Path to Big East title still has some roadblocks

With Monday night’s 68-64 victory over Syracuse, the Pitt men’s basketball team moved itself… With Monday night’s 68-64 victory over Syracuse, the Pitt men’s basketball team moved itself into a four-way tie for second place in the competitive Big East, a conference that is rumored to have seven NCAA Tournament bids in it.

If the Panthers (18-4 overall, 8-3 Big East) are to win their third straight regular season conference title, however, they still have a lot of work to do and a number of quality opponents to defeat. Here is a look at Pitt’s final five games before the Big East Tournament gets underway March 9.

Villanova (Sunday, 1:30 p.m., away) — The Wildcats, holding on to the No. 25 spot in the Associated Press poll, have won five of their last seven — none more impressive than an 83-62 drubbing of then-No. 2 and undefeated Kansas back on Jan. 22.

Allan Ray leads the Wildcats (14-6, 5-5) in scoring with an average of 17.4 points per contest. Behind him are Curtis Sumpter and Randy Foye, who average 15.8 and 14.9 points per game, respectively. All three are juniors and pace a Wildcat offense that scores 73.5 points per game.

Villanova’s last outing was a 90-75 loss to Syracuse last weekend. Eighteen points from Foye couldn’t match the 32 scored by the Orange’s Hakim Warrick as Syracuse opened up leads as great as 21 points.

West Virginia (Feb. 23, 7p.m., at home) — Seeking to avenge an 83-78 overtime loss to the Mountaineers on Feb. 6, Pitt will have to defend the 3 if it hopes to split the season series.

In their win two weeks ago, the Mountaineers (14-8, 4-7) attempted a school-record 40 3s, making 13 of them to rally from an 11-point deficit. Kevin Pittsnogle made a rare start and scored 27 points, including four 3s, to pace West Virginia.

Since then, West Virginia has held off Providence, 67-65 and has fallen to Georgetown, 67-60. The Mountaineers will visit St. John’s tonight before hosting Seton Hall on Sunday.

Connecticut (Feb. 26, 3:45 p.m., at home) — When these teams met back on Jan. 22 in Storrs, Conn., Chevon Troutman scored 25 of his 29 points in the second half to ignite a 17-point comeback and eventual 76-66 win for the Panthers.

Pitt trimmed the deficit to 11, 43-32, by halftime before Troutman took control in the second half. He also grabbed 12 rebounds and helped limit the effectiveness of UConn’s inside threats of Rudy Gay, Josh Boone and Charlie Villanueva.

Playing without their leading scorer, the Huskies (15-6, 7-3) blocked 16 shots but still fell to North Carolina at home last Sunday. Rashad Anderson, whose 13.8 points per contest lead the defending national champions, was hospitalized with a leg infection before the game. His status is still unknown.

Boston College (Feb. 28, 7 p.m., away) — After opening the season with 20 straight wins, the Eagles’ run at perfection was ended by Notre Dame, 68-65, a week ago. The Eagles have not played since and currently own a two-game lead in the conference standings.

In its loss to the Irish, Boston College (20-1, 9-1) got only nine points from Craig Smith, who hit only four of his 14 field goal attempts. Jared Dudley scored 16 for the Eagles, who will depart for the Atlantic Coast Conference at season’s end.

Boston College hosts Rutgers tonight and No. 9 Syracuse Saturday, the Eagles’ first ranked opponent since Jan. 16.

Notre Dame (March 5, 2 p.m., away) — Pitt will close out the regular season at Notre Dame, a team that will be looking to break three-game losing streak to the Panthers and avenge a 68-66 loss last Saturday.

Despite hitting 14 of their 29 3-point attempts last weekend, the Irish couldn’t get any inside production, being outscored 22-6 in the paint, in a loss to Pitt. The loss denied head coach Mike Brey his 100th win as Notre Dame’s head coach and dropped his team’s record to 6-5 in the Big East.

The Irish (14-7, 6-5) will host Georgetown tonight before heading to Providence Saturday.