So, West Virginia loses to Marshall and nearly gives the game away against St. John’s and they stay at #2 in the poll? Syracuse loses at home to Seton Hall (not to mention a road loss to Pitt) and falls only one spot; and stays ahead of Seton Hall who also crushed NC St.? Louisville absolutely crushes Cinci but is behind them in the poll? Yes, it’s the weekly poll.

I’m not saying that my fellow voters are insane or idiots. I may just misunderstand the poll. I thought it was to a large degree reflect the teams that are getting it done from week-to-week as much as what they have and are expected to accomplish.

I will call out my fellow bloggers for not publishing their votes (noted exception is Keith at Pitt Panther Hoops). Come on guys, some transparency please. Besides, its an easy post, that’s half-written beforehand.

Here’s how I voted:

1. UConn — Looking really strong
2. Villanova — I’m starting to think the loss of Curtis Sumpter is really starting to take its toll on them.
3. Pitt — Two more important wins. Next 3 games are all top-25 opponents.
4. Georgetown — They avoided losing the letdown game after Duke, then crushed Cinci.
5. WVU — Marshall? I realize it’s a “rivalry” game, but Marshall? Then that game against St. John’s shouldn’t be considered a real confidence booster considering the Red Storm was shorthanded and the ‘Eers turtled in the final 8 minutes.
6. Marquette — A fine team, that needs something in the middle to grab rebounds.
7. Seton Hall — Louis Orr may not save his job, but he’s making his case for the next team to hire him. The Pirates may be the only team not called the Huskies that no one in the BE wants to play right now.
8. St. John’s — 2 losses, but they were almost as impressive as their wins the previous week. As tough as Pitt or UConn, just not as deep.
9. Syracuse — Can’t blame the schedulemakers for losing at home to the Pirates, Mr. Boeheim.
10. Providence — Beat Rutgers at the RAC (really, is there really any claim of mystique left in that place?), and hung close with UConn for a while. Considering the lack of depth, this has been one of their better weeks.
11. Rutgers — That Louisville win would have looked nice two weeks ago, but it has more than been compensated by that loss to Providence.
12. Louisville — Beating Cinci was the only thing keeping them in the Field of 12.
13. Cinci — Sinking fast as the season seems to be grinding the entire team down.
14. Notre Dame — I almost want to watch their games to see how they will manage to lose again.
15. DePaul — Only 1 loss this week — they only played once. Actually got a needed chance to rest and regroup.
16. USF — They can’t go winless in the conference can they?

Numbers 1 and 16 were easy. Everything in between was up for debate.

Time to make fun of a sportswriter/media-hack pooh-poohing the number of possible teams from the Big East to make the NCAA. Well, not so much making fun of him for complaining about the possibility since I don’t see more than 8 by the time things shake out, but who he blames for the talk:

First, the Big East conundrum: As you are undoubtedly aware (if you’re still
with us) no league has ever had more than seven teams invited to “The Big
Dance.” But now that the Big East has 47 members (well, it seems that way) there’s plenty of speculation out in the “blogosphere” that it could
land eight, nine or even 10 bids. If you look at the league from
top to bottom, the number of its teams in the top 25 etc., eight seems pretty
much a lock at this point, nine is certainly possible and even 10 isn’t out of
the question.

[Emphasis added.]

Yes, like noted members of the blogosphere like the Hartford Courant today. Or perhaps he means that long-time blogger Dick Weiss from the NY Daily News? How about Seth Davis at Sports Illustrated almost 3 weeks ago? You get the idea.

The buzz is out there period. The legitimacy is debatable, but that is the point at the end of January and people are still in wild speculation mode. That speculation is everywhere — including the mainstream media. Well, apparently not at the New Britain Herald, but he can have that little sliver.

There were, of course, a couple stories in the papers about Elijah Fields giving his verbal to Pitt.

Duquesne tried to set up a news conference for its star receiver to announce his college decision, but Fields eschewed the spotlight and simply let his choice be known.
…
“Pitt was a home away from home,” said Fields. “I felt comfortable there. I’ve got a good relationship with all the people down there, the players and the coaches. I liked all the other schools, but Pitt was it.”

Fields is the 10th WPIAL recruit (and 24th player overall) in Pitt’s 2006 recruiting class, which can sign binding letters of intent starting Wednesday. He is Pitt’s second Duquesne recruit in as many years. Running back Shane Brookos, a good friend, took a redshirt this past fall.

Fields might just be the gem of Panthers coach Dave Wannstedt’s first full recruiting class. He earned Associated Press Class A Player of the Year honors after his dominant performances in leading the Dukes to the WPIAL championship and PIAA finals. He also has been named to the Big 33 Football Classic.

I wouldn’t necessarily call him the “gem” of the class. That honor should go to someone like Dickerson or Byham who really made people around the country pay attention to the recruiting work being done by Coach Wannstedt and the entire Pitt staff. I would consider Woods the “cherry on top.” That final (perhaps there are still a couple more players out there) verbal that gives Pitt fans a warm feeling.

