Pitt is It...Again

Late February is the doldrums of Pittsburgh sports reporting. Without the distraction of an NBA franchise (sorry, Pisces), the expanse between the end of the Steelers season and the beginning of the Buccos annual crusade for 73 wins is generally occupied by the Penguins. Since the 'Guins are working on one of the NHL's greatest all time horror stories this season, the prettiest gal at the dance these days seems to be that hoops squad from Oakland. Today is another great day in a season of great days for the Panthers, as they re-claim the #1 spot in the weekly polls.

With four regular season games remaining, and then the Big East tourney, the PF stats guys tell me that the "magic number" for a #1 seed in the NCAA's is no greater than five. Meaning; should Pitt sweep these four regular season games, they would need no more than a quarter final victory up in Madison Square Garden to basically assure themselves of that elusive top seed. Any losses down the stretch would need to be offset with additional victories in New York, which, let's face it, never seems to be a problem for these guys. As a side note, let's remember that due to the format changes in the Big East Tournament this year, the top four seeds each draw two rounds of byes,...meaning that's it's essential to Pitt's overall plans that they avoid complete meltdown over these last four games.

The real challenge here is not the regular season, nor the Big East tourney, but whether Jamie Dixon and crew can finally stave off early extinction in the NCAA's. Anything short of the Elite 8 will probably be remembered as a major disappointment. Another baby step can be taken tonight, with a game up in Providence. A victory just puts the Oakland kids that much closer to greatness.