I still haven’t made up my mind who I’m rooting against in this game.

Forget that Big East/ACC solidarity. I’m looking for pain and anguish.

On the one hand, I live in Ohio and seeing Ohio State fans gnash their teeth and try to rationalize how basketball isn’t as important as football — after their run to the Championship game with Oden and their Final Four appearance last year has had them crowing — well, that would just be fun.

On the other hand, the Big Blue Nation that is Kentucky are batshit crazy. To have Louisville and Rick Pitino — in the same year they lose an opening NIT game to Robert Morris — win creates such epic rants and meltdowns all over the internet. It’s just a non-stop festival of insanity.

Obviously, there is no winner for me, without Pitt. But I can take joy in my own way because of who wins.

The game is at 1:40. It’s on TBS. On the bright side, it isn’t a noon tip. The downside (for me) is picking up the kids from school roughly as the second half is getting underway.

Will Pitt be able to avoid yet another slow start to their game? They are definitely aware of it. I’m not sure that it makes a difference or not — the being aware of it part. The fact is, this Pitt team has started most of their games — win or lose — sluggishly. Fitfully. At this point in the year, it is hard not to shrug and acknowledge that this team doesn’t get off to good starts.

Dante Taylor got six stitches above his right eye from the Syracuse game last week. The eye is still a bit swollen, but he’s not missing the game.

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This week has sucked. Some poor planning on my part has me working late every day this week. So on one of the best weeks in terms of number of games and quality, I’ve largely missed them.

That also will happen with the 2pm meeting at the Garden between Pitt and Syracuse. I have the DVR set, but that means cutting off from media from that time forward.

Unlike the last meeting James Southerland is playing. Syracuse has a game under their belt. They strarted slowly in the first half before overwhelming Seton Hall yesterday.

Hopefully everyone on the team is feeling healthier and mostly recovered from their ailments.

Last Big East regular season game. Forever. Considering Pitt doesn’t do much in the way of Chicagoland recruiting, there’s not going to be much of an interest in future scheduling with DePaul. After a brief glimmer of hope at not finishing in dead last in the Big East, they are right there for a 5th straight year.

Clemson just hasn’t been the same since Oliver Purnell left for DePaul. I would wonder if Purnell looks at the fact that he’s won 6 Big East games in three years at DePaul, and has a bit of remorse. But then I remember that he’s getting $4 million a year for 4 years (or is it 5?), guaranteed. He made the money grab and damn the losing.

DePaul is a team that wants to score and tries to pressure and trap on defense to create turnovers. They do score well, but not exactly efficiently. It makes their defense that much worse since pressure defense depends on scoring to give them a chance to set things up.

When they don’t score, or teams break the pressure it can get really ugly as we saw in the January blowout where Pitt won by 38. That game was one of only three all year where DePaul didn’t crack 60 points (Louisville and Gardner-Webb were the others).

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I really don’t see Pitt and Nova playing any time soon. The last thing the Wildcats want is for Pitt to have more opportunities to recruit in the Philly area. For all that talk about how Pitt has that connection for NY/NJ, Pitt has been doing rather well grabbing kids in or connected to the Philly area in recent years. Both Gil Brown and Lamar Patterson may have been from Central PA, but their AAU teams were in Philly. Wanamaker, Robinson, Malcolm Gilbert and others were taken from the area. Hopefully Pitt finds a some willing partners in the rest of the Big 5 for home-and-homes to Philly.

The big concern is the status of Steven Adams’ ankle.

Pitt freshman center Steven Adams injured an ankle in practice Saturday, according to a university source. The severity of the injury was not immediately known and it was unclear Saturday night if he would be able to play in the game today against Villanova.

Early reports are that he is out for warm-ups but limping noticeably. Perfect timing since there is even media from New Zealand at the Pete for the game. He’s going to be a game time decision.

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Apologies. I am working 10-12 hours each day this week. So posting has been tough. I’m hoping to get home in time for the game, but the DVR is set just in case.

USF is following up a great year with a much more typical USF year. Everyone knew they would struggle with what they lost from last year’s team, but it has been worse than expected. Not DePaul worse, well, okay we are talking DePaul bad. The Bulls have an inexplicable win over Georgetown and that is it in the Big East. DePaul at least has two wins. USF and DePaul meet on Saturday for a battle to own the basement.

As an extra insult, the cable provider who holds their rights in Tampa, St. Pete, Orlando — Brighthouse — is showing the game on tape delay. Yes, really. Not for maybe a Lightning game. No. High school basketball playoffs. Ouch.

