March 16, 2007
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POST-GAME NOTES
*With its 21-point (79-58) victory over Wright State, Pitt advances to NCAA Tournament Second Round play against VCU on Saturday, March 17 at 5:50 p.m. The game will be televised on CBS.
*Pitt entered the NCAA Tournament as a No. 3 seed for the fourth time in school history. Pitt was a No. 2 seed in 1988 and 2003. It was a No. 3 seed in 1987, 2002, 2004 and now 2007.
*Pitt's Ronald Ramon led the way with a game-high 14 points on 4-6 3-point shooting. Ramon's 14-point game marked his 15th double figure scoring game of the year and 34 of his career. Ramon also pulled down a career-high seven rebounds.
*With his 13 points on the evening (12 coming in the first half), Sam Young notched double figure scoring in seven of his last nine games played. Young has notched double figure scoring in 15 contests on the year and 27 for his career.
*Mike Cook (12 points), Aaron Gray (11 points) and Levon Kendall (10 points) all reached double figure scoring. Gray missed a double-double with 11 points and nine rebounds.
*Levance Fields finished the contest with a career-high tying nine assists on the evening. He also registered nine assists vs. Western Michigan on Nov. 12, 2006. The nine assists also rank tied for third among Pitt's all-time NCAA Tournament assist performances. The school record is 11 assists by Brandin Knight vs. Marquette in the 2003 NCAA Tournament followed by 10 assists by Darelle Porter vs. Eastern Michigan in the 1988 tourney.
*Pitt is one of 12 teams nationally to advance to NCAA Tournament play in each of the last six seasons. The other schools include Arizona, Duke, Florida, Gonzaga, Illinois, Kansas, Kentucky, Michigan State, Pitt, Southern Illinois, Texas and Wisconsin.
*Pitt is appearing in its sixth consecutive NCAA Tournament and 19th in school history. Pitt has the longest NCAA Tournament appearance streak in the Big East with six. Villanova is second with three consecutive NCAA tourney appearances.
*Jamie Dixon became the first coach at Pitt to guide four consecutive teams to the NCAA Tournament. He accomplished the feat in each of his first four seasons as head coach at Pitt.
*Jamie Dixon won his 104th career game. He needs three more wins to set the NCAA Division I record for most wins after the first four seasons of a coaching career. Dixon now has 104 victories and is tied for third place with Bruce Stewart, who accumulated a 104-34 record at both West Virginia Wesleyan and Middle Tennessee from 1983-86. He has already passed Kansas' Roy Williams (104 wins), Butler & Xavier's Thad Matta (102 wins), Syracuse's Jim Boeheim (100 wins) and Louisville's Denny Crum (98 wins). North Carolina State's Everett Case owns the top spot with a 107-22 record from 1947-50.
*With the win, Pitt and Dixon avoided back-to-back losses. Pitt has lost back-to-back games only five times in Dixon's 133-game tenure as head coach. Additionally, since Dixon became head coach at Pitt, only four losses in his tenure have come by more than 10 points. Also, Dixon has dropped 15 of his 29 career losses by four points or less.
*Pitt's bench outscored Wright State's 36-15. Pitt has now outscored its opponents in 25 of 35 games on the year and in 51 of its last 67 games. With Roanld Ramon's 14 points and Sam Young's 13 points, Pitt has had 34 players reach double figures off the bench this season.
*Pitt held a 13-point halftime lead (43-30). When leading at halftime, Pitt is 21-0 on the season.
*Pitt hit 10 3-point field goals in the game. That total ranks among the top several marks for the 3-point field goals made on the year. Pitt hit a season-high 13 3-pointers vs. Florida A&M on Dec. 30, 2006.
*Pitt improves to 28-7 overall.
*Pitt improves to 16-19 overall in 19 NCAA Tournament appearances. Pitt advances to NCAA Tournament Second Round play for the 12th time in school history.
*Dixon improves to 4-3 all-time in NCAA Tournament games in appearances in each of his first four seasons at Pitt.
*Wright State scored just 58 points in the contest. For the season, Pitt has limited 14 of its 16 total Big East opponents, 20 of its last 24 opponents and 30 of its 35 total opponents under 70 points. Under Jamie Dixon, Pitt has held opponents to 70 points or less in 111 of his 133 games.
*Pitt improves to 3-0 all-time vs. Wright State.
*The Big East Conference went 3-1 on the first day of the NCAA Tournament. Pitt, Georgetown and Louisville all registered wins while Marquette lost.
