Pitt doesn't play for style points or ratings -- it just wins

MILWAUKEE -- When was the last time you watched a Pittsburgh basketball game?

Holding Marquette to 24 points below its scoring average might not be eye-catching, but it'll help Pittsburgh's RPI. (AP)

Over the past nine seasons, Pittsburgh has the fifth best winning percentage of any school in college basketball, trailing only Memphis, Kansas, Duke and Gonzaga. Thursday night's 58-51 victory against Marquette adds to that list and was impressive in its banality. Pittsburgh was efficient on offense, limited the looks of the top 3-point shooting team in America, and held its own on the glass in key possessions to pull out a tough victory on the road against a team desperately trying to make the NCAA tournament.

While that might seem impressive, it's simply par for the course for a team and a program that has been consistently stellar when you weren't paying attention.

After the game, Pitt coach Jamie Dixon said "this team is evolving and improving all the time." I guess so. It's impressive enough that the Panthers lost three legitimate NCAA stars in DeJuan Blair, Sam Young and Levance Fields and came into the season almost certain to see an inglorious ending to its streak of eight consecutive NCAA tournament appearances.

But then it went on the road and saw its leading scorer, Ashton Gibbs, score only two points in 31 minutes of action and its top three scorers combine for only 22 points, and still found a way to pull out a victory.

Dixon would tell you that such victories occur because of hard work, buying into the system and great hair (well maybe not the last part, but he should add it). But it's also about something more than that. The kids who go to Pittsburgh are never the highest rated and they agree to come and play in a system in which individual success will probably be downplayed and players' talents will likely go unappreciated.

Pitt produces players like Blair, who bizarrely dropped to the second round of the NBA Draft and then was picked by another unflashy team in the San Antonio Spurs, becoming a promising rookie prospect in the process.

Blair should have never been picked that low, however, and chances are a future Pitt basketball player will suffer the same fate. You see, we like our college basketball flashy -- and Dixon's slug-it-out, "we are tougher than you" program simply doesn't fit our notion of success. But his record speaks for itself and programs that you care much more about, like Kentucky, North Carolina and UConn are looking up to Pittsburgh in wins in the past decade.

I will admit that given the choice between watching a Pitt game on television and watching the latest edition of The Bachelor, I am going with the reality show (Vienna is such a hussy). But when the game is over, I will check the score and it is likely I will see what I saw tonight: another gritty victory and a Pitt team in the Top 20 once again ... even though no one might be paying attention.