Maybe it’s just the lead-up to the game, but I’m getting nervous about Pitt. The game will be on in the Cleveland area — 4pm CBS, and the line I saw in the sports section had Pitt favored by a whopping 10.5 points. Yes, I know Pitt kicked their ass by 21 last time, their talented but troubled point guard Edelin is out for “personal reasons,” Pitt is unbeaten at the Pete (34-0), and hasn’t lost a home game since the 2001-2002 season (40-0).

I guess it’s just that the Pittsburgh papers are too filled with stories about Pitt going to the NCAA Tourney as a likely #1 seed. Even a column, supposedly about how people ignore the regular season Big East title because of the Conference and NCAA Tourney, seems more about warning the fans that the NCAA has a way of breaking hearts. Then another column about how tough it is to win in the NCAA, even as the #1 seed, according to Syracuse Coach Boeheim. It is just too much right now. Even this shrill, tiresome Smizik column about fans charging the floor after wins — something Pitt fans have happily avoided doing — seems to expect the game to be a mere formality to getting the W, “If all goes as expected, sometime around 6 p.m. today there will be cause for celebration at the Petersen Events Center.”

There is a big game against a Syracuse team that is and should be looking for revenge and redemption against Pitt. They are talented, and they are fully capable of beating Pitt. Don’t kid yourself, consider this scouting report on Pitt

“(To beat them) I think you’ve got to shoot it well from the outside and stand up to their toughness. You can’t have a night where two or three of your guys decide to play soft.”

Syracuse has the outside shooters, especially McNamara. Taft has gotten in a lot of early foul trouble lately. If Pitt doesn’t shoot well, Pitt can lose.