away over the last few minutes, as typically happens with these high vs. low seed scares. DeJuan Blair was his usual man-child self on the offensive end, but couldn’t stop ETSU from dominating the offensive glass. ETSU had a total of 19 offensive boards. That, combined with Pitt’s 17 turnovers, helped keep the Bucs lingering around. Had ETSU been able to hit some shots, both from the line and the field (50%, 30%, respectively), they may have been able to pull off the upset. Regardless, between ETSU and Cal St. Northridge, it’s been a great showing for the 16-seeds. ↵
↵↵Man: There were no shortage of big time performers in the second session, but DeJaun Blair was tops. He scored 27 to go along with 16 boards. He also won the heart of Bill Raftery, which won’t show up in any boxscore. ↵
↵↵Disappointment: WVU. The Mountaineers are the first Big East team to fall, and did so in embarrassing fashion, trailing 11-seed Daytona the entire game. Da'Sean Butler and Devin Ebanks both struggled to hit shots and Dayton’s Chris Wright had a huge game, scoring 27 on 11-15 shooting. ↵
↵↵CBS Coverage Highlight: My, does DeJuan Blair brings out Bill Raftery's inner bromantic bromeo. Watching Pitt work the ball to the big man drew the best from Professor Onions, who said all of the following about Blair's massive low post presence: ↵
↵↵“The girth! The width! The depth!” ↵
↵↵“You gotta go 4 yards to get around those shoulders!” ↵
↵↵“He’s just gonna devour people. Hors devours, anybody?!” ↵
↵↵“It's dinner time!” ↵
↵↵The faint noise of Raftery licking the monitor whenever Blair's bulky form entered the picture could be heard through most of the broadcast. ↵
↵↵Bracket Status: Serious condition. WVU is the first legit Sweet Sixteen (or perhaps even Elite Eight) team to go down. The pain of putting that initial “X” through a Sweet Sixteen spot has vital signs fluttering. It is the weekend, though, so it’s nothing a little booze can’t cure. ↵
↵↵Implications: Arizona St. now meets Syracuse, a game on which many a bracket’s south region will hinge. There are plenty of people with the Orange in the Elite Eight, but if the streaky Sun Devils can shoot lights out like they did today against Temple, ‘Cuse could be in trouble. ↵
↵This post originally appeared on the Sporting Blog. For more, see The Sporting Blog Archives.