ORLANDO, Fla. Hurricanes Jerseys 2020 . -- Unselfish offence, tenacious defence. When Pittsburgh plays like it did in routing Colorado 77-48 in the South Regional on Thursday, the ninth-seeded Panthers think they are capable of competing with anyone. It was difficult to argue against that after Talib Zanna scored 16 of his 18 points in the opening half and Pitt built a 28-point lead. However, coach Jamie Dixon and his players know they will have to be even better to go deeper in the NCAA tournament. "Were a better team now than we were earlier in the year," Dixon said. "Thats what you hope to be." The Panthers (26-9) shot 51 per cent from the field and played one of their best games of the season defensively in advancing to a third-round matchup Saturday against either No. 1 seed Florida or No. 16 seed Albany. Dixon said the Panthers have been feeling a lot better about themselves since winning two of three games in last weeks Atlantic Coast Conference tournament, including a quarterfinal victory over North Carolina. "I think last week opened our eyes," Dixon said. "We didnt win the tournament, but we thought we could have." Colorado (23-12) was eager to make amends for an early exit from the tournament a year ago, but had no answers for the 6-foot-9 Zanna. The Pitt centre made six of seven shots in the first half, and the Panthers didnt have any difficulty finishing off the overwhelmed Buffaloes. "Weve got to take care of the ball better and weve got to guard better and weve got to rebound better," Colorado coach Tad Boyle said. "We didnt do any of those things today. I dont know what Colorado team it was." Josh Scott led the Buffaloes with 14 points, however Colorado couldnt overcome a subpar performance from Askia Booker, who missed his first seven shots and didnt score from the field until 4 minutes into the second half. Cameron Wright had 11 points and Lamar Patterson finished with 10 for Pitt, which moved from the Big East to the ACC this season, where it finished fifth. Zanna, who had a monster game in the ACC tournament with 19 points and 21 rebounds against North Carolina, didnt attempt a shot in the second half, when Dixon gave his starters plenty of rest. Michael Young had nine points in 21 minutes and no regular played more than 30. "I was just trying to be patient. I know if Im open, the ball is going to come to me," said Zanna, a senior from Kaduna, Nigeria. "I was wide open just trying to run the floor, and I was just having wide-open layups." Colorado, whose 23 wins are the second-most in school history, entered the game coming off one of their worst offensive performances of the season in 20-point loss to Arizona in the Pac-12 tournament. The Buffaloes were limited to a season-low 15 field goals while shooting 29 per cent from the field with Scott finishing with a season-low four points and two rebounds. It didnt get any better against Pitt, which is in the NCAA tournament for the 10th time in 11 seasons under Dixon. The Panthers lost in the second round to Wichita State a year ago and will be looking for their first trip to the round of 16 since 2009. "They came out from the start and got on us early and we werent able to recover," Colorados Xavier Johnson said. "No one wants to go out like that, so it hurts. But that will motivate us to get better in the off-season." Colorado shot 29.4 per cent from the field in the opening half, with Booker missing all four of his attempts from the field and being limited to two free throws. Scott had five points on 2-for-3 shooting, but an even bigger indication of the teams troubles: the Buffaloes had zero assists and 10 turnovers. Pitt, meanwhile, matched its point total for its previous game, a 51-48 loss to Virginia in the semifinals of last weeks ACC tournament. The Panthers had 13 assists on 18 baskets in the first 20 minutes, and they outscored Colorado 12-2 in points off turnovers in building the 28-point halftime lead. Booker, like Scott averaging 14 points per game, finished with six on 2-for-9 shooting. Johnson scored 11 points for the Buffaloes, who made a 3-pointer at the buzzer to avoid finishing with fewer points than Pitt scored in the opening half alone. "You go in at halftime down 28, theres not a lot you can say to your guys positively, other than the fact that we had to come out and compete -- and you shouldnt have to ask our guys to do that," Boyle said. "We never gave up. These guys kept battling. It just wasnt our day," he added. "You look at every statistical category you want to. When you have five assists and 17 turnovers, its hard." The 29-point defeat was the largest-ever for the Buffaloes in the NCAA tournament. The