I’m not going to be able to give this game as immediate attention as I want. Monitor duty at Fanhouse and 3 noon Big East games that are all staying close — ‘Cuse-Nova; Hall-G’town; and Marq-Cinci — means keeping a closer eye on those and then coming back to Pitt with the 1pm start.

Almost a silly premised article — Pitt struggles when going to UConn in the last 17 years. Hmm. Pitt sucked in the 90s and UConn has been a national power since the mid-90s. Guess what? Even if they were relatively even, the strong edge will go to the home team. Just like Pitt has a pretty strong edge at the Pete over UConn.

Big theme will be that both teams are undermanned. UConn though, has Wiggins available. There’s no way he doesn’t play, in my view, if he’s been practicing with the team. Even as Calhoun bitches that proper procedures weren’t followed since he didn’t determine Dyson and Wiggins should have been drug tested, not to mention the info released by the UConn campus police about the marijuana found near the car (no charges filed, though).

According to sources, athletic director Jeff Hathaway has a policy that calls for student athletes involved with any alcohol-related incident to be tested for drugs. UConn’s student athlete drug-testing policy is composed of three parts: random testing, probable cause and testing before participation in an NCAA championship event or bowl game.

Testing in this case falls under probable cause. Calhoun does not think this case called for drug testing, and the handbook says probable cause “may” be determined by a coach, doctor or trainer.

No, of course not. Found with alcohol in the car. Drugs found near the scene — even if not charged — and two players who have already failed at least one drug test each. Nothing to consider in that scene.

Let’s go Pitt.

A few pieces in the national and local media on Pitt players.

A list of most improved players includes Sam Young.

The Washington, D.C., native was an enigmatic reserve for the Panthers in each of the past two seasons, and was hobbled by tendinitis in each of his knees during the 2006-07 season. But after moving into the starting power forward role this season, Young is vying for both most improved and most valuable player in the Big East. He is fourth in the league in scoring with 18.1 points per game and averages 7.0 rebounds. Once known only for his rim-shaking dunks, Young has expanded his game. He is shooting 43.1 percent (25-for-58) on 3-pointers after making only 17 in his first two college seasons combined. Young has kept the Panthers in the Big East race after they lost guard Levance Fields and small forward Mike Cook to injuries.

Young also got a piece the other day focusing on his relationship with his younger brother.

DeJuan Blair was listed in another piece on top freshmen not named Love, Mayo, Beasley, Gordon or Rose.

He’s not the tallest center in Division I, but there are few wider. His massive shoulders and powerful hands make Blair a force in the low post. He is a relentless rebounder and showed he could stand up to 7-footers when he did a number on veteran Georgetown center Roy Hibbert.

Blair and the one of the plays he is involved in coming out on defense was the subject of a question for Ray Fittipaldo.

Q: I’m sure you have discussed this matter before, but I still don’t understand why DeJuan Blair and before him Aaron Gray, come to the top of the circle on defense running after the opposing teams players. It seems to cause all sorts of problems for our big men, i.e. Blair picking up two quick silly fouls to start the second half against Rutgers and Gray having to expend energy that he didn’t always have. What is Dixon’s philosophy in using this sort of defensive strategy? Wouldn’t it make more sense to let our big man play his man as needed or lay back on defense?

FITTIPALDO: It’s called hedging on a ball screen and it’s done to prevent the opposing team’s guards from penetrating the paint area or knocking down a wide open outside shot. The other team’s center will come out to the top and set a screen on one of Pitt’s guards. While Pitt’s guard is fighting his way through the screen, Blair is coming out to force the opposing guard to dribble around the defense instead of penetrating and either scoring or dishing off to an open man. When done properly, hedging can be a very effective tool to limit the effectiveness of a penetrating guard. Blair is not as adept at edging as he needs to be, and this gets him into foul trouble on an occasion. If Blair sits back under the hoop while his man is setting a screen, the opposing guard will come off that screen and have a wide open 3-pointer. It is sound defense when executed well.

