Ayear later, Pitt ready for revenge

Making the NCAA Tournament is the goal for all college basketball teams, but revenge for… Making the NCAA Tournament is the goal for all college basketball teams, but revenge for another tournament is on the minds of the Pitt men’s basketball team. On Sunday, the Panthers will take on the No. 24-ranked Connecticut Huskies, in a battle of Big East Conference leaders at 4 p.m. at the Petersen Events Center.

Last year, before making the Sweet Sixteen and advancing to play in the regionals in Lexington, Ky., Pitt lost a heartbreaker in the finals of the Big East Tournament. The 74-65 double-overtime UConn victory gave the Huskies momentum and a No. 2 seed in the NCAA tournament, which Pitt likely would have had if the results were the other way around. Because of the Big East scheduling, it has been almost one full calendar year, but Pitt will finally have a chance to avenge that loss.

Last year, when these two teams met, it was a battle of top 15 teams fighting for seeding in the NCAA tournament, but this year, it is slightly different. Pitt has been ranked in the top 10 all year long, one of only four teams to accomplish this feat thus far, and has reached as high as No. 2 in the country. UConn on the other hand has ping-ponged its way all over the top 25 and even found itself unranked and on the proverbial bubble as recently as two weeks ago.

After two losses to Boston College 95-71 and to Virginia Tech 95-74, UConn has bounced back and won five of its last six. Coincidentally, the winning streak coincided with the return of head coach Jim Calhoun.

Calhoun missed several weeks of action because he had surgery after cancer was found in his prostate. Now that Calhoun is on the road to recovery and back to coaching, his Huskies are hot, and proved it Monday night by going on the road to beat Notre Dame, 87-79.

“He’s a great coach and I’m sure they responded somewhat, but they also know that they’re putting themselves in great position for the NCAA Tournament,” Panthers head coach Ben Howland said.

The win over Notre Dame removed UConn from potential bubble status and put it into the lock category for a bid to the big dance. With Pitt and UConn both considered a lock now, this game is now about seeding for the Big East Tournament and the NCAA’s.

“They’re already in, but right now it’s about seeding and wanting to win the Big East East division,” Howland said.

Pitt is 20-4 overall and 10-3 in the conference, and is tied with Syracuse for the Big East West’s top seed. Notre Dame, after its loss to UConn, is one game back of both teams, but all three schools are hoping to finish in the top two.

In the Big East Tournament, the top two teams from each division (East and West) receive byes in the first round and would have to play one less game to win the tournament. Having a bye is huge – just ask the 2000-2001 Panthers who won three straight and then were dead on the fourth night.

UConn is in the same boat as Pitt in this regard. UConn, now 18-6 overall and 9-4 in the conference, has a half-game lead over Villanova for the Big East East’s top seed. Boston College though, is only a half-game back from Villanova and also looking for a bye in New York. With both Pitt and UConn needing to keep on winning, Sunday’s matchup looms larger and larger in the scope of the Big East.

A win for the Panthers will not come as easy as the past few games though. Pitt comes into Sunday riding a three-game win streak, with the closest game – against Virginia Tech – being decided by 13 points.

The Panthers have survived all year by winning the battle of points in the paint, but on Sunday, they face a force that can change all that. UConn will bring the NCAA leader in blocks, as well as the Big East leader in rebounding, which happen to be the same person – Emeka Okafor.

“He’s hard to simulate in practice because we have nobody who blocks shots like he does. This kid leads the country in blocked shots and he’s a great player,” Howland said.

Okafor was a defensive and rebounding specialist last year. This year he has added some offense to his game, averaging 15.5 points per game to go along with his 10.9 rebounds and 4.8 blocks.

“He’s really improved his game offensively when you look at his numbers on the year. We have got to take it to him and challenge him, as I thought we did a good job of last year at the Big East Tournament,” Howland said.

Look for Ontario Lett as well as Chevon Troutman to try to attack him in different ways. Lett will try to be more physical than Okafor, while Troutman will try to use his quickness. Either way, both will be on the floor at the same time in order to force Okafor to only guard one at a time.

Stopping the UConn offense is critical, but it all begins will the Huskies’ leading scorer Ben Gordon. Gordon’s 20.4 points per game, good for sixth in the Big East, has taken over for the National Basketball Association-departed Caron Butler.

“Julius [Page], Brandin [Knight] and Carl [Krauser] will all end up guarding Gordon at some point,” Howland said.

Look for mostly Page to stay on Gordon though, since he has been the defensive stopper all year, even holding Rutgers’ leading scorer Jerome Coleman to zero points on Saturday.

The Panthers will also have to contain Okafor inside, which will fall on all the Panthers’ big men.

“All four of our big guys will end up guarding him. We’ll probably start out with Donatas [Zavackas] on him or O [Ontario]; I’m not sure which yet. All of our big guys will end up guarding him at some point,” Howland said.

On offense, Pitt needs to continue its hot shooting, led by Knight. As long as Knight is hitting from the outside, the interior will open up more. When Lett and Troutman are on the floor together, it will free up one of them – whichever Okafor is not guarding. Look for either, or both, of them to have a big game playing on the other side of Okafor.