The drill remains the same.

7:11: Did anyone see what happened to Thabeet? I didn’t see it. The officials, though, are really letting the teams bang. The only foul, when Kendall made a dumb reach-in after he got bumped and stripped. UConn definitely looks uncomfortable with being stuck playing at Pitt’s style, but they don’t look able to break it out and run.

7:12: Okay, now they showed the camera angle where Cook accidentally clocked him going up for a shot.

7:20: Pitt’s second squad not looking nearly so good as the starters. Sam Young looks like he is back to struggling again. Getting killed on the boards. Pitt not boxing out or out-hustling UConn. The Huskies seem a bit fired up with Thabeet knocked out.

Vitale is right, the Huskies are really establishing the post position. 11-11, 10:48 to the half.

7:26: The TV timeout gave Pitt the chance to get most of the starters back in (including Kendall with 2 fouls) and Pitt went on a 6-0 run. Cook has yet to score, but Gray has 6. 8:40 to halftime, Pitt up 17-11.

7:29: Dear god, that Vitale address to the Pittsburgh Zoo. No profanities? Where’s the fun in that?

7:38: Thabeet back. Apparently they were afraid he broke his nose. Some interesting spurts from UConn, to keep it close than I’d like. They are really slapping at the ball to get a bunch of turnovers. Not too worried about the shots not falling, yet — frustrating, but they will fall. 19-16 Pitt, 4:20.

7:47: Ramon drops a 3 at the buzzer to retake the lead, after surrendering it for the first time. 24-22
Dixon bothered by poor offensive execution. Standing around too much, going inside, but the shots not falling. No kidding. Gray has 10 rebounds but is only 4-12 with 8 points.

Too much standing not enough, cutting gives the perimeter defense of UConn time to slap at the ball and get position to stop drives. Should be an interesting halftime speech.

8:10: Cook is just having a horrible game (weak offensive foul call). Shots not falling, struggling with the passes, turnovers. Just struggling.

8:22: Ugly, ugly game. Pitt is still not shooting well. UConn’s athleticism is really compensating for inexperience tonight. Pitt just remains out of sorts. Unable to finish shots. Pitt holds an overall rebounding edge, but UConn has a 10-8 advantage on offensive rebounds. Every shot sees more blue under the basket than white.

34-33 Pitt, 11:08

8:28: 41-34 Pitt, 8:51 left. Calhoun had to take a TO after Fields nailed a big 3 and was fouled (missed the 4-pt play), but UConn failed on shots the other way. Pitt got the basket after Kendall missed the jumper, Gray rebound and threw it right back to Kendall — still wide open — who dropped it.

8:37: Another Dick Vitale speech to the Zoo about drinking. Um, not exactly the speech from Hoop Dreams. I do like the fact that he doesn’t preach abstinence in drinking. That works about as well as preaching it with sex. I’ll climb off of my soapbox now.

8:46: 48-37 Pitt, 3:55 left. Ramon has been big tonight, 14 points and 4-4 on 3s. Gray has been great in the second half. 4-12 in the first, 4-4 in the second; 17 rebounds with no other Pitt player with more than 2. Cook hasn’t scored or done much on the boards. He is the leading assist man in the game with 6.

8:55: Second half runs against UConn stat that they showed kills UConn this year. They just fade, and can’t stay together. Have to concede that to be a function of youth. They will be so good in another year. Hell, under Calhoun, I expect them to be a dangerous team by the Big East Tourney.

Vitale called the game for Pitt at 2:24 and Pitt up 53-40. He also congratulated Dan Shulman on his son’s upcoming Bar Mitzvah. Okay.

8:56: Damn. Kendall got the ball first, but his angle got the rest of the arm to foul out with Biggs.

8:57: They mentioned the verbal from Nasir Robinson. Cool.

9:00: Missing the point that, yes, Cook has only 4 points. If he looked a little further he’d see that whole 6 assist part.

It’s now 57-48 with 52.8. Dumb foul by Graves.

9:09: Damn, forced to agree with Vitale — again. Pitt has not played smart in the final couple minutes. Some dumb fouls to drag this out.

