I guess it’s okay that Pitt players are saying they want another shot at Notre Dame in the Big East Tournament — as long as they are focused on what they need to do to get to that point. It makes me a little nervous about looking past games. Especially when UConn should have a bit of a chip on their shoulder about playing Pitt. The Huskies haven’t beaten Pitt since 2008. Pitt is 4-0 the last three years against UConn. There’s some curiosity on the UConn side about how things will go this time.

“I really just want to see our reactions against Pittsburgh,” UConn coach Jim Calhoun said. “Because our reactions the first time were young. And we can’t have young reactions (today) because we can’t beat them if we have that type of game. We have to kind of man up a little bit.”

The Panthers (27-4), as has often been the case under coach Jamie Dixon, have a strong, physical team.

“We know we have the toughest opponent in the league coming up,” Calhoun said. “But that’s what you play for, to get there.”

Pitt is still talking about getting off to better starts.

March entering the one-and-done phase, Ashton Gibbs says the Panthers can’t afford any more slow starts. Pitt is averaging 22.7 points in the first half in its past three games and has trailed at halftime in six of its past 10. “We’ve got to start games better,” Gibbs said. “The last couple games, we haven’t been starting off as well as we should have. I think if we start off good, we will be fine.”

Of course, part of why coaches wanted to change the BET format with the double-bye is that the team with the double-bye struggled to get their game going with a bit of a layoff while the opposing team had at least one game under their belt. So, I have to admit that I don’t expect it to change tomorrow.

Pitt does have a routine when coming to NYC and MSG.

Year after year they stay at the same hotel and practice at Baruch College. They even have the same bus driver and the same staff serves them meals at their hotel.

Pittsburgh’s players also have a routine. When their bus first pulls up to their midtown Hilton hotel they make a beeline straight for the chicken and rice vendor stand across the street.

There’s also a story in the article about Sam Young losing his sneakers right before the 2008 BET Championship game.

A little love for McGhee’s defensive presence and McGhee wanting to have a good showing in MSG.

But McGhee admits he has no defense for his recent efforts at Madison Square Garden. In three years at Pitt, McGhee has never scored a point in the Big East Tournament. He has more personal fouls (four) than rebounds (three) on the national stage in the Big Apple.

“I just have to come out and play stronger at the Garden,” he said. “Last year, I didn’t have a good game against Notre Dame. I think I went scoreless in the game. That’s not going to help us win. I didn’t rebound the ball that well either. I have to play my game, defend and rebound, and we will be all right.”

I’m optimistic he can better those numbers tomorrow.