Sunday, January 29, 2012

Nasir Robinson Nearly Perfect As Pitt Upsets #9 Georgetown, 72-60; Towson Ends Record Losing Streak

College Hoops Player of the Day for Saturday, January 28, 2012

Perfection.

It is the thing many strive for but few seldom achieve.

In Pittsburgh's 72-60 upset win over Georgetown, senior forward Nasir Robinson came within one free throw of what some may consider a "perfect" game of hoops. Robinson led the Panthers with 23 points and 8 rebounds, on 9-for-9 shooting and a 5-for-6 effort from the foul line to help Pitt win their second straight Big East contest after a string of eight straight losses had pretty much demoralized the squad and severely limited their prospects of reaching the NCAA tournament.

After beating Providence, 86-74, on Wednesday, the Panthers were in perfect position to spring the upset, at home against the #9 Hoyas and Robinson and his floor mates pulled it off with a combination of contesting defense, hard rebounding and opportunistic scoring, limiting the Hoyas to 42% shooting, while they shot 52% from the field and made 19 of 22 free throws.

The Panthers also dominated the boards, out-rebounding Georgetown, 35-23. They also had 20 assists, 10 coming from Tray Woodall, who had missed 11 games from early December to mid-January, and whose presence on the perimeter was a major factor contributing to Pittsburgh's losing streak. Lamar Patterson chipped in with 18 points and seven assists.

Pittsburgh improved to 13-9, but they are just 2-7 in the Big East. Georgetown dropped to 6-3 in conference play and are 16-4 overall.

NOTABLE: Pitt was not the only team to stun a Top 25 team on a Saturday full of ranked teams in action. Oklahoma knocked off #22 Kansas State, 63-60, but Iowa State pulled off the Big 12 shocker of the day, using home court and a raucous crowd to drop #5 Kansas, 72-64.

#13 San Diego State also fell victim to road blues, getting thumped at Colorado State, 77-60.

Elsewhere, #1 Kentucky dominated LSU with a 74-50 road win and #3 Syracuse held on for a 63-61 home win over West Virginia, aided by a controversial missed call in the final seconds of play.

#11 Murray State Racers remained the only team in Division 1 without a loss, improving to 21-0 with a 73-58 win over Eastern Illinois.

Finally, at the other end of the college hoops spectrum, Towson ended the longest losing streak in NCAA history at 41 straight with a 66-61 win over Colonial Athletic Conference rival, UNC Wilmington. It was the highest point total this season for the 1-22 Tigers and their first win since a road win over La Salle on Dec. 29, 2010.

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