In the words of Dan Shulman, “Pittsburgh will hang on to win” by 9 points. 64-53. PittHoops called the differential. Definitely not Pitt’s best game. The good news, was that it was still good enough against UConn. The Huskies were the ones that couldn’t make free throws — 10-23.

Aaron Gray finished with 22 points and 19 boards. The team, after shooting 10-30 in the first half, went 10-15 in the second.

Pitt won despite not losing the battle of offensive glass 18-10. The overall rebounding appears to be tied at 36. UConn caused 18 Pitt turnovers. I’m not thrilled with the way Pitt played, but the fact that Pitt had a bad game and still notched the win makes me feel pretty good. Homecourt in college basketball. Never underestimate it.

All of the questions surrounding LeSean McCoy, that is. His high school coach confirmed what we already knew and then were told not to believe: Shady is Pittsburgh bound.

“I deal with all the Division I-A schools in the country and I have to say, without a doubt, Pitt recruited really hard,” McCoy’s Milford Academy coach Ben Chaplick told the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review. “I guess it paid off in the end. He clicked with Coach (Dave) Wannstedt and that’s who he’ll be playing for.”

McCoy reportedly committed to Pitt this weekend after a visit, but the report was not confirmed until today. He is expected to make an official announcement later today.

The official announcement is expected tonight, even with the collective thoughts of Pitt fans focused on the Pitt-UConn match up. And in case you missed the recruiting video of McCoy posted in the comments section, I gladly present it (Video Link).

Other Pitt football news is the news of Chris Ball being hired as the new secondary coach. Even though it’s a few days old it is still important to note.

Or at least it would be if we had a somewhat competent defensive coordinator.

Wannstedt, as any smart coach would do, praises him quite a bit.

“In Chris Ball we have added an exceptional football coach and recruiter,” Wannstedt said. “Chris has been an integral part of some of the top defenses in the country. We expect his experience and knowledge to be a major asset for our program.”

He comes from Alabama where he had some good defensive backfields under his watch. Over the past few years the numbers of his defenses have looked good. In 2004 they ranked first nationally in pass defense and second in pass efficiency defense allowing just 113.1 yards per game through the air and limited opposing quarterbacks to a 92.8 rating. 2005 saw them ranked as fifth nationally in pass defense and yards per game.

Long drive back yesterday from the family in Central Pennsylvania. Now it’s all about catching up on things and unfortunately the real world has to come first — especially if I want to have time to watch the game tonight (and I do).

So, I’m going to do this quick-hitter style.

Three themes are prevalent for this game. Stop me if you’ve heard this one: the battle of the big men.

For Thabeet, though, Gray will present a situation like no other this season. The Pitt center is leading the Panthers (16-2, 4-0 Big East) in scoring on a team with the best assist-to-turnover ratio in the country. Also, for the second straight game, Gray will face another 7-footer after limiting Georgetown’s Roy Hibbert to 11 points in 30 minutes Saturday.

“You can’t go in expecting him to play better than you,” Thabeet said. “The coaches here have challenged me. Now, he’s (Gray) going to be another challenge. But I like challenges.”

The theme is repeated a few times. Tip for the Oakland Zoo about Thabeet’s family. The family already has money and from in Tanzania (though I think the family now lives in Senegal). His father is actually part of the World Bank in Africa. Consider the e-mail scam regarding the secret bank account theme.

Thabeet had been struggling — especially against Marquette last week — but had a great game against St. John’s. Sure, it was St. John’s but, um, when it comes to the Red Storm, Pitt should never look down on them. Heck, UConn actually went zone on them.

Somewhat related, but a little broader is the UConn is now young theme. I’ve mentioned this elsewhere, and tonight, you can expect the same Jim Calhoun interview clip from the Big East Media Day to be shown — again. Though, credit Coach Jim Calhoun for his honesty about the young UConn team and struggling:

“No one feels bad for us,” Calhoun said. “I tell the kids that you are making a lot of people happy by doing this.”

The other big theme — the UConn-Pitt rivalry.

