Loss ends chance for title run

BOSTON -- There's an old saying in sports that goes "Defense wins Championships." \nIt is a mantra that has been passed down from coach to coach for generations and has held true on every level. \nA few examples:\nThe 1985 Chicago Bears won the Super Bowl behind one of the best NFL defenses of all time. \nThe Detroit Pistons of the late 80's and early 90's won two straight NBA titles due, in large part, to their scrappy play that frustrated opponent's offenses.\nIn the 70's, the Pittsburgh Steelers were renowned for their "Steel Curtain" defensive line. \nNow Pittsburgh has a new defensive juggernaut to root for -- the University of Pittsburgh men's basketball team.\nThe No.2-seeded Pitt Panthers blew out the Hoosiers 74-52 in Sunday's second round match-up, pressuring the ball on the perimeter and battling for every rebound and loose ball down low.\n"They execute everything and they're unselfish," coach Mike Davis said. "Defensively, they always help each other and they're going to make every play tough on you. If you're not strong with the basketball, they will take it from you. If you throw a bad pass, they will steal it."\nThe statistics prove that point.\nPitt grabbed nine steals in the game and forced IU into 16 turnovers, which translated into 18 points.\nSenior guard Brandin Knight, the Panthers' senior point guard, was a major reason for his team's defensive proficiency, tallying five steals in 30 minutes of play.\nHe and Pitt coach Ben Howland both explained that their success did not have as much to do with preparing for IU's specific offensive sets as it did with players on the team knowing their roles and buying into an unselfish philosophy.\n"I think really all of our guys stepped it up - getting out and extending screens, trailing guys off double screens," Knight said. "That's what makes us effective on defense. (IU is) a very hard team to prepare for in one day. We just stuck to all our roles, like coach teaches, and that's how we were able to defend them so well."\nWith 6:30 to go, IU was only down by one. Both teams were having trouble executing offensively at that point, but when Pitt's offense began to click, their defense stopped IU from getting back in the game.\nAnother major cause for the Hoosiers' struggle to put points on the board had to do with the play of Pitt junior guard Julius Page, who had senior guard Tom Coverdale as his defensive assignment.\nHowland has consistently put Page on the opposition's best offensive weapon and, while freshman guard Bracey Wright was the Hoosiers' leading scorer this season, he recognized that Coverdale was the team's "heart and soul." \nIt turned out to be a good move as Page held the Hoosier guard, who scored 23 points in the first round against Alabama, to six points on 2-7 shooting.\n"He's probably the best defender I've faced my whole career," Coverdale said. "He's so quick and he's a great anticipator. He sees what's going to happen before it happens. It's pretty tough to get a shot off against him."\nAnd so it went for nearly every IU player who saw substantial minutes.\nWright was 4-11 from the field with three turnovers; senior forward Jeff Newton went 4-9 with six turnovers; junior center George Leach, while making 7 of his eleven shots, had four turnovers. \n"They buy into a system that preaches defense first and rebounding, because that's what's going to win," he said. "We were stuck on 21 there for awhile and had a couple bad turnovers in a row but we didn't relinquish the lead because we kept playing defense. Defense wins. Pittsburgh Steeler basketball"