Some more love for Chevy Troutman and Pitt. Dick Vitale may not think Pitt has one of the top 5 front courts in the country, but others believe.

Chevon Troutman and Chris Taft (Pittsburgh)

The lowdown: Many would argue that the best Big East post combination resides in Pittsburgh, not Storrs, and they would have some potent ammunition, based on the Panthers’ victory over the Huskies Saturday night.

Troutman (14.1 ppg and 8.3 rpg) has been among the most dependable power forwards in the country over four seasons, playing on teams that reached the Sweet 16 in each of his first three years. There’s not much flashy about the way he plays — he’s a model of low-post economy who is an even better rebounder and defender than he is a scorer.

Taft (13.8 ppg and 6.9 rpg) hasn’t enjoyed, so far, the caliber of sophomore season that Josh Boone is turning in for Connecticut. It’s hard to dispute the notion that he and his Big East counterpart are pretty much on the same talent plateau, though.
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Syracuse at Pittsburgh

Why it’s worth watching: The Orange is 7-0 in the Big East (and 19-1 overall). But its past five conference games could have all gone either way. The host Panthers came from 11 points down to win at Connecticut Saturday — easily their most significant victory of the season.

What to look for: Senior forward Chevon Troutman (29 points and 12 rebounds) played, arguably, the best game of his career for Pitt in the win over the Huskies. He’ll have his toughest defensive matchup of the season, though, in trying to check Hakim Warrick, who is having a possible John R. Wooden Award-winning caliber senior season for Syracuse.

Speaking of Troutman, here’s another little nugget

Stat stuffer:Chevon Troutman will easily surpass Patrick Ewing’s .608 career field-goal percentage in Big East games. But Pitt’s 6-7 post player with an 86-inch wingspan will not oust the Georgetown giant as the league record-holder. Why? Because the minimum required is five field goals made per game. Troutman (.666, 191 of 287 in 47 games) would need 99 FGs in 11 remaining conference games to average 5.0 per game. That won’t happen.

Further interesting factoid. While Pitt may be the worst free throw shooting team in the Big East, Syracuse only shoots .582 away from the Carrier Dome. Something to watch.