Sam Young leads No. 3 Pittsburgh to victory over No. 1 Connecticut

Young powers Pitt to knockout of top-ranked team
By Shannon Ryan Tribune reporter
March 8, 2009
PITTSBURGH — What was hyped as a heavyweight showdown transformed into a one-man show.

The rematch between Connecticut's Hasheem Thabeet and Pittsburgh's DeJuan Blair provided cliffhanger intensity, but all the dazzle came courtesy of forward Sam Young as he scored 31 points Saturday to guide the Panthers to a 70-60 victory.

After Louisville beat West Virginia on Saturday night, the Panthers' triumph was good for the second seed in the Big East tournament behind the Cardinals.

"I see UConn jerseys, and my eyes light up," said Young, whose highlight dunks amped the Petersen Events Center crowd of 12,908 into the loudest players could remember hearing it. "I came out ready to play."

Having never beaten a No. 1 team in school history, the third-ranked Panthers now have accomplished that twice in a month — both times against Connecticut. Following up on a 76-68 victory in Hartford, the Panthers (28-3, 15-3) now can declare themselves proud owners of the Huskies (27-3, 15-3), whom they may face again in the Big East tournament.

Most of the pregame drum-up focused on the teams' centers, but Young provided the biggest buckets on Senior Day.

After Connecticut cut a 14-point deficit to 52-50 with 8 minutes 24 seconds remaining, Young scored on a layup and then flew above the rim to slam an assist from Levance Fields to smother the Huskies' moment.

"It's amazing to me that Sam sometimes gets lost in the shuffle," Pitt coach Jamie Dixon said. "I thought he brought a lot of grit and toughness to the game."

Blair and Thabeet intensified their rivalry. The snapshot from February's meeting was of Blair flipping Thabeet over his shoulder. On Saturday, they tangled again when Thabeet fouled Blair while they both went for a loose ball and fell to the floor. Each claimed the other tripped him.

"I'm not going to let nobody knock me on the ground," Blair said.

Thabeet yelled at Blair before teammates intervened.

"He fell on the floor and tried to trip me," Thabeet said. "He tried to punk me twice, and I wasn't having it."

After Thabeet scored 14 points in the first half, the Panthers double-teamed him and denied him the ball to hold him scoreless after halftime. Blair finished with eight points and eight rebounds.

Fittingly, Fields scored the final basket on a last-second layup after he had considered sitting out because of a groin pain and tailbone bruise. He said he had to hold on to walls Friday to help him walk. He did warm up but didn't decide to play until an hour before tipoff.

"I knew if I could jog, I was going to play," said Fields, who had 12 assists to go with 10 points.

"That crowd was crazy, and this being my last game here, I had to play."