Fields does need to bring up his SAT score to qualify academically.

Every week, a new series of tests. Barely a week ago Pitt was completing its first challenge of playing a bunch of games in a short period. Now, Pitt is in the midst of its next challenge of playing the upper tier teams over a week and a half (Marquette, UConn, G-town and WVU).

Really, I want to know who the genius was that decided Pitt should play on Tuesday and then wait to play again until Super Bowl Sunday — with a noon start? I mean some will barely have time to sober up before it starts all over again. That is just a fouled up process. I’m too old to drink all the way through. Given all the pre-game, preliminaries, extra commercial breaks and everything else, I’d be out cold by the end of the first quarter. Sorry, I digressed.

One of the goals right now for Pitt is to finish in the top 4 of the Big East Conference and earn a first round bye at the Big East Tournament.

“It definitely is important,” Krauser said. “No one wants to play four nights in a row in the tough Big East. It’s almost like playing in the NBA when you’re playing against good teams night in and night out. It would be nice to have fresh legs for those games.”

Pitt’s victory against Marquette Saturday afternoon was important because it gave the Panthers some separation in the standings. Marquette (15-6, 5-3) is in sixth place, 1 1/2 games behind the Panthers. Georgetown (14-4, 5-2) is in fifth place, a half-game behind Pitt, Connecticut and Villanova.

The cushion could come in handy because things are about to get much tougher. After playing their first seven Big East games against teams with a combined 18-32 record in conference play, the Panthers are about to enter the most difficult stretch of the season the next 10 days.

After Connecticut, Pitt plays at Georgetown and then plays host to West Virginia. Those three teams are a combined 17-4 in the Big East.

“This is an important stretch for us,” Krauser said. “All these games coming up are important. Our character will come out, how we play together. It will bring out the best in us.”

Pitt’s excellent season and continued consistent excellence over the last few years has some wondering how there could be such doubts about Pitt coming into the season. Also an Aaron Gray anectdote after his freshman season.

The morning after Pittsburgh lost to Oklahoma State in the Round of 16 of the 2004 N.C.A.A. tournament, the team took a bus back to the Petersen Events Center and the players scattered across campus.

But as Barry Rohrssen, an assistant at the time, returned to his office, he noticed the freshman Aaron Gray leaving the locker room and heading to the weight room in workout clothes.

Rohrssen, now Pittsburgh’s associate head coach, said he asked Gray what he was doing and Gray told him, “Next season starts now.”

It also helped that Gray spent that summer playing a lot of NBA and kids from Temple. It is a reminder that Gray was not an overnight change or that he suddenly had a light go off. He’s been working and developing his entire time at Pitt. He’s been maturing and developing in all aspects — skill sets, competition, strength and conditioning and diet. He’s a big center, and it takes time.

Against UConn, a big night will be needed by Gray and the other guys inside. Especially rebounding — limiting theirs and giving Pitt more second chance opportunities.

“UConn prides itself on rebounding, too, so it should be a battle down low,” Dixon said.

Pitt will be armed with the 7-foot Gray (10.9 rpg.), 6-9 Levon Kendall (6.0) and 6-6 Sam Young (4.2). Connecticut will counter with 6-10 Josh Boone (7.0), 6-11 Hilton Armstrong (6.5) and 6-9 Rudy Gay (6.2).

Though Pitt’s Gray leads the Big East in rebounding, he’s not a one-man team on the boards for the Panthers. Kendall and Young, a freshman, give the team a combined weapon at power forward.

The combined statistics of Gray, Kendall and Young compare favorably at this point in the season to those of last year’s big men, Chris Taft and Chevon Troutman.

Taft, last year’s starting center, was averaging 14.1 points and 7.3 rebounds per game through the period. Power forward Troutman was at 14.3 and 8.2, respectively.

This year, Gray is averaging 13.1 points to go with his rebounding average of 10.9. Kendall and Young are combining to average 15.7 points and 10.2 rebounds at the power forward spot.

Pitt is 0-12 against teams ranked #1, with 2 of them being to UConn.

Unsurprisingly, USA Today lists the Tuesday game as one to watch (think ESPN isn’t wishing it was showing this game?).

That UConn is good is no shock. That they are ranked #1 right now is hardly a stunner. What makes them more dangerous this year, to me, is their increased depth. And I shudder to think what they’d have been like if Bynum hadn’t gone straight to the NBA.

You have Hilton Armstrong playing very well. Rudy Gay is a tremendous talent, and Jeff Adrien provides the real toughness. Josh Boone showing signs of coming out of his somewhat disappointing season. Denham Brown is now playing better. Marcus Williams seems to have picked-up from last year as the best pure PG in the Big East. Ed Nelson, Marcus Johnson and Craig Austrie are part of the bench.

The Huskies play tough defense but are a much faster tempo team than Pitt. Coach Jim Calhoun has continually stressed that he wants the team to have at least 75 shot attempts per game. Pitt is going to have to resist the urge to try and run with UConn.

UConn game notes are here.