After all, nobody else in the Big East — not Syracuse, not Georgetown, not anybody — has strung together more championships and more victories over the last six years than UConn and Pittsburgh.

The two teams have combined for 10 Big East championships: seven regular-season titles and three Big East Tournament crowns. They also boast nearly the same, sparkling conference records during that run: UConn is 64-20 and Pittsburgh is 63-21.

From Taliek Brown’s 30-foot heave in UConn’s double-overtime victory over Pittsburgh for the 2002 Big East Tournament title, to Chevy Troutman’s bruising performance against the Huskies for a 76-66 victory at Gampel Pavilion in 2005 for ESPN’s launch of College GameDay, there’s never been a lack of drama in this series.

There’s also no longer any pretending this isn’t a big rivalry game from Calhoun as in years past.

“There’s been some great, great games between Pittsburgh and Connecticut,” Calhoun told a roomful of reporters and TV cameras at the Petersen Events Center. “It’s been a terrific, terrific game. I would expect our kids to hold up their end. I know Pittsburgh will.”

The fact that there have been so many tough, great games between the two has made it a rivalry that the folks in Connecticut are now happy to acknowledge how much this matters. Pittsburgh media and Pitt have been on that for a while. Great point, early in this story about how rivalries can change in college basketball much faster.

Rivalries come and go over the years. Games that once defined Big East basketball for a generation are now just other games on the schedule. No one blinks an eye anymore when St. John’s plays Georgetown, for example.

But, in the past six years, no rivalry in the Big East can compare to Pitt-Connecticut.

It’s, of course, been the measuring stick for Pitt in the past and in a way it still is this time.

The Dapper Dan Sportsman & Sportswoman of the Year award has been awarded for 71 years and this year a few Pitt folks will be nominated for the award.

In the Sportsman of the Year category:

Jamie Dixon, Pitt basketball coach – Guided the team to a 25-8 mark and a spot in the Big East Conference Tournament title game during the 2005-06 campaign. Led the Panthers to at least 20 victories and a spot in the NCAA Tournament in all three seasons as head coach. Has a team ranked 7th in the nation this season with a 14-2 record.

In the Sportswoman of the Year category:

Agnus Berenato, Pitt basketball coach – Guided the women’s basketball team to 22 victories and a spot in the Final Four of the WNIT in 2005-06. Got the Panthers off to a 13-2 start this season – the best in the program’s history – in pursuit of their first-ever appearance in the NCAA Tournament.

Marcedes Walker, Pitt basketball center – Was named First Team All-Big East performer for the Pitt women’s basketball team in 2005-06 when she averaged 16.8 points and 9.1 rebounds per contest. This junior scored the 1,000th point of her college career earlier this season during a victory over Robert Morris.

Voting can be done online here. Voting ends January 30 and the winners will be honored at the 71st annual Dapper Dan Dinner & Sports Auction on Sunday, April 15, 2007 at the Convention Center.

First off with the basketball related news and notes, one of which applauds the Panther’s assist-to-turnover ratio. Simply put, we have the best ratio in all of the nation.

Depending on how long the season lasts, Pitt could finish with near 700 assists. No other team in the program had even 600 in one season.

Through 18 games, Pitt has 353 assists and 203 turnovers.

They’re also on pace to become only the third Panthers team in 29 years to finish with fewer than 400 turnovers. Take care of the ball and you get more shots, leading to more points, and eventually to more wins.

There were a few times when Mike Cook didn’t want to dish it off; instead he just wanted to get to the hoop and score on Georgetown’s DaJuan Summers after Summers said something to Cook.

“He kept elbowing me and kept talking to me,” Cook said. “I just tried to stay cool and stay calm. But he went a little bit too far. He really got me into the game. From that point on, I just tried to go at whoever they put on me.

I’d take Mike Cook driving to the hoop anytime but an angry Mike Cook is the only thing better. Seeing anger and aggression from our players is something that I appreciate and enjoy. Now all we need is Aaron Gray to get fired up a little bit more. An angry Gray might be as good as any other big man in the country.

