Keith W. here, reentering the blog-o-sphere. Some of you may recognize my name from the comments or from when I’ve written posts here back in the day. I have been on hiatus for some time, however, via Chas’ generosity, I am now back and will be your host for tonight’s game.

I’ll spare you any further introduction until a later date. Any tips, complaints, praise (HA!) that you’d like to get to me but don’t want to put in the comments you are welcome to send my way via e-mail to KWBlather-at-gmail.com.

Chas gave us the media recap this morning and this afternoon while Dennis recently posted an excellent breakdown of the matchups.

Something to discuss until tip off: the Pitt women are back in the AP Top 25 for the first time since the preseason.

With Pittsburgh’s return to the Top 25, the Big East has six teams ranked for the first time since the first poll of the regular season.

“We had a great week,” said Pitt coach Agnus Berenato, whose team beat Syracuse and Cincinnati last week. “We all have to play each other in this conference and everybody is really good.”

The Panthers (13-3), who are 3-0 in the conference for the first time since the 1993-94 season, don’t play again until hosting Providence on Saturday.

Kudos to the women.

Returning to the men’s side, Pitt is back up to No. 15 in the AP Poll while Georgetown is No. 5.

Time to go shovel the driveway (13 inches of fresh snow here in Maine). I’ll be back for the pregame. Until then, comment away.

6:30 – I’ve been checking out Ken Pomeroy’s efficiency stats for each team.

Pitt (as expected) is highly ranked in blocks and offensive rebounds, however, they are not so great when it comes to getting to the line and shooting free throws.

Georgetown is just plain scary when you look at its efficiency numbers. They are ranked No. 1 in effective field goal percentage and No. 2 when it comes to its opponents percentage. They Hoyas don’t go to the FT line often and when they do they miss more often than almost any team in the country.

6:37 – It will be interesting to see how Pitt’s young guys react to tonight’s atmosphere. The Duke game in the garden was big time, but this will be different. The Zoo will be electric and the young studs are now playing a much bigger role. I’d actually like to see the team start off without much emotion. The bench has been shortened considerably making the Panthers unable afford foul trouble. If anyone gets early whistles it’ll be a big problem. As with most Big East games, how the game is called could play a big role. Georgetown has enough depth that theyw can afford some foul trouble. Pitt no longer has that luxury. As always, I expect to see a comment or two (or 50) about the officiating.

7:03 – Blair backs Hibbert into the paint for the first two. If the rest of the country doesn’t know who this kid is, they may know after tonight.

As Stuart alluded to in the comments, the non-Zoo crowd has yet to fill out at all. Lets hope it does.

7:09 – Blair gets caught out of position on D, but Gilbert Brown gives some great help to stop Hibbert. I’ve always found Hibbert to be a bit soft.

7:12 – Cook and Fields look asleep on the bench. Sheesh. FYI, according to Ken Pom only 29.8 percent of Pitt’s field goal attempts have been from beyond the arc this season, ranking the Panthers 273rd in the country. Pitt has already taken four (and made two) tonight.

7:16 – My first beer tonight is a Dogfish Head 90 Minute IPA. MMMmm Mmm Good.

7:17 – 8-6 Pitt. I’d like to see better shot selection from the Panthers. Sam Young needs to get going. Send it in JEROME!!!

7:20 – Biggs takes it right in front of Hibbert, using his body to prevent the block. Great move by Biggs while Hibbert again appears soft. The basket ends a streak of nine straight misses by the Panthers, who, to their credit, are still up by three.

7:24 – Since I am not local, I haven’t gotten to see many Pitt game’s on TV. It’s obvious by the number Pitt hasn’t had a big man with as much talent as Blair since Chris Taft, but wow their personality and effort couldn’t be ANYMORE different. Thankfully.

7:34 – And 1 for Blair, who misses the FT. Nice to see some things have remained the same since I left Pitt. Momentum heads back G-Towns way in the next possesion with a 3-pointer, still, Pitt is playing scrappy and has a two-point lead.

7:36 – So much for Georgetown having the momentum. Beautiful 3 with the shot clock at zero by Ramon.

7:41 – Sam Young goes 1-for-2 from the line, but is still without a field goal with under 3-minutes to play in the half.

7:42 – Pitt has slowed its pace considerably, using up almost the entire shot clock on its last two possessions.

7:54 – Halftime: Are you kidding? We’ll be seeing that one a few more times this week. Despite the half-court heave Pitt is still up by one at the half. However, Pitt needs to improve if it is going to win this game. The Panthers are shooting 33 (10-30) while Georgetown is 11-22.

According to Pitt’s stat tracker it is dominating the glass, 21 (11 offensive) to 14 (1 off.), which is keeping the game close.

8:05 – Tenacious D (good band) by Blair and than Ramon to force the shot clock violation.

8:08 – A three by Ramon and and steal by Blair. Pitt is making the game’s first run. And a 3-pointer by Benjamin! Great to see him knock one down after he had at least two great looks rattle out.

8:11 – As asked about in the comments, here is a link to the latest recruiting update on AJ Alexander. No word yet on the results.

8:18 – I am beginning to get word on the message boards that football recruit AJ Alexander has chosen Pitt. Nothing official yet, but it is looking very good.

8:21 – Another 3-pointer by Ramon and things are looking good for the Panthers, up 11. If I didn’t know better I’d think Pitt was the far superior team…

8:25 – Blair with a Krauser-like running floater in the paint.

8:27 – Sorry for the continuous football info, but here is a link that confirms Alexander going to Pitt.

8:28 Ewing with a huge slam as Georgetown pulls back within five. Looks like we (myself include) need to get our heads back in the game.

8:30 – Blair is an animal on the glass, going back up strong with Young’s missed 3-pointer. How does Hibbert get dominated in the paint so badly? Anyone? Update: Hibbert was on the bench. A clear answer to my question.

8:31 – There’s Pitt’s highlight of the night. I liked Benjamin’s choice taking it on his own… and somehow it paid off.

8:44 – Typical Big East officiating tonight, which I am not complaining about. The two big guys in the paint, Blair and Hibbert, have combined for only two fouls. Perhaps you can call that a lack of aggression, but I think the style will favor both players in post-season play with the games are called much, MUCH tighter.

8:44 – Get your Tums ready, this game is looking like it may come down to FT shooting *gulp*.

8:50 – I think I jinxed Blair with my comment on fouls. Wow. Tough, tough calls.

8:54 -On one possession Young hits the rafters for a defensive rebound. On the next possession Hibbert loses an offensive rebound with his feet glued to the floor. A huge reason why Pitt has 17 offensive boards.

A 3-pointer by Benjamin gives Pitt it’s biggest lead of the night. This one is OVER. What a win.

9:00 – Final 69-60. Thanks to everyone who played along in the comments. What a win for the Panthers. I think Pitt can basically count on making the NCAA tournament. All that talk of them maybe not getting in following the injuries was WAY premature.

What a coaching job by Jamie Dixon. They way the Panther’s played I could not tell at all they were two starters. Almost a seamless transition.  Amazing. A great game to build on.