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Pitt forward Michael Young and the Panthers await Wisconsin in the first round the NCAA tournament Friday at Scottrade Center in St. Louis.
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Panthers' lack of NCAA tournament experience doesn't concern Dixon

Patrick Smith / Getty Images

Panthers' lack of NCAA tournament experience doesn't concern Dixon

Pitt went to the NCAA tournament 10 years in a row from 2002-11. After the first two, the Panthers annually had a lot of players with tournament experience.

But the Panthers missed the NCAA tournament a year ago and have gone through a roster turnover since their previous trip in 2014. Seven of the Panthers’ 11 core players have never played in the NCAA tournament. That will change Friday when 10th-seeded Pitt (21-11) faces seventh-seeded Wisconsin (20-12) in an East Region first-round matchup at Scottrade Center in St. Louis.

The inexperience on the big stage — the 11 players in the playing rotation have a total of nine games of tournament experience — isn’t a concern of coach Jamie Dixon. He believes the team is battle-tested from playing in the ACC and facing some of the best teams in Division I and that the environment and atmosphere won’t be a factor.

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“We have a lot of new guys, and we have a lot of young guys,” Dixon said. “Everybody is having trouble describing us, because we have so many new guys, but three of them [graduate transfers] are seniors, so we get classified [as] that old team that may not be so old.

“But they are all getting to play in the NCAA tournament, and I told them there is a team that is not one of the top seeds that gets on a roll and wins some games. … Why can’t that be us this year?”

Dixon has claimed all year that the experience of his three graduate transfers — Sterling Smith, Rafael Maia and Alonzo Nelson-Ododa — should not be considered when discussing the Panthers as they have had to learn a new system. Dixon, however, said those players are at least more physically mature and more skilled than typical 18- or 19-year-olds.

Although Pitt’s graduate transfers helped the Panthers get through the early part of the season, their production and minutes have dropped off dramatically in the past month. Two younger players — Cam Johnson and Ryan Luther — have moved up the depth chart, and junior Chris Jones started the final seven games of the regular season ahead of Smith.

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The Panthers played two games in the ACC tournament, and the three went scoreless, playing a total of 17 minutes (Maia played 10, Smith 7, Nelson-Ododa 0) and grabbing only four rebounds. But Dixon said he believes they will help in the NCAA tournament, and their maturity and leadership have been good for the younger Panthers.

“Generally you have three or four guys that haven’t played because you have three freshmen,” Dixon said. “That is normal for most everybody, but because we have these graduate transfers our numbers are a little bit higher. I think we have five days to get them ready.

“So there is an opportunity and now we have a team that we are focused on. … We can work on their tendencies and the things that they are going to try and do.”

Freshman Damon Wilson also will make his NCAA tournament debut, but he, too, has fallen to the bottom of the depth chart in recent weeks. Wilson did not play in either ACC tournament game and has scored only one point in the past eight games.

Dixon has been unhappy with Wilson’s defense and mental mistakes, but he has played extensive minutes at times this season, so he could get back into the mix.

Besides the graduate transfers and Wilson, junior Sheldon Jeter, who transferred from Vanderbilt, Johnson and Luther are the other players who have yet to play in the NCAA tournament. But those three have played a lot down the stretch, and Dixon said they’ve played enough minutes against really good teams that they shouldn’t have trouble settling in Friday against the Badgers.

Dixon pointed out that this will be a great experience for the younger players because the Panthers have seven of their top nine scorers set to return next season.

“We are like everyone in this tournament,” Dixon said. “They all have had some good wins and some not so good of games, but we have proven we can play with anyone. I mean, North Carolina is a No. 1 seed, and we showed we can play with them for 30 minutes.

“Like I said, before, of our top seven players, six are coming back next year, so it is a team that has had to find itself. All guys were in different roles and different positions, and it is continuing to find itself. … We are a team that is developing.”

Paul Zeise: pzeise@post-gazette.com and Twitter @paulzeise.

First Published: March 16, 2016, 4:00 a.m.

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