Finally, Kevin Gorman over at the Trib does a final wrap up of the College Gameday events. The whole thing put the school, the team, and the fans in a great light. Now, the Oakland Zoo is up there with the best student sections in America.

Over on the football side of things, a story from The Patriot News claims that LeSean McCoy won’t confirm reports (which have come from every major recruiting website) that he’s chosen Pitt.

“I haven’t given a definite verbal,” McCoy told The Patriot-News yesterday afternoon. “I’ll make my decision either Tuesday or Wednesday. … It’s between Pitt and Penn State.”

…

Scout.com, a recruiting Web site, reported yesterday that McCoy informed Pittsburgh football coach Dave Wannstedt he would play for the Panthers.

Rivals.com, another recruiting Web site, also lists McCoy as a Pittsburgh commitment.

National Letter of Intent Day, the first day a recruit can sign for his scholarship, is Feb. 7.

First off, this story comes from a newspaper that is obviously under the brainwashing old man known as Joe Paterno. Secondly, as pointed out in the comments section, this might all be a little ploy by McCoy to make his official press conference a little more interesting. Everyone likes a little more attention.

A big game atmosphere, an electric crowd at the Pete, and fans letting him know he’s wanted badly would appear to have been the final thing to get RB LeSean McCoy to give his verbal to Pitt. Granted, McCoy could change his mind again — especially if he the game helped push his decision over the top, since that could recede and/or you know he could get caught up in the excitement of a Penn State women’s basketball game. Suffice to say, there will be questions about the strength of his verbal until signing day.

I wonder if that will change the minds at all of other RB verbals such as Xavier Stinson, Greg Williams and/or Shariff Harris. Something to watch, I suppose. McCoy, is ranked as a 4-Star recruit by Rivals.com and the 10th best prep school prospect (his teammate at Milford, RB Graig Cooper is ranked as the #1 prep prospect). Scout.com has him as a 5-star recruit and the #8 RB prospect for 2007.

It will be interesting to see the impact on the recruiting class rankings when updated in the next day or so.

That was the big thing people were taking away from what Pitt did last night.

It’s a chicken vs. egg argument.

Are Pittsburgh’s shooters hitting so many 3-pointers because center Aaron Gray is so dominant? Or is the Panther big man so dominant because his guards are knocking down those outside shots?

It doesn’t matter much to seventh-ranked Pitt, but its opponents would love to know the secret.

“They are balanced in every sense of the word,” Georgetown coach John Thompson III said of the Panthers.

“They can put three or four shooters around Gray,” Thompson continued. “It’s hard to focus on Gray because you could leave a terrific shooter.”

Andy Katz from ESPN.com also wrote of the balance.

The reason Pitt is in this position? The Panthers are the most experienced and balanced team in the Big East. That may or may not equate to a No. 1 seed or a Final Four run. But if you look at the Big East, who has as complete a team as the Panthers?

The box score is fascinating in the pace of the game was actually quite slow. Under 100 shots taken in the game. Yet because both Pitt and Georgetown were shooting and executing their offense so well, it was a very high scoring game despite not a lot of possessions. Pitt and G-town regularly ran plenty of time off the clock, but few turnovers and not even much fouling.

It really was a tremendously well-played game by both teams.

“I just know that’s a very, very good team,” said Thompson, when asked if he ever had a team shoot 60 percent and lose. “I don’t think we played poorly. When you make a mistake, they capitalize on it. It seems like every mistake you make, they capitalize on it. At both ends of the floor, that’s a very deep and experienced team.”

It was so well-played that on the rare times that Pitt or Georgetown would actually fail to score on consecutive possessions you would get nervous for your side. It leaves Pitt as the only unbeaten in Big East conference play. Even Bob Smizik seems encouraged.

About the closest to a “negative” would be that the anticipated battle of the big men didn’t materialize as both Pitt and Georgetown play as a team and know to keep everyone involved. Of course, someone has to be a little down on Gray not dominating as anticipated this season.

More later.

Hey, let’s start this a little early since the College Gamenight will be at the Pete.

