Okay, you all know my feelings on the venue. The game is something different. This is probably Duquesne’s best chance to beat Pitt. They have more experience and probably better chemistry at this point.

If you want to break the liveblog out from the site. Click Here.

Otherwise, you can play along right down here. The fun starts around 7pm.

Don’t mistake my disdain for the venue for any lack of caring about the game itself. It’s the City Game, local bragging rights are always important. This game may no longer have the deep hate, but it matters.

It’s also a big game because Duquesne keeps improving under fifth-year coach Everhart, and Pitt is perceived as vulnerable in a rebuilding year. The Panthers have five new starters, while Duquesne returned four starters from its first postseason team in 15 years.

Still, Pitt is 27-3 against Duquesne since 1982. Pitt assistant coach Brandin Knight was a sophomore guard at Pitt the last time Duquesne beat the Panthers (December 2000).

Both teams are missing top players. Duquesne sophomore wing Melquan Bolding (wrist) is out, and Pitt senior guard Jermaine Dixon (foot) and junior forward Gilbert Brown (academic) will watch the game in street clothes.

Wanamaker believes because of their “nice little bond” with Duquesne, the atmosphere will be heightened tonight. The rough-and-tumble open gyms have forged friendships but also the harsh reality of bragging rights.

“This game is going to be even more intense,” he said, “because we are more friends with them.”

Duquesne actually has a player that could have played in the Big East.

Saunders came to Duquesne and the Atlantic 10 Conference as one of Everhart’s best recruits in 2007 after originally signing with Marquette. But former Marquette coach Tom Crean didn’t have a scholarship available when all-conference guard Dominic James opted to stay in school instead of leaving early for the NBA Draft.
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“He’s going to be a pretty good challenge,” Pitt center Gary McGhee said. “I think right now he is leading the nation in rebounding. He usually starts out on the wing and just runs in and gets a lot of tip-out rebounds.”

Saunders, averaging 16.7 points and 15.5 rebounds, smiled when it was suggested that he’s becoming Pittsburgh’s marquee basketball player.

The scoring of Saunders aside, the major concern for Pitt will be the pressing defense from the Stage Magicians. Pitt has struggled with turnovers and there is no doubt that it could be a lot more costly in this game than against Youngstown State or Wichita.

“I was really disappointed,” Dixon said. “We need to improve in that area. We had rebounding issues early and we solved that for a couple games. Then our turnovers are a little bit higher now. We’ve got to get everything together here.”

Along with more patience on the offensive end, the Panthers need to move more without the ball. Too often there have been big chunks of the game where players stop moving. The guards may be struggling to move the ball inside, but that means they need more help. Not less.

Oh, the nostalgia. Oh, the games that have been played. Let’s reminisce about strange endings. Oh, give me a frickin’ break.

Good news. Crappy seats still remain.

I get it. The final City Game to be played at the Civic Arena. It’s a historic moment. An event. Whatever.

Pardon me for not getting all misty-eyed over this. Yes, there were some great NCAA Tournament games played there and some fantastic energy at points for those games. Yippee.

I have nothing nice to say about Pitt playing basketball at the Civic Arena. It’s my bias, feel free to disagree and dispute. It’s a product of when I was at Pitt. The late-80s as those high-talent, underachieving Paul Evans teams were there. When Fitzgerald would be packed and sweaty. A completely dominating homecourt advantage. Student section right on top of things and a force.

But, the place was too small to make as much money as they could if they moved some of the bigger conference games to the Civic Arena. So, that’s what happened. The big conference games against Syracuse, Georgetown and even St. John’s were moved to the Civic Arena. The students had to pay extra for those tickets. Transportation was shoddily provided to get them there — and most of the time we just ended up ying and taking a PAT bus there in frustration.

Then they stuck the students under one basket — not right under. No, that was reserved for people that paid the good money. The students were shunted a section back. The athletic department of the time seemed determined to remove any energy and excitement from the student section. Keep them back, make it a complete chore to get there and it showed on the court. The crowds had no energy and Pitt would go from having a definite home court advantage to a 50-50 proposition. Take away the games against Duquesne, and Pitt was only 41-37 at the Civic Arena and 14-20 against the Big East teams. Yeesh. Tell me again, why this is great?

