Yes we are talking basketball and I can hear the collective groan from everyone at the prospect of me complaining about the non-con yet again.

So here’s the potential good news:

Pitt, which has needed a little more beef on its schedule, could be adding Wisconsin for the coming season. The Panthers ranked No. 264 in nonconference schedule strength last season.

All indications should be that Pitt might want to beef up it’s non-con match-ups if it wants to come close to the TV exposure it has received in the last couple of years.

The Big East is all about pleasing the TV executives (Insider subs.) and if Krauser doesn’t come back to Pitt, those of us out of the Pittsburgh media market will be on a forced diet or springing for the ESPN Full Court.

Kevin Pittsnogle, Carl Krauser and Torin Francis could have an effect on the entire television schedule for the Big East.

How? According to Tom Odjakjian, the Big East associate commissioner, the league won’t finalize its television schedule until it knows whether these three players are staying in the NBA draft.

Odjakjian told ESPN.com prior to this week’s Big East meetings in Florida that the league is waiting to determine how good West Virginia, Pittsburgh and Notre Dame figure to be before pushing for select television games.

And television dictates the 16-game league schedule for the inaugural 16-team 2005-06 season. Each Big East team will play 13 of the other 15 teams and will play three of those teams twice. Any team that is missed next season will definitely be on the schedule for 2006-07. Home and road sites won’t be determined until the opponents are set.
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Pittsburgh clearly needs Krauser back to be considered an elite Big East team next season. The Panthers already are losing Chris Taft and Chevy Troutman inside.

If you’ll excuse me, I have to start plotting how to slip a $200 charge onto the cable bill next fall.