First Half Just Fool’s Good for Irish

Notre Dame drilled Pittsburgh from behind the arc in the first period, hitting 11 of 22 long attempts. The Irish didn’t get a three in the second half until only three minutes and a prayer remained, and Pitt ran away with a double-digit victory.
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↵From the first second of the back half of the game, Pitt dominated the Domers. The Panthers ran off to a 10-0 sprint to open the half, with N.D. turning the ball over on its first three possessions. One madcap romp had Pitt players narrowly rescue the ball from going out of bounds no less than three times -- it was fittingly finished with a DeJuan Blair putback dunk.
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↵Blair had all the beast you want, finishing with 23 and 22 -- he finished with as many offensive rebounds as antagonist Luke Harangody had total rebounds. The Irish shut down Sam Young and Harangody got going in the second period. But Pitt completely shut down the perimeter in the second half, and having a cat like Blair absolutely controlling the boards leaves you in great position to win every time.
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↵Also, it should be noted that Jamie Dixon pulled off the Coaches vs. Cancer sneakers-with-the-suit look far, far better than did Mike Brey. Someone needs to introduce Brey to a shoe store not named “Payless” or “K-Mart.”↵