A closer look…

The teams — Pitt makes its second-straight Big East tournament appearance this weekend… The teams — Pitt makes its second-straight Big East tournament appearance this weekend as the fourth seed. The Panthers (31-20 overall, 15-10 Big East) will face top-seeded St. John’s (39-14, 19-4) Thursday at 3:30 p.m.

Where? — Commerce Bank Ballpark, home of the Atlantic League’s Somerset Patriots, located in Bridgewater, N.J.

The rankings — St. John’s is currently ranked 23rd in the latest edition of Baseball America’s Top 25. Pitt is unranked.

Now and then — Pitt seeks to snap a six-game losing streak to the Red Storm. Included in that string is a three-game St. John’s sweep earlier this season and Red Storm victory in the first round of last year’s Big East tournament.

Dramatic turnarounds — Both Pitt and St. John’s come into the tournament red-hot. The Red Storm has won 30 of 35 contests, after starting the season 9-9, en route to its first league championship in 13 years. Likewise, the Panthers rebounded from a dismal 1-6 start in conference play by winning 14 of 18 Big East games to close out the season.

On Deck — Notre Dame (33-22-1, 14-9-1) and Boston College (36-18, 17-8) square off in the other first-round game. During their recent storm through the Big East, the Panthers took two of three games from both the Irish and the Eagles.

Power Panthers — The Panthers currently have four players batting over .300, led by Ben Copeland’s .395 clip. Sophomore Jim Negrych follows with a .355 average while Jimmy Mayer (.333) and Peter Parise (.313) round out the quartet.

Pitching duels? — Strong play from Pitt hurler Billy Muldowney (7-2, 2.5 ERA) and improving freshman Robert Brant (6-2, 2.17) have helped fuel the Panthers’ late-season surge. St. John’s will combat with its own trio of aces in the form of Anthony Varvaro (9-3, 2.32), Anthony Sullivan (7-2, 2.47) and Jim Wladyka (7-1, 2.96).

School Record — The 39 regular season victories for the Red Storm is a school record for regular season victories. One more win will tie the school’s record for most wins in an entire season.

Last time out — St. John’s was responsible for Pitt’s troubled start this season. A three-game sweep of the Panthers in April dropped Pitt to 1-6 before the Panthers started to turn things around. The Red Storm won the three contests in New York 2-0, 4-2 and 3-2 en route to a 4-1 start in the Big East.