That seems to be the suggestion of tonight’s game versus Coppin State. The last easy game for Pitt.

Pitt’s cup cake marathon continues. A win will get them to 9-0. They do have a win over Auburn who is playing well, but none of the rest will really mean much. This is the end of the cup cakes for them though. They travel to South Carolina next and are at home against Wisconsin after that. Then it’s on to Big East play.

I’m not going to pull a Lou Holtz and say that I fear an upset. I think Pitt can probably win this game with only a good 20 minutes. Having said that, I’d be very upset if they mailed it in. An argument could be made that there is more of a test for Coach Dixon. The team just got ranked, they are playing a team that is 0-8, and after this game they can head home for a few days break. It’s up to the coach to make sure the team is still ready to play and mentally isn’t already on the plane home.

Of course they are saying the right things:

Unbeaten Pitt (8-0) plays host to winless Coppin State (0-8) tonight at Petersen Events Center for the second consecutive season, but the Panthers aren’t even thinking of chalking up an automatic victory against the Eagles, who are in the midst of perhaps the nation’s most difficult non-conference schedule.

“That’s a team that definitely wants to go out there and show people they can play. We can’t underestimate them,” Pitt guard Ronald Ramon said.

Coppin State has yet to play a home game and is playing probably the most difficult non-con. This has included: Charlotte, Xavier, Illinois, Clemson, UCLA and Oklahoma. Then, after Pitt, they have Michigan and Michigan State. Give Fang Mitchell credit for scheduling like this, and pretty much covering the costs and then some for the basketball program with all of these guaranteed games.