I’d be live-blogging, but I’m visiting my folks and my computer just won’t go on their wireless for whatever reason. Plus, I’m banished to another room while everyone watches the Eagles-Saints game. I’ll still be popping out to read comments and post some thoughts when I can.

9:18: Pitt has withstood a hot shooting start from the Hoyas. Green is shooting really, really well. Nice to see the Pitt big men really going inside. Could someone tell Dick Vitale to stop bringing up the Florida Gators BCS championship with Erin Andrews.

Honestly, surprising to see this much offense. I like the chances for Pitt in that kind of game — if it keeps up. 17-16 Pitt under 11 minutes.

9:27: Interesting to see Biggs playing PF with Gray. A mew wrinkle and Biggs seems to be responding well to it. Cook has been quiet so far.

9:36: Did I say Cooks was being quiet? So much for that. Loved the woofing with Summers as well.

Pitt’s keeping the pressure on Georgetown and running a lot more than expected.

35-29 Pitt, 4:19 ’til the half.

9:45: Cook and Young on consecutive possessions missed 7-foot open jumpers. Always unnerving.
Young and Biggs already have 3 fouls. More pressure on Kendall to step up this game.

Gray with a slam on the feed from Fields who came in on the drive to end the half.

41-32 Pitt at the half.

Pitt had 15 assists on 17 16 assists on 18 baskets.

Dixon at the half time interview heading in the locker was only a little concerned about overcommitting on some somethings.

A solid first half. Gray really looks happy when Hibbert is the only one on him. I expect the Hoyas to zone and go smaller in the second half. The only problem with that for G-town is Hibbert is a bigger part of their offense, and they do need to score points.

We’ll see.

10:08: Nice start by Pitt. 47-34 in the first two minutes and still more passing. Heck, the bucket they gave up came from maybe too much passing.

10:10: Pitt with 49 points still doesn’t have anyone in double digits.

10:23: Georgetown won’t go away. This is an intense game. Pitt up 55-45, Ramon going to the line to shoot 3, with under 12 minutes. I get the feeling that if Green or Wallace for G-town get hot, this game can change. Pitt is playing very, very well but so are the Hoyas. Don’t think I can emphasize that enough.

10:35: Georgetown has gone smaller against Pitt and is making the comeback. Hibbert is sitting during this run by the Hoyas. Pitt lead now only 60-53, 7:38 left.

10:40: Vitale with another good point regarding Pitt’s penetration by the guards. Georgetown is not doing a very good job against it. I think a lot of that has to do with having to respect the 3s from Pitt. Pitt hasn’t had many open looks at the 3 and that’s why they have only taken 8 so far. They are getting the space to go inside.

10:58: Pitt wins 74-69 as Sapp hit a meaningless 3 at the buzzer.

Gray in post game with Erin Andrews. About the unselfish play, it is all about the players wanting to win first.

Patrick Ewing, Jr. came off the bench and nearly sparked the full comeback for G-town. Because of the tremendously accurate shooting from both teams, there weren’t nearly the rebounding opportunities. Gray, Cook and Kendall tied the lead for Pitt with 4 boards each out of some 20+. G-town managed something less than 20 (official stats not out yet, so I don’t trust the accuracy levels).

The rematch on February 24 should be something.

Cook led Pitt with 18 points (7-11). Gray and Graves each had 11 and Ramon had 10.

Went down to see the College Basketball Gameday broadcast today and sat in the first row of the upper seating. Saw myself on the tube a few times after coming home and reviewing it on my friend’s DVR. Overall it was very fun time this morning (and I was able to procure a few Rollabanas).

We also stayed down there to see the #23 women’s team end up losing. A loss to a 4 win team with the biggest crowd of the year in attendance…not a very clutch game by the ladies today.

The Georgetown game starts in about T-minus 3 1/2 hours and I think we’ve looked at that game about as much as we can and I really have nothing more to add.

Don’t look now but Virginia Tech, Big East defector, is about to upset the #1 ranked UNC Tarheels on ABC.

Enjoy the game tonight folks.

