Physical Pitt proves to have answer for big, tall UConn

HARTFORD, Conn. -- DeJuan Blair got the ball on the left baseline and tried a turnaround jumper, but it was blocked by Hasheem Thabeet, and finally there was the scene I long figured I would see on this Monday night.

Undersized Pittsburgh center taking a shot.

Oversized UConn center blocking a shot.

Made perfect sense.

But then ...

"I got it back and just took it right to him, did the up-and-under and went right into his chest," Blair said, eye slightly bruised from an elbow, smile still big as ever. "He shouldn't have blocked my shot. His block turned into a foul."

Indeed, it did.

Thabeet fouled Blair, who completed the three-point play, advanced No. 4 Pitt's lead and, most important, sent a clear message toward the end of the first half in what was ultimately a 76-68 victory against the nation's No. 1 team. That message: Sometimes Big Monday is more about being strong and physical than big and tall, and if you want to block DeJuan Blair's shot, fine. But all that does is ensure he's coming right back at you, on the same possession, and do you really want to try to handle this 6-foot-7, 265-pound, big-bottomed load twice on the same possession?

Do you?

"I mean, just look at how DeJuan's body is shaped," said Pitt's Levance Fields, who has a similar body, just shorter. "Thabeet is tall and long, but he's not as broad and wide as DeJuan. So DeJuan was not going to back down."

Back down?

Of course not.

Throw down?

Absolutely, yes.

Pitt's DeJuan Blair sends a message to Hasheem Thabeet and the Huskies from the very start. (Getty Images)

Proof of that came barely three minutes in when Blair and Thabeet -- UConn's 7-3 junior who was coming off a 25-point, 20-rebound, nine-block effort against Seton Hall -- got tangled in the lane, and Blair actually flipped Thabeet over his body and onto the hardwood. Was it intentional? No. But as Blair stood strong and Thabeet lay on the floor with an injured shoulder, what we had, for that moment, was a picture worth a thousand words.

And if not a thousand words, then at least 22 points and 23 rebounds, i.e., what Blair finished with in 38 minutes of action that had the NBA general managers and scouts sitting courtside whispering that maybe, just maybe, this relatively short center is strong and skilled enough to be effective at their level.

Meantime, Thabeet got five points and four rebounds in 23 foul-plagued minutes.

He missed four of the five shots he attempted.

He had more turnovers (three) than blocks (two).

"Blair is a good player," said Thabeet, who fouled out with 29 seconds remaining. "I didn't have a good game, and he took advantage of it."

Actually, Blair caused it.

Partly, at least.

I can't begin to properly describe how good he was early, showing off an array of post moves that suggested he's way more than the offensive rebound/stickback artist some have labeled him. He got position at will, called for the ball, out-maneuvered Thabeet and scored with ease. He had 15 points, 13 rebounds and zero fouls at the break, which represented the most dominant half of basketball anybody on press row could remember seeing this season and propelled him to his second 20-20 game in 16 days.

Blair slowed down in the second half some.

But really, how could he not?

And yet when Thabeet grabbed a rebound late that could've cut the lead to four points had he put it back in, there was Blair, ripping the ball away and throwing it upcourt for a breakaway layup by Jermaine Dixon that secured the victory in the final minute and set the stage for the March 7 rematch at the Peterson Events Center.

That game could decide the Big East's regular season championship.

That game is already circled on Blair's schedule.

"I know (Thabeet is) going to come back with something on his shoulders, but I'm still going to be there standing," Blair said. "I'm not going nowhere."

Or backing down, either.