For the rest of us it will be on ESPN FullCourt, Root, SNY, and MASN. On your computer it will be on ESPN3. Game time is 7pm.

I’d like to say this should be an easy win for Pitt, but I assumed the same for the Seton Hall game. I’ll just take the win. Thanks.

Any chance of that? Please?

Pitt has come to call Madison Square Garden its home away from home. It’s not something St. John’s probably likes to hear, but the Panthers have enjoyed a lot of success on the home court of the Red Storm over the years.

“We like to think that way,” Dixon said. “It’s St. John’s home court. It is different. I don’t know if you call it a home court, but it is different. We have a lot of people come to the games because of the tradition, the history and what we’ve done. We look forward to it.”

Pitt junior J.J. Moore is one of three players on the roster from the New York area. He is from Long Island. Dante Taylor and Tray Woodall also grew up in the metro area.

“It’s New York,” Moore said. “We all love playing there.”

I don’t suppose reality might point out that Pitt hasn’t “owned” the Garden in recent years?

No. 20 Pitt (20-7, 8-6) returns next month for its final appearance in the Big East Tournament.“We’re excited about playing in New York,” said Dixon, who has a 21-13 record at MSG, including victories against Duke, Louisville, Memphis and Georgetown. “We’ll have friends there. We’ll have family there. We’ll have fans.

“Obviously, St. John’s, it’s their home court, but it’s a place we have already played in (this season). It’s not normal that you play in a place you already played in earlier in the year.”

Pitt lost to Michigan and defeated Delaware in November in the NIT Season Tip-Off.

From the 2008-09 season to the present, however, Pitt is 6-7 in the Garden.

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Sorry that this is a little slap-dashed. Barely had time to squeeze in a real post earlier today, and the football news had to be done. So, that leaves a weak effort to lead into tonight’s Big Monday.

ESPN. 7pm. Raftery, Bilas, McDonough. Big Monday for the last time.

If there’s one thing to miss in the end of Pitt’s time in the Big East. It is no more Big Monday. Oh, there will be Super Tuesday. Whatever Wednesday. The Sunday Night Hoops thing. But Big Monday still ruled them all.

No doubt Mike Brey and his mock turtlenecks have had Pitt’s number in the last few years. Whether it was the burn offense, killing Pitt on the perimeter, or just plain beating the Panthers. Notre Dame : Pitt :: Pitt : Syracuse.

Hopefully Pitt is a little pissed after the Marquette game. Time to take it out on the Irish.

Perhaps it is fitting that Pitt plays at Marquette for the final time on this day. Pitt leaves for the ACC and Marquette prepares for being in the Big Priest in 2014, it is unlikely the two shall see much of each other beyond the rare tournament meeting.

The history of both schools very rarely crossed until that fateful Sweet Sixteen game in 2003. That followed their joining the Big East and the games became battles. Was it a rivalry? I can’t say that. But the games were always tough. Few were sure things one way or another. And today as it ends it happens to be on the game where the Golden Eagles honor their 2003 team.

Bastards.

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It’s a rare Saturday evening game for Pitt. Which coincides with an even rarer evening out with just my wife. So I’m back to DVR delay for this.

In the all-time series, Cinci holds a 9-8 edge. Before Pitt leaves the Big East it would be nice to make sure this series is knotted at 9.

Perimeter defense will be huge for this game. Cinci takes the most 3-pointers of anyone in the Big East (though after this past week they are now tied with Seton Hall) at 495 3FGAs. That’s about 21.5 per game. They hit at a 33% clip.  Pitt, by contrast has attempted 336 3s (14.6/game) and hits a bit over 35% of the time.

Pitt has to press their advantage inside to score. Pitt is shooting over 50% (518-980, 52.9%) inside the arc. Cinci, by contrast struggles more at well under 50% (409-875, 46.7%). That helps explain the volume of shooting they do from outside. They have to make up the difference of their weaker inside presence.

Seth Davis at SI.com is picking Cinci to eek out a 1-point win in a low scoring game.

I don’t know why I have more animosity towards Seton Hall than any of the other schools that will form the corp of the Big Priest. It might be a Jersey thing coupled with being a private school that creates a particularly noxious breed of self-entitled fanbase and program that enjoys more relevance than, say, Farleigh-Dickenson simply for its Big East affiliation. At least Providence had a whole New England basketball culture to claim from the 70s with BC, Holy Cross, etc.