Paul Zeise’s chat yesterday featured a question focused on tomorrow’s game against the Town of George.

slr: What does Pitt need to do to shut down Georgetown?

Paul Zeise: Well I think Georgetown does a pretty good job of shutting itself down. I mean the real question to me is what do the Hoyas have to do to shut down Pitt? I watched Georgetown the other night score 52 points in a loss to Villanova. They are not a very good offensive team and frankly i think they take one of their best players, Roy Hibbert, completely out of the equation with the offense they run. That Princeton style is great when you have a lot of players of similar skills — but when you have a talented 7-footer like Hibbert, you need to come up with ways to get him the ball more in a position he can score. They don’t do a good job of it and I think it is a reason they’ve struggled. There is just something missing with that team on offense and I think it is that the system doesn’t fit the talent.

I just figured we’d be able to get some Rollabannas behind the basket they’re shooting at. That would definitely distract them and shut them down. Just remember folks, let your Rollabanna whip itself back into scroll form when the Panthers are shooting.

Georgetown and John Thompson III has had Pitt’s number the last couple of years. They upset Pitt in January 2005 at the Pete, and beat Pitt last February after Pitt blew a lead in the first half. That second game, JTIII made a bunch of adjustments in the second-half and completely out-coached Jamie Dixon. Hibbert spent the second half on the bench as G-town went smaller and forced Gray to defend further and further from the basket. Not sure we can expect to see G-town go to that tactic again as Hibbert has since improved significantly.
The game notes are available if you want to look back (PDF) on the sub-par history of the Pitt-Georgetown series (29-37).

For Pitt, this is the start of the brutal stretch but also a huge opportunity with the timing of the 3 home games.

“Not only do we have three tough home games coming up, but against three of the best teams in the Big East,” center Aaron Gray said. “We have a little bit of an advantage, having them at home. But at the same time, you’re playing three of the top teams in the Big East in (nine) days.”

The three incoming visitors are off to relatively disappointing starts.

All three have been inconsistent at best in the last couple of weeks, but don’t worry, Aaron Gray isn’t looking ahead. He is armed with the cliches.

“We just have to take it one game at a time, prepare individually for each game and do our best,” Gray said.

Meanwhile Hoya faithful are looking for consistency from their team. Well, that and try to be like Wisconsin.

Jeff Green and Roy Hibbert might want to inquire as to what Wisconsin senior forwards Alando Tucker and Brian Butch had for breakfast the morning of Dec. 16. Whatever the Badger big men ate, it worked. Tucker and Butch scorched Pittsburgh pre-season Big East Player of the Year candidate Aaron Gray and scored season-high point tallies as the Badgers trounced then-No. 2 Panthers 89-75.

While the Georgetown frontcourt tandem may not add Wisconsin cheddar or Milwaukee’s Best to the pre-game spread menu, it couldn’t hurt to try and emulate everything else Tucker and Butch did in the early-season showdown.

Hey, if Hibbert wants to step out for 3s for the first time this season, that is fine by me. This being Georgetown, you knew someone was pining for the old JTII days of thug-ball. Oh, I’m sorry, Mike Graham was merely Patrick Ewing’s protector. Yeah, sure.

Hey, not only will Pitt be on Gameday, the newest promotional gimmick will be on display. Oh, not thundersticks, or something loud and annoying things like that. They are a different kind of annoying. The “Rollabana.”

Basically, it is a handheld, roll-up banner. You grab each end, pull and then wave the banner with both hands. Release and it conveniently rolls back.

Judging by the Rollabana website, I’m guessing it has been in Europe for a while and just started hitting the US in ’06. Starting with some baseball teams. The US distributor of the product doesn’t have much of a site, but they do have a message.

Be sure to be “crazed.”

Pitt will be one of only two teams to be part of College Basketball Gameday twice in the season. This Saturday and then in regular season Big East finale at Marquette on March 3. The other school showing up twice — UNC.

“They thought Pitt was, obviously, our best team and, given the incredible crowd at the Pete since it was built, with the Zoo, they thought it was a great atmosphere,” said Dan Gavitt, Big East associate commissioner for men’s basketball. “It’s a home run for ESPN.”