Friday afternoon, ESPN Classic showed the 2002 Big East Tournament Championship — the one Pitt lost to UConn in OT. I watched Ontario Lett and Toree Morris running the same hedge. That’s now a staple of Pitt big men in this century.
Keith Benjamin did an ESPN.com chat.

Brian (Philadelphia): What is the best thing about playing for Jamie Dixon?

Keith Benjamin: Coach Dixon is a really great, funny guy. He’s a soft-spoken guy who will let you hear it but won’t chew you out. He really loves the team and this game. He’s one of the best coaching minds in America and doesn’t give up on us, so we won’t give up on him.

…

Zak (Pittsburgh): What’s the key to keeping the momentum Pitt has built as a program over the last half-decade or so going?

Keith Benjamin: Just keep on recruiting the same type of guys, and hopefully acquire some McDonald’s All-Americans. Guys that can be coached and that want to win. The guys we have now as freshmen are doing a great job, and they’ll keep winning for many a year.

Finally, Benjamin got some love after the Villanova game, as did Tyrell Biggs.

The game is at 1pm on CBS. It’s also a pretty good match-up.

Game worth watching on TV: The battle of teams down key players is Saturday in Hartford. It’s Pittsburgh minus Mike Cook and Levance Fields because of injuries vs. Connecticut minus Jerome Dyson because of a failed drug test that has earned him a 30-day suspension. So yeah, the game would be better if those guys were involved. But it’s still a great Big East matchup scheduled for CBS, and why wouldn’t you want to watch CBS?

Technically Jim Calhoun says he hasn’t decided whether Doug Wiggins will play. Right. He’s playing.

ESPN.com includes the non-ESPN game as a big weekend game.

Connecticut has one of the most explosive groups of athletes — led by guard A.J. Price and forward Stanley Robinson. Craig Austrie stepped up in the absence of Dyson and Wiggins and scored 15 points against Indiana. Center Hasheem Thabeet has steadily improved his offense to go along with his shot-blocking ability and overall defensive presence in the lane. Jeff Adrien is a dependable power forward who competes and provides consistent production in the lane as a scorer and rebounder. Despite losing to Rutgers at home this past Saturday, the Panthers beat Villanova on Wednesday. Pitt is short-handed with Levance Fields still out with a foot injury, but coach Jamie Dixon has shown he can rally the troops. The Iron Five of Gilbert Brown, Sam Young, DeJuan Blair, Keith Benjamin and Ronald Ramon should not be taken lightly, even on the road against a confident Connecticut team.

Good news, Seth Davis at SI.com picks UConn by 3.

So the question becomes, which team is better equipped to win a physical conference game with a thin bench? Well, Pitt out-rebounded Villanova by eight in its win on Wednesday night, but I doubt that will happen against UConn. My sense is the Huskies have turned the corner in terms of understanding how tough they need to be and how smart they need to play. That, plus the two days of additional rest and preparation they had this week after beating Louisville on Monday, should be the difference.

The extra days off for UConn seems to be a big advantage. The only thing I can sort of point out is that the Huskies played Indiana and Louisville on Saturday then Monday. Davis points out the team seems to have turned a corner. Contra that, they are still a young team and got a couple extra days to relax. They were rolling a bit, and now had a chance to rest.
Pitt, of course, is tired as they are finishing a 4-game in 10-day grind.

There are those times late in games when, admittedly, Biggs’ legs feel a bit like Jell-O, when his breathing becomes labored and his body is telling him to shut it down while his head wins a tussle as it screams to “keep on going, push through.”

Biggs harkens back to those semi-torturous offseason conditioning sessions when a moment like that arises.

“Just grinding it out in the summer and all that running we did on the track and all that stuff we did on the court, it definitely pays off right now,” Biggs said. “You can find yourself at the end of games with your wind going down and your legs feeling it some. But you just have to tell yourself to keep fighting, you don’t have any choice but to fight through it.”

I don’t have a strong sense on this game. I do expect some very ragged second half play from both teams.