And so does the ranting over it when it goes wrong.

There was a question about Pitt’s seeding if in a hypothetical, Pitt finished 14-4 in the Big East and won the Big East Tournament.

Honestly, I don’t like to worry or think too much about seeding until the end of the regular season. Oh, I look at some of the projections. It’s just that things can change too quickly. Not just for Pitt, but the teams around them.

Really all Pitt can do is take care of business around them. They have one loss that haunts them.

The Hoyas are appearing in brackets as a three-seed, which one could suggest is generous for a team with the Big East’s sixth-best offense and, what do you know, its sixth-best defense. Meanwhile a team like Pitt, two full games ahead of Georgetown in the standings and equal to the Hoyas in per-possession terms, is popping up as a four-seed. Maybe that little “4” next to the Panthers’ name should be replaced with something more honest and direct: “They lost to Indiana!”

More specifically, “They lost to Indiana on national TV!” These are strange days when losing to Northwestern, Miami or *ahem* South Florida would be a better loss.

Honestly, if Pitt runs things, I think they will be no better than a #2 seed. Kentycky and Kansas look like locks. Syracuse would have to really stumble. As would Purdue and a few others. Really #2 or #3 would be amazing regardless.

One game at a time, though.

In some ways that is Notre Dame at this point. Luke Harangody really does appear to be very unlikely to play on Wednesday.

Feeling better after missing two games to let a bone bruise in his right knee heal, Notre Dame power forward Luke Harangody planned to participate in all 90 minutes of Monday’s basketball practice.

He barely made it through 15 before lingering pain forced him out of a simple halfcourt drill. After consultation with team medical personnel and coach Mike Brey, Harangody has been ruled out for Wednesday’s home game against No. 12 Pittsburgh.

“He kind of stepped out for a few minutes and wanted to come back in,” said Brey, whose team never got to a planned scrimmage with Harangody. “I said, ‘No, that’s it. We’re not going to play games with it.’ “

Well, as they showed in taking Lousiville to OT at Freedom Hall, the Irish can still play. Even more so at the Joyce Center. The Irish really enjoy a big homecourt advantage there — even with a stunning loss to St. John’s. In fact that makes it a little scarier. Only once in the past 4 years has ND dropped two straight at home.

(more…)

Okay, remaining stuff to get out before turning attention to Wednesday’s game — now with less Harangody (for now).

Harangody’s first full day of practice since suffering a bone bruise on Feb. 11 didn’t go as planned. With more persistent pain than expected, Harangody has been ruled out for the immediate future.

Irish coach Mike Brey, speaking on his weekly radio show, said he didn’t know when the All-American would return.

“There was pain there today that we aren’t going to play around with,” Brey told listeners. “I said, ‘Luke, I’m not going to let you play.'”

Of course if he practices with less or no pain on Tuesday, things can change.

Ray Mernagh at NBE Basketball continues to be impressed with Pitt.

At some point soon I’m going to write 800 words on how impressive Nasir Robinson is in what he does for this team as he battles in the paint defensively and fights for rebounds, deflections etc.

A few weeks ago some were wondering if Pittsburgh, after a fast start, was in danger of missing the NCAA’s for the first time in nine years. Now I’m still amazed at the number of new wrinkles getting put in offensively — cuts you haven’t seen before, Dixon and Woodall finding people for layups. Woodall springting to the line and sinking pressure free throws down the stretch.

Post-Gazette beat writer Ray Fittipaldo responds to some grief now given for stating that it had appeared that Woodall was a recruiting error. It’s a tad defensive, but it is fair to point out that most looking in on the program were seeing this as conventional wisdom up until a couple weeks ago.

When Nova loses, they foul even more than usual. The tempo Pitt imposed on Nova seemed to be a jarring thing for the Wildcat faithful.

You want to take something more away from the game than just a win? Covered.

Chris Peak at PantherLair suggests notice has been served.

First there was the 82-72 win at Syracuse on January 2nd. Next came the triple-overtime 98-95 win against West Virginia 10 days ago. And then on Sunday Pitt mounted a toppling of the No. 3-ranked Wildcats.

Consider it an overthrow of the Big East’s trilateral leadership.

Of course, Pitt’s not making any proclamations on the throne – “We’re just one step closer to winning the Big East regular season. We’re just trying to do our part,” was the most senior guard Jermaine Dixon would offer after the Villanova game – but no other team in the conference can claim a set of wins against the Orange, the Wildcats, and the Mountaineers this season.

In fact, outside of Pitt, no team in the conference has won more than one game against that trio of teams; with two weeks left in the season, the other 12 teams have combined for a 4-28 record against Syracuse, Villanova, and West Virginia.

Well, UConn can now claim wins over Nova and WVU — plus a really tough loss to Syracuse. So, take from that what you will.

Kevin Gorman wants everyone to know that it is the players not the place.

It wasn’t so much the intimidation of the Oakland Zoo and a standing-room-only attendance of 12,920 – the largest on-campus crowd in Pitt basketball history – that made it a miserable afternoon for Villanova.

“The toughest thing,” Villanova coach Jay Wright said, “is their team.”

To say Pitt is tough to beat at the Pete is an understatement. The Panthers are 130-11 all-time there. But it’s not because of the Pete. It’s because of Pitt.

Eric Hall seems to have given up trying to figure out the secret to this team. He just wants to enjoy it.

Brandin Knight was still dressed in a dapper black pin-striped suit as he walked through the halls of the Petersen Events Center hours after Pitt’s latest shocker, a 70-65 win over No. 3 Villanova Sunday, his ear-to-ear smile completely his impeccable wardrobe.

The Pitt assistant has seen his share of success in this building. He helped open the place in a season that begat a second straight Sweet 16. His retired number whistles in the rafters every time the fans cheer. His rise from video coordinator to Jamie Dixon’s coaching staff coincided with an Elite Eight season last year.

But he even couldn’t explain this team and its uncanny knack of doing the unexpected.

“I don’t know,” he shrugged.

Enjoy.