…

“I guess the national coverage you get all day, somebody told me it’s like a 12-hour infomercial on your school,” Dixon said. “It puts your school in a great light.

“It’s an accomplishment to be included in it, and for us to be on twice is a reflection of our program and our consistency over the years.”

ESPN intends to capture the atmosphere of Pitt and its campus, from the Cathedral of Learning to a look inside the Panthers’ locker rooms. Included will be a live interview with Dixon, a feature on senior center Aaron Gray, an on-court demonstration and a preview of the day’s top games accompanied by predictions and commentary by the “GameDay” crew — anchor Rece Davis and analysts Digger Phelps, Jay Bilas, Hubert Davis and Andy Katz.

And the day wouldn’t be complete without Dick Vitale, ESPN’s high-energy color commentator known for his signature calls. Vitale will join the show for 20 minutes prior to the Pitt-Georgetown game.

Of course, it still matters if you win the game and the others in this homestand.

Gray admitted there will be many distractions throughout the day. He said the team just needs to realize the opportunity that is in front of them. The Panthers can take a giant step toward a Big East regular-season championship by beating Georgetown, Connecticut and Marquette in the next 10 days.

“Not only are they three home games, but they’re against three of the top teams in the Big East,” Gray said. “It’s definitely a little bit of an advantage having them at home.

“We have a great crowd, great support from the city. We’re real confident and comfortable at home. Every team that comes in here is kind of worried because we’ve been voted the toughest place to play for two or three straight years.”

College basketball — especially in a year where there doesn’t seem to be too many teams that are absolutely far above the  rest — is  a situation where home court means so much. So you have to win the home games. Pitt can’t let the whole atmosphere of the infomercial and distractions work against them.

Luke Winn at SI.com finally puts Pitt back in his weekly power poll at #16.

Welcome back to the rankings, Pitt. For the record, it wasn’t all of your fans’ hate mail that got you reinstated — it was the road wins at Syracuse and DePaul, and the 3-0 start in the Big East. None of that is anything to get too excited about, but let’s face it: You didn’t really beat anyone before January. The resume matters here. The good thing is that kenpom.com’s new feature — “Game Plan” — has diagnosed your problem: You’re struggling in the games in which you get killed on the offensive glass. The three times you let an opponent grab at least 40 percent of the available offensive boards, you either lost (to Oklahoma State and Wisconsin) or nearly lost (to Buffalo). So beware the Big East’s two best offensive rebounding teams, UConn and Providence, OK?

Meanwhile, Clemson is ranked #8 and Air Force #9. That doesn’t bother me as much as the not beating anyone comment. Mainly because he credits both Wisconsin and UNC for beating FSU. Something Pitt also did by a similar margin. I realize those two teams beat more good teams (like Wisconsin beating Pitt), but the absolutist tone annoys. Thanks for the tip on the offensive rebounds — we were already aware of it.

ESPN.com puts Pitt in the #2 seed group (#7) in its power poll.

Panthers are quietly playing solid ball while the rest of the Big East continues to stub its collective toe. Interesting to note how similar Pitt’s dossier is to the team ranked No. 9 this week, which very few are talking about …

That team is Texas A&M.

Need a way to waste a few minutes of your day? Here’s a little roundup of some of the good YouTube videos featuring your Pittsburgh Panthers:

Gilbert Brown dunk: Gilbert Brown pulls off a great dunk in pregame warmups.

Sam Young does the same thing: Alley-oops it to himself at the 30 second mark.

Jerome Lane breaks backboard: “Send it in Jerome”

Revis Punt Return: ESPN’s #1 play of the year in college football. (Edit: Link fixed.)

Pat White meow: Not a Pitt highlight but still Pitt related (in a bad way) nonetheless.

Larry Fitzgerald catch: Larry goes parallel to the ground in the 2002 Insight Bowl.

Palko 1 – BC defender 0: If you were there, you got fired up.

I may have passed a really good one over somewhere. If you see one, go ahead and leave the link to it. Enjoy.