Q ‘ A with Geoff Dutelle

Monday’s win over Villanova keeps Pitt in control of the Big East conference. That much we… Monday’s win over Villanova keeps Pitt in control of the Big East conference. That much we know. What this actually means remains to be seen.

The Big East had more talent than anybody could want in a conference last year, ultimately generating eight NCAA Tournament bids. With so much talent leaving, though, anybody could see that the conference was headed for a fall. We see that with this year’s Big East, where only three teams (Pitt, Marquette and Notre Dame) grace the Top 25.

We choose not to shine the limelight on the Big East’s mediocrity to take away from what the Panthers (20-3 overall, 8-1 Big East) have accomplished thus far. What this scrutiny of the conference does reveal, though, is that we still aren’t sure what to make of this Pitt team.

Nobody will debate that the Panthers are a great team, but will great in the Big East be enough to reach new heights?

What seed will Pitt get in the NCAA Tournament?

It’s funny, everyone seems to know how good Pitt is but, honestly, the Panthers’ resume isn’t that spectacular.

Pitt is 0-3 against ranked teams right now, losing at Oklahoma State, at Wisconsin and at home to Marquette. Granted, these are all outstanding, tournament-ensured teams, but that won’t look that great when the tournament selection committee starts making decisions.

The Panthers do have some good wins, though. Monday’s win at Villanova looks good, as does the home victory over Georgetown. Other than that, Jamie Dixon’s squad has wins over bubble teams like Syracuse, UMass, Dayton, Auburn and Florida State.

These aren’t terrible credentials, because we all know what kind of talent the Panthers have, but they simply aren’t good enough to merit anything higher than a three seed at this stage. Keep in mind that the Panthers still get another crack at Marquette and Georgetown and Louisville when they come to the Pete later this month.

Only Marquette, though, is ranked. Should Pitt finish winless against ranked teams, then it would be difficult to validate even a potential Big East champion getting anything higher than a three seed.

What does Pitt need to improve upon the most before March?

It changes every week. This is a problem we’ve seen every single March, but now we are seeing it in the regular season. The Panthers just don’t get off to good starts, and when the games start to matter, that just simply can’t happen.

Consider Pitt’s last three NCAA Tournament losses. In last year’s debacle in Auburn Hills, Mich., the Panthers got off to an awful start and let Bradley grab all of the momentum. The longer an underdog stays ahead, the harder it becomes to beat, especially on a neutral court. An initially neutral crowd always pulls for the underdog.

The year before was even worse. Pitt looked like a team that never even woke up, falling behind by double digits early before putting on a semi-serious rally that just didn’t have enough behind it. It was just another case of falling behind too much too early.

This year’s Pitt team has the same makeup. They are a great second half team, but the Panthers have played atrocious first halves against Villanova, Marquette, Oakland, Buffalo, Syracuse and Wisconsin. The Badgers were the only team that put the Panthers away, but getting off to these sloppy starts could come back to haunt Pitt.

March is just not the time to fall behind, especially when you are trying to get past the Sweet 16 for the first time.

What games left should worry Pitt?

Forget about Marquette; that is obviously a game to worry about. There are others that may give the Panthers a hard time. I’m tempted to say Providence, but not in the Petersen Events Center. The Friars (14-7, 4-3) are good, but not that good.

Louisville (15-6, 5-2) will be a challenge, especially since David Padgett is big enough to look Aaron Gray in the eye. Washington looked like a nice game, but the Huskies are 0-6 on the road, so forget that game.

The ultimate game to look out for is at Georgetown. The Hoyas (15-5, 5-2) are a good team and have won four straight since that Jan. 13 loss to the Panthers. Watch for Georgetown to be a hard-fought game.