Proper prodding propels Panthers to appropriate heights

East Regional | Edge: Pitt-Xavier

DAYTON, Ohio -- All Pittsburgh needed was a little push. A little shove. A little threat. That's all Pittsburgh needed to look like the No. 1 seed in the East Regional, as opposed to the waste of attention it had resembled in the first round against East Tennessee State.

The scoreboard will say Oklahoma State gave Pittsburgh a similar push to East Tennessee State. No less, no more. After beating East Tennessee State by 10 on Friday, top-seeded Pittsburgh beat eighth-seeded Oklahoma State 84-76 on Sunday in the second round. Ten points, eight points ... what's the difference, you say?

The sincerity of the threat is the difference. East Tennessee State tried hard, and played sincerely, but the Bucs weren't a real threat. They couldn't shoot. Couldn't score. And when the game got down to the final 90 seconds, Pittsburgh put its foot down and pulled away. The Panthers looked dreadful doing it, and on the heels of their first-round flameout in the Big East tournament against West Virginia -- a 74-60 loss -- Pittsburgh's legitimacy as a No. 1 seed was under some scrutiny.

Not after this game.

Oklahoma State didn't play like a No. 8 seed. Oklahoma State didn't look like a No. 8 seed. And in reality, the Cowboys should've been seeded higher. Their RPI (No. 19) and strength of schedule (fifth nationally) and 8-2 record in 10 games leading to Selection Sunday all suggested the Cowboys were better than a No. 8 seed. And they were.

And they got Pittsburgh's respect.

And now Pittsburgh has mine.

Big relief to you Pittsburgh fans, I know. Hey, great, Pittsburgh has a sportswriter's respect. Let's throw a party.

Good point. But after pointing out just how unimpressive Pittsburgh was Friday against ETSU, I must point out how impressive it was Sunday. And to do that, it must be made clear just how good Oklahoma State was for most of this game. The Cowboys played a nearly perfect first half, shooting 63.6 percent on two-pointers and 62.5 percent on 3-pointers and 100 percent on free throws. The Cowboys had 15 assists and four turnovers. They couldn't have played any better.

And they were tied at 49 at the half.

That's how good Pittsburgh was. Pittsburgh was as good as Oklahoma State, and Oklahoma State was damn near perfect.

Sam Young has a huge first half, then leads the deciding run for Pitt. (Getty Images)

"I was proud of how our guys responded to their barrage of 3-pointers," said Pittsburgh coach Jamie Dixon. "We had to find a way to beat a very good team [having] a good night."

Dixon tore into his team at halftime -- "Man, he's a motivator," said DeJuan Blair -- and after that, this game was Pittsburgh's. The Panthers tightened up their defense and controlled the backboard, outrebounding Oklahoma State 41-21 for the game.

And then there's Sam Young.

Young isn't the best college player on the Panthers -- that would be Blair, the All-American -- but he will be the best pro. And Sunday he showed why. Young, a 6-feet-6 senior, scored from long range and midrange and short range, finishing an alley-oop with a thunderous one-handed throw-down. He finished with 32 points and eight rebounds and added three blocked shots. Young had 23 points in the first half and then was mostly quiet in the second, except for when he buried one of the biggest shots of the game. Oklahoma State had just rallied from a 71-63 deficit to take a 72-71 lead when Young drilled a 3-pointer with 3:10 to play.

Levance Fields took over from there, scoring five consecutive points to make it 79-74 with 1:27 left. That finished off a huge rebound game for Fields, a senior point guard who was a shade below ordinary against ETSU but had 13 points, nine assists and just two turnovers against Oklahoma State.

Fields had six points, five assists and five turnovers vs. East Tennessee State. He never seemed into that game. He was into this one. After his niftiest assist of the game, a scoop through lane traffic to Blair for an easy basket, Fields roared down the court, cupping his hands to his ears to listen to the crowd and shouting some noise of his own. Fields' path took him right past OSU coach Travis Ford, who had walked onto the court after calling timeout. Ford stared at Fields as he growled past. Fields never looked at Ford. Never saw him. Was in that kind of zone.

So was Pittsburgh, for most of this game. The Panthers kept up with Oklahoma State's perfection for one half, then controlled the second with 11-0 and 10-2 runs. And they did it without getting an All-American showing from their All-American, Blair, who had 10 points and 12 rebounds.

At least Blair was able to play most of the game. He and OSU point guard Byron Eaton had a scary collision midway through the first half, Eaton's shoulder hitting Blair's knee, wiping out both of them. Eaton returned and finished with 15 points, 10 assists and five steals. OSU shooting guards Terrel Harris, James Anderson and Obi Muonelo combined for 51 points thanks to 10 3-pointers. Center Marshall Moses had 10 points and seven rebounds despite giving up 2 inches and 40 pounds to Blair.

The Cowboys were good, is what I'm saying.

The Panthers were better. As good as their hype. As good as their seed.

As good as they'll need to be to win this whole thing.