Fields could miss Saturday showdown

The Pitt basketball team celebrates senior day Saturday at noon when the Panthers take on… The Pitt basketball team celebrates senior day Saturday at noon when the Panthers take on top-ranked Connecticut, but point guard Levance Fields might not be playing in his last regular-season game. Fields is questionable for the contest at the Petersen Events Center with a lower back contusion after a hard fall Wednesday against Marquette. ‘We’ll see how he feels tomorrow, and then we’ll go from there,’ said Pitt coach Jamie Dixon on Thursday. ‘If we were playing today, he wouldn’t play today. He’s walking around with a lot of pain.’ Freshman Ashton Gibbs will see increased playing time in Saturday’s season finale should Fields sit out, according to Dixon. As senior day, the game will also be the last on campus for seniors Tyrell Biggs and Sam Young in addition to Fields. ‘It’s my last one, so I’ve got to leave everything I’ve got on the court,’ said Biggs. ‘This is Levance’s and Biggs’ and Sam’s last game at the Pete, so we definitely want to get the win for them,’ said junior guard Jermaine Dixon. No. 3 Pitt (27-3, 14-3 Big East) defeated No. 1 Connecticut (27-2, 15-2) on the road less than three weeks ago. DeJuan Blair’s 22 points and 23 rebounds led Pitt to the 76-68 victory. Blair’s counterpart, 7-foot-3 junior Hasheem Thabeet, seeks a better performance in Saturday’s rematch than his foul-plagued five-point night last month. ‘With the type of competitor he is, I hope he’s looking for revenge,’ said Blair after Wednesday’s win over Marquette. ‘When you’re a great player, you take pride in the way you play, and when a team beats you once you want to come back that much harder at them the next time.’ In a showdown of perfect records, Connecticut has yet to lose on the road this season, while Pitt is undefeated at the Petersen Events Center. ‘We want to keep a perfect record here for us, the coach, the fans, everybody,’ said Biggs. The Huskies are well rested after beating Notre Dame 72-65 last Saturday. Forward Jeff Adrien scored 25 points in the win. The senior Adrien is one of four Huskies averaging in double digits. Adrien, center Hasheem Thabeet and guards Jerome Dyson and A.J. Price all net over 13 points per game. Dyson, though, is out for the game and the season with an injured right knee. With the regular season winding down, Saturday’s game could decide which team receives one of four No. 1 seeds in the NCAA Tournament. Two teams from the same conference have not both been awarded top seeds since 2006, though many analysts predict Connecticut and Pittsburgh will buck the trend. ‘Getting a No. 1 seed would be big,’ said Blair. ‘There are so many great college teams out there, especially this year where it feels like everyone’s been ranked No. 1 at some point.’ Pittsburgh will root for West Virginia for once, as the Panthers’ hopes of the No. 1 seed in the Big East tournament might lie with the Mountaineers’ Saturday-night matchup against No. 6 Louisville. If Pittsburgh defeats Connecticut and West Virginia defeats Louisville, tiebreakers would give Pitt the No. 1 seed in the Big East tournament, which begins March 10 at Madison Square Garden in New York. ‘I told [a friend at West Virginia] this was the first time I was going to be rooting for you,’ said Biggs. ‘Don’t let me down.’ This is the first year every Big East team makes the conference tournament. With underachievers like Notre Dame and Georgetown mixed with top teams and spoilers alike ‘mdash; including Providence ‘mdash; every potential opponent will test Pitt. No. 11 Villanova, which defeated Pitt earlier this year., are the best free-throw shooting team in the Big East. The duo of Dante Cunningham and Scottie Reynolds accounts for much of the team’s offense. No. 13 Marquette, who lost to Pitt 90-75, earlier this week, might have another crack at the Panthers in the tournament. Guard Jerel McNeal is third in the conference in both scoring and steals. Jermaine Dixon said McNeal was his toughest match as a defender this year. Louisville, who handed Pitt its first loss of the season in January, is a possible finals opponent. The Cardinals have averaged 83 points per game during their current six-game winning streak. Pitt could also run into a familiar foe should it reach the finals: Connecticut. Saturday’s matchup though, is first and foremost. ‘We want the Big East regular-season title,’ said Jermaine Dixon. ‘We know we’ve got to handle our business. We know we’ve got to beat Connecticut.’