previous low point was a 73-46 loss to eventual national champion Cincinnati in 1962. Wholesale Hurricanes Jerseys . Vonn punctuated her near-perfect season in perfect fashion Friday, earning her fourth overall World Cup title with a dominating giant slalom victory. Stitched Hurricanes Jerseys . The Toronto Maple Leafs forward and Nashville Predators goaltender highlighted Mondays waiver transactions, with Calgarys Chuck Kobasew and Edmontons Philip Larsen also being placed on waivers. https://www.cheaphurricanes.com/ . PETERSBURG, Fla.PITTSBURGH, Pa. - Josh Becketts left hip isnt 100 per cent. Neither is his fastball. Still, the Los Angeles Dodgers veteran right-hander was in no mood to use either as an excuse after his return from the disabled list lasted less than four innings in a 12-7 loss to the Pittsburgh Pirates on Tuesday night. "I was ready the pitch," Beckett said. "The trainers cleared me. The doctors cleared me. I just didnt pitch well and I put the guys coming in behind me in a tough spot because they had to pitch way too many innings." Far too many, as it turned out. Beckett allowed four runs in 3 2-3 innings and while the Dodgers erased an early 4-1 deficit to tie the game, the bullpen crumpled late as the Pirates scored four runs in the sixth and the eighth to improve to a National League-best 33-21 at home. "It was one of those games where every time we caught them or were going to catch them, they kept pulling away," Dodgers manager Don Mattingly said. "Good teams do that and theyre a good team." Beckett was in the middle of a late-career renaissance when his hip flared up in a victory over Colorado on July 8. The rust showed in his return. Neil Walker, Gregory Polanco and Ike Davis all hit solo homers against Beckett, who had allowed just one earned run in his previous 27 innings pitched on the road. "They werent calling the low strike early and I think he got a little frustrated," Dodgers manager Don Mattingly said of Beckett. "He started throw the ball up in the zone to try to get strikes and he made mistakes that they wound up hitting." Polanco was just getting started. Given a rare day off on Monday to hit the reset button, Polanco later added a bases-loaded single with two outs in the sixth to put the Pirates in front for good. The rookie, who came in hitting .133 in his previous 11 games, finished 2 for 4 with three RBIs and three runs scored. "To fight through an at-bat and drive in a couple of runs opposite field, off gap, it was good to see," Hurdle said. Walker went 2 for 4 with his 15th homer and three RBIs. Davis finished with three hits, including his sixth home run. Hurricanes Jerseys 2021. Vance Worley (3-1) overcame some shaky defence behind him to win for the first time in nearly a month. Adrian Gonzalez smacked his 15th long ball of the season and finished with three RBIs for the Dodgers. Maholm (1-5) took the loss after giving up consecutive singles leading off the sixth and Wright couldnt shut the door. Wright managed to get two outs before things went south. He walked Gaby Sanchez to load the bases before Polancos opposite-field single to left. Travis Snider followed with an RBI single and after Wright hit Pirates star Andrew McCutchen, Polanco sprinted home on a wild pitch to make it 8-4. "I just had a terrible night," Wright said. "I wasnt locating pitches and I was all over the place." Pittsburghs attempts to gain some retribution for McCutchen getting plunked nearly backfired. Pittsburgh reliever Justin Wilson was ejected in the top of the seventh after hitting Justin Turner. Hurdle joined Wilson in the clubhouse after getting tossed by third base umpire Jeff Nelson. "I was just more surprised there wasnt a warning given," Wilson said. "Umpires decision. Once youre thrown, youre thrown." Gonzalez followed with a lined shot to the seats in right-centre off Jared Hughes to draw the Dodgers to 8-6. Scott Van Slyke pulled Los Angeles within a run in the eighth with the Dodgers first pinch-hit homer of the year before Pittsburgh touched reliever Chris Perez for four runs in the bottom of the inning. Worley was far more efficient. The play behind him was not. The Dodgers turned Pedro Alvarezs MLB-leading 22nd error into two runs in the third and scored two more to tie it in the sixth when Josh Harrison — Alvarezs replacement — threw a ball into the stands to spark a two-run rally as the Dodgers pulled even. NOTES: Alvarez left the game after the fourth inning due to discomfort in his left knee. ... Walker is 10 for his last 17 (.588). ... The series wraps up on Wednesday when Pittsburghs Francisco Liriano (1-7, 4.43 ERA) faces Dan Haren (8-7, 4.30). ' ' '