It appears the Pitt men’s basketball team will be returning to Madison Square Garden a little… It appears the Pitt men’s basketball team will be returning to Madison Square Garden a little sooner than it expected.

The Panthers released their 2003-2004 schedule on Tuesday, and among their non-conference games is a season-opening trip to New York City to face Alabama in the Coaches vs. Cancer Classic on Nov. 14.

“It’s a tremendous honor to begin our season against Alabama at the Coaches vs. Cancer Classic,” Pitt head coach Jamie Dixon said. “It’s a privilege to be invited, and our players deserve and have definitely earned this opportunity.”

Pitt will also be the host for the Pittsburgh Holiday Hoops Classic, which will run from Dec. 17 until Dec. 22. The tournament will feature the Panthers, Florida State, Eastern Michigan, Chicago State, Murray State and Wagner in a round-robin format.

Also on Pitt’s non-conference schedule are St. Francis (Pa.), Robert Morris, Albany, Duquesne, Penn State, Youngstown State, New Hampshire, Georgia and William ‘ Mary.

Pitt opens its Big East Conference schedule with a home matchup against Virginia Tech on Jan. 6 before heading to Miami to face the Hurricanes on Jan. 10. Those games mark the last time the Panthers play each school as a Big East foe.

Rounding out the Panthers’ home conference schedule are games against Notre Dame, Rutgers, Boston College, St. John’s, Connecticut, Syracuse and Villanova.

Pitt will play eight games against teams that advanced to the NCAA Tournament last year and 14 games against teams that made it to the NCAA or NIT Tournaments.

Eight of Pitt’s games are scheduled to appear on national television.

The season officially begins for the Panthers with Midnight Madness on Oct. 17, and Pitt will hold its Blue-Gold scrimmage on Oct. 30 before playing two exhibition games against the 320 All-Stars (Nov. 5) and the E.A. Sports All-Stars (Nov. 9).