Will Pitt need the luck o’ the Irish tonight?

For Pitt, the time is now.

After a 72-54 drubbing at Marquette last Friday night, the… For Pitt, the time is now.

After a 72-54 drubbing at Marquette last Friday night, the Panthers have dropped out of both the Associated Press and the ESPN/USA Today coaches’ poll for the first time since April of 2005. That ends a streak of 43 consecutive times that the Panthers were ranked in either one of the polls.

Pitt guard Ronald Ramon thinks the demotion could be the inspiration the Panthers need to right the ship tonight at Notre Dame at 7 p.m.

“It definitely hurts,” Ramon said. “But it gives us the ability to come out and play for something, to make sure we go out and execute and do the things we have to do to get back on [the polls].”

A win at South Bend against a seasoned Notre Dame team will go a long way for Pitt’s postseason standing, but more importantly the Panthers would like to get back to winning.

Indicative of its longest practice of the year Tuesday, Pitt is hungry to avenge the Marquette loss.

“Guys wanted to get after it [in practice],” Ramon said. “After the loss to Marquette, we wanted to respond and come out with intensity and get back on track.”

At 19-6 and 7-5 in the Big East, the Panthers’ postseason plans aren’t in an immediate imposition. But ideally the team would like to start to gel down the stretch and grab some momentum heading into postseason play.

“This part of the season is when we want to make our run,” Ramon said.

“It’s the most important part of the season, the end of the season, so we have to make sure we start now and get ready for the Big East and the NCAA tournaments.

“This is when teams come together, and this is the part we have to get through and do all the right things.”

The NCAA Tournament Selection Committee has traditionally looked at a team’s last 10 games when awarding the 34 at-large bids available for the tournament.

This year the committee has expanded that figure to a team’s last 12 games, but for Pitt the implications are the same: finish strong.

It will be a daunting task.

Notre Dame (19-5, 9-3) currently totes a home winning streak of 34 games, which is just four shy of the school record, set from 1943-1948. The last time the Fighting Irish lost at home was Feb. 25, 2006.

There is another paramount reason the Panthers could struggle at South Bend tonight. Notre Dame features one of the Big East’s and the country’s best big men.

Sophomore Luke Harangody (6-foot-8, 251 pounds) has dominated the post for the Irish this year. Harangody enters the contest as the Big East’s leading scorer at 20.4 points per game. Also, with 10.3 rebounds per game, Harangody is one of only two players in the conference to average a double-double per game.

Pitt head coach Jamie Dixon recognizes Harangody’s ability to do a variety of things for Notre Dame.

“He’s really an interesting player,” Dixon said. “He does some things that are unconventional in the post. He can score facing [the basket], he can score on the block, and he has quick feet.”

Harangody isn’t just one of the best players in the country, but he’s also one of the most improved.

“He’s similar to DeJuan [Blair] in a lot of ways,” Dixon said. “I think Harangody has improved since last year when he was a freshman, and we’re seeing the same improvements in DeJuan.”

Blair’s rebounding prowess will be pivotal for the Panthers against a Notre Dame team that leads the conference in rebounding. However, Blair will be playing banged up.

Blair sprained his left knee trying to take a charge against Marquette and practiced Tuesday for just the first time since the injury.

Blair has had a history of knee injuries. While at Schenley High School, Blair had reconstructive surgery on both of his knees. He did admit that when the injury happened he was a little concerned because of his past. But he’s confident he will be able to play against the Fighting Irish without concern for his knee.

“I feel good,” Blair said. “A couple days off, I’ve just kept my body healthy and in shape. It wasn’t anything big or major. It hurt a little bit, but it isn’t torn, and I’m not worried about.”

After Tuesday’s practice, Dixon, too, seemed sure that there wouldn’t be any psychological effects with Blair, having gone through what he did with the surgeries.

“I don’t think there will be [any mental effects],” Dixon said. “He looked fine, I think the fact of the matter is he got hurt, but it’s a totally different injury than he had in the past.”

Dixon is likely to be more concerned with Notre Dame’s seasoning.

“They’re a very experienced team,” Dixon said. “They’re not playing any new guys. All eight guys are returning, and they played a lot of minutes last year. They really pass it well. They’re skilled at all five positions. They’re defending and rebounding better, and they can really get it going.”

Injury Notes – As expected, the return of junior point guard Levance Fields has not come without setbacks. As of Tuesday, Fields hadn’t practiced since the Marquette game. Fields was thought to have possibly re-injured his broken left foot when a player landed on it Friday night, but X-rays were negative, and Fields was reassured when he saw that the bone had healed correctly. Dixon is confident that Fields’ soreness is just part of his rehabilitation.

“The healing is taking place as we have anticipated,” Dixon said. “Other things come with not playing. I think it’s a normal thing where there’s going to be soreness and discomfort.” Fields is expected to play against Notre Dame tonight