Yes, the athletic department has much more of a clue these days. I’m sure the place will be loud tonight. I just don’t share the nostalgia and see little reason to start talking about playing at the Con in another year for some games. Pitt has one of the great home court advantages in the country. Why waste it for the cash grab of a few thousand more seats?

I have to admit, I like bravado more than cliches. It’s refreshing and much more honest.

“We’re not playing for co-championships,” Kelly said Monday.

As they prepare for Saturday’s showdown against No. 14 Pitt at Pittsburgh’s Heinz Field in the fifth installment of the River City Rivalry, Kelly and his players are interested in only one thing: winning the league title outright and securing the automatic BCS bowl berth that goes with that title.

If the fifth-ranked Bearcats lose to Pitt (9-2 overall, 5-1 in the league), UC (11-0, 6-0) will share the league championship and will then have to hope to land one of the four BCS at-large bids, which could be an iffy proposition.

“You can put it any way you want and I’m sure it will go in the media guide that way,” Kelly said of the possibility of being co-champs. “But I know this: we’d be extremely disappointed. There’s only one thing we go into with a goal and that is to win a championship.”

Of course when it comes to the ND job, then cliches and non-denials are a different thing for Kelly. He’s been the rumored pick since last season. Though, the rumor mill seems to be swinging to the defensive minded pick like TCU’s Gary Patterson.

The Big East scheduled with the expectation that Pitt, Cinci, WVU and/or Rutgers would be fighting for the Big East title. Cinci Coach Kelly saw it coming.

“When I saw Dec. 5, I told our guys that we’re going to have to be at this all year,” the UC coach said. “This is probably going to come down to the last game of the year.”

And now Pitt has to see about not ending its season poorly.

Q: Paul, I think 10 wins is a must for this team and they have, or will have had three shots to get it. If that doesn’t happen would you consider the season a failure in terms of next steps?

ZEISE: I agree with you. If Pitt finishes 9-4 — with a loss in some non-descript bowl game to some mediocre SEC or Conference USA team — it will be a huge disappointment. I don’t know if failure is the right word, because they did win nine games — though the competition had something to do with that — but to me it would be a disappointment. Losing to West Virginia this year was not a good thing and there isn’t a positive spin to be put on it. I think if Pitt had beaten WVU, then the season is a success and this week is just gravy win or lose. But in losing that game, the Panthers really need to win this one in order to make a definitive statement about where the program really is and that it is indeed in better shape than it was six or seven years ago.

Ending the season on a 3-game losing streak would render all criticism that Pitt built its record on bad to mediocre teams completely valid. It would mean Rutgers would likely constitute the best win of the season and not a single win over a team that finished in the top-25.

There is no sense in worrying about a bowl game and what would happen there. Right now the attention is on Cinci.

“We want to turn it loose on Saturday and play as good as we can,” Wannstedt said. “We just didn’t make enough plays (against West Virginia), but we’ve kind of moved on.”

“This week, because it’s like a playoff game, I try to reflect back and give them a few scenarios of what I’ve been through — NFL playoffs and college championships. I tell them what we need to do to be ready. Right now, they have a thousand thoughts going through their minds. They all want to play their best game. They all want to win the championship.

“I want them to just clear their minds, and think of the one, two or three things we need to do to be prepared to win,” Wannstedt added. “Basically we’ll be ready to play as good as we can play. Obviously, the kids are excited. This is going to be a unique day.”

Okay, fine. Might as well get this out of the way since Coach Wannstedt made the comparison. Coach Wannstedt had 3 appearances in the playoffs as a head coach — once with the Bears and twice with the Dophins. His overall playoff record is 2-3 and 1-1 at home. Take from that what you will.

That message of moving on and letting go of a disappointing performance in Morgantown seemed to be the team them.

While the Panthers gathered Saturday morning to sort through their issues before the Big East title game against No. 5 Cincinnati next Saturday at Heinz Field, they left Milan Puskar Stadium without pointing fingers.

Instead, defensive end Greg Romeus pointed toward what really matters. If the Panthers can survive the Bearcats, they can clinch a Bowl Championship Series bid.

“You learn from every game,” said Romeus, who had seven tackles and a sack. “We’re blessed to have an opportunity to win the Big East.”

Time to take that opportunity.