I guess it’s worth mentioning that the Pirates are coached (technically) by a former Pitt player in Kevin Willard. They aren’t particularly good. They sit at a righteous 13th in the Big East. Ahead of the only teams they have beaten this year — USF and DePaul. They have shown themselves capable of being blown out (74-52 to Georgetown) and playing a great game to only fall short (65-59 against Cinci).

The Pirates have had injuries — losing Patrik Auda to injury — and not getting their own transfer waiver to go — Ashton Gibb’s little brother, Sterling from Texas. They have tried to rebuild quickly from the Gonzo years with transfers. They have Brian Oliver from Georgia Tech and Gene Teague from SIU providing an impact.

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Another game another work-related DVR-delay. Been a sparse week for posting and work has been the primary reason. A mix of stuff due. Re-re-jiggering my schedule now that we got another car. And just planning ahead to clear things for me to just sit in front of the laptop all day on Signing Day.

This isn’t a must-win, but it is a game Pitt could really use. The only “resume” win for Pitt came at Georgetown. It’s a very good win, but it is also the only win against a team that I am sure will make the NCAA Tournament.

Much is made of the Orange’s lack of depth for this game. That’s a minor issue. They are still, very good with those seven players. Plus with Syracuse being a zone defense team, fouls are rarely a big issue. I just don’t see them getting that worn down to be a major factor.

It’s a nooner on ESPN.

Oh, and Coach Paul Chryst is hosting 35 high school juniors at the game. Big recruiting weekend for the 2014 class. So, a wild atmosphere and a win would probably be a plus.

Well, it will be a year after this (barring a meeting in the Big East Tourney) before Pitt plays Louisville once more. Louisville will spend one more year in the Big East with Notre Dame.

The big news going into the game was supposed to be about both teams needing to prove something.

Pittsburgh has won four in a row, but the Panthers don’t have a ton of great wins — the two best are probably Georgetown and Connecticut. A road win over the Cardinals would be impressive. Speaking of Louisville, it has lost three in a row to tumble from the No. 1 ranking. Pace will be a factor in this one, as will the ability of Tray Woodall and James Robinson to take care of the ball. On the other side, the Pittsburgh guards need to stop dribble-penetration and hope the Cardinals aren’t hot from 3-point range.

As a general rule, I find most teams have to hope the other side doesn’t heat up from outside the arc.

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Not sure why, but every year the night of the father-daughter night sponsored by my daughter’s school coincides with Pitt playing a late Saturday afternoon/Saturday evening game. This is no exception. I can probably catch the first half, but the second half will be complete overlap.

Last year, even more than the Rutgers debacle, losing and the way they lost to DePaul was a summary of how bad things were. The only upside is not only does this keep it from letting Pitt look ahead to Louisville on Big Monday. The way they blew it last year should serve as a reminder about how Pitt has lost and struggled at the end of games to finish strong.

DePaul had lost 53 of its previous 55 Big East games before upsetting Pitt, 84-81, last year at All-State Arena outside Chicago. The Panthers blew a 10-point second-half lead and a four-point lead with 17 seconds remaining.

The loss was shocking for the Panthers, who were the defending Big East regular-season champions. It was the first time in Jamie Dixon’s tenure as head coach that he had lost four consecutive games, and the fact that it came against the Blue Demons was the first sign that last season was going to be a long one.

If not for that loss against the Blue Demons, the game today could have been a “trap game” for Pitt with two games against top five opponents coming up next week. The Panthers will travel Monday to No. 5 Louisville and play host to No. 3 Syracuse next Saturday. With the memory of the loss against DePaul last season lingering, though, it’s unlikely the Panthers will underestimate the Blue Demons.

No, I imagine the coaches and players who were involved in the game — Moore, Taylor, Zanna, Patterson and Wright — haven’t forgotten the stinging humiliation of losing in a half-empty Rosemont Arena.

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I just don’t see a future series with Providence in the future. Not much of a rivalry history. Not like Pitt won’t be able to go recruiting in the general area with the trips to Boston once in the ACC. Plus Providence fans are sick of seeing this clip. Or this.

I have to go on media blackout and DVR-delay this. The winter storm in Ohio canceled school for the kids and stuck me at home with them. Rejiggering work allows me to go later, but it means not watching the game.

Pitt-Providence airs at 7pm on ESPN2. And after a couple games off, Tim Welsh returns to do stalking Pitt with color commentary. I’m sure it remains not awkward at all for the ex-Providence coach to go back to the Dunk.