These are just my opinions. Don’t take them as the gospel or as heresy.

That McCoy is going really doesn’t surprise me. I know what he said, but plenty — like Larry Fitzgerald — have said similar in the past. No one should have been surprised.

El_Diablo: Colt McCoy and Michael Crabtree have announced they are returning next year as has another Heisman trophy hopeful , shady McCoy. When are you and your buddy bendel knock off the Shady will change his mind mantra.He loves Pitt, He loves Wanny and he loves the college life. Why is this so hard for you media guys to accept?

Paul Zeise: I’ll say it one more time — when his own coach has reservations about it, why shouldn’t we? I hope the kid comes back- it will make a more interesting team to cover that’s for sure. But again, when his own coach is telling people to hold off before they declare him back and when people around the program are still not completely sold, the responsible thing as a “media guy and a media guy buddy” is to report the fact that it is a long way between now and declaration day. We don’t make up stories, we don’t guess at things, we report what we know as has been told to us by people in the know. That’s what we do here.

Donald Brown told everyone he was coming back to UConn, but as soon as the International Bowl was over he admitted that he lied. I don’t think McCoy had his mind made up, and was necessarily lying. He was just trying to end speculation while the season was still happening. It’s what college players do, the same way college coaches try to deny interest in another job.

Now, I have to admit, that McCoy’s departure has me worried about the prospects for Pitt for next year. I know there’s a lot of optimism and enthusiasm for Chris Burns and even Shariff Harris. I know there a slew of other running backs coming in this recruiting class. McCoy, though, was a special player at the position and it isn’t some plug-and-play simplicity. McCoy accounted for 1793 yards (1488 rushing, 305 receiving) and 21 TDs. The rest of the offense produced 2659 total yards and 18 TDs.

Beyond that, the entire backfield is being replaced with Stephens-Howling and Collins both graduating. Whether you are of the opinion that the talent that will take over for them is superior or not, it also has to be acknowledged that Coach Wannstedt is not a big fan of inexperience and will be looking for ways to ease the players into the spots.

That may mean, gulp, actually trying to use the passing game. The place where the veterans and experience is located. Anyone feeling really confident about that, beyond falling back on — “well, it can’t get much worse”? From the subpar QB play to less than impressive route running by the receivers.

Beyond that, it can’t be glossed over that the O-line remains a big question mark. The team’s best lineman, C.J. Davis is gone. How well will Robb Houser come back from his leg injury and exactly who is going to be the back-up center? So far, there has been a distinct and noticeable inability to develop a center from the recruited offensive linemen. Jason Pinkston has not finished a season healthy yet and both times with the shoulders. How good the O-line is or can be is a huge unknown.

Then it comes to Offensive Coordinator Matt Cavanaugh. Whether it’s calling the game or developing QBs.

It keeps coming round to the chicken-egg thing with QB development. The supporters say he’s never had much to work with. Whether it was Chris Redmond and Kyle Boller with the Ravens or Stull, Bostick, Smith and Cross at Pitt. Detractors point to the fact that there was little improvement even with that material and he played a role at both spots in helping to evaluate the players to draft or recruit.

I’ve found myself increasingly siding with the detractors on Cavanaugh. He’s fine with QBs that all ready know what they are doing, but there aren’t any of those veterans available to him at Pitt. Palko graduated a couple years ago. I think he knows much about offense and what should be done. He does not do a good job teaching it. When it comes to calling the offense, he just doesn’t seem to have any feel for the game or what the players are or can do. There’s an absurd level of inconsistency.

We were very lucky to have McCoy, and have him healthy the entire time. That is just not easily replaced.

Both papers are reporting that LeSean McCoy will announce tomorrow that he is going to enter the NFL Draft.

Daphne McCoy, the running back’s mother, said Monday the family was awaiting a report from the NFL Draft advisory board, which graded McCoy a first-round pick. Fear of injury appears to be a key factor in the decision. A fractured leg ended McCoy’s high school senior season early.

He’s gotten advice from outside sources including Larry Fitzgerald.

I have no problem with this. A running back has a limited tread life. McCoy sustained a major injury in high school. At Pitt he is/was in a very run heavy offense that almost necessitates going pro as soon as possible to better maximize the time to make the money off the abilities he possesses.

I will miss him, and obviously this is a blow to Pitt for next year. I’m sure there will be more tomorrow.

Nothing confirmed or proven. And honestly a little strange, but take this one for what it is worth.

On New Year’s Day we reported that Pittsburgh running back LeSean McCoy was leaning towards entering the draft despite public statements to the contrary. Yesterday Panthers head coach Dave Wannstedt said he believed McCoy would return.

We now believe we know the reason why.

Sources from inside the league have told us McCoy received his evaluation from the league today and was told by the advisory committee he would not be selected in the first three rounds of April’s draft if he enters the event. It will be shocking to some yet not others who feel McCoy really does not have the makings of a feature runner at this time.

I have no sense as to the voracity of this. I’m too biased to be fair, but I have a hard time believing McCoy would not be a first or at worst early-second round pick. This is not some RB in a spread or running in the MAC.

Then there is this one, via Jon from Bleed Scarlet on USC WR Vidal Hazelton looking to transfer.

Hazelton’s current list of schools includes Pittsburgh and several Football Championship Subdivision schools (Western Michigan, Florida International, Georgia Southern).

If he transfers to a lower-division school, Hazelton will be granted instant eligibility.

“The option is whether he wants to play immediately or sit out for one year,” said Hazelton’s father, Dexter Hazelton. “I’d like him to stay closer to home.”

Two weeks ago, Hazelton narrowed his choices to Missouri and Rutgers but his father said they decided to reconsider their options. “I think (Missouri and Rutgers) are out,” Dexter Hazelton said.

Two other possibilities are Syracuse and Delaware. Hazelton is friends with former Penn State quarterback Pat Devlin, who recently transferred to Delaware.

“He’s contemplating hard about going I-AA,” Dexter Hazelton said. “He probably make a decision by end of the this week.”

Hazelton — who is from New York — recently learned that his grandfather has been diagnosed with cancer. The junior has been rumored to be a possible transfer since early this season. He suffered an ankle injury that sidelined him for several weeks and was actually interested in redshirting. He was not, but also found himself buried on the depth chart. He basically said he was transferring because of a combination of reasons which included a rift with Hazelton and the OC.

He seems more likely in my mind to go to Delaware and play right away. I just don’t see him coming to Pitt. I mean, has he seen Pitt’s passing offense? He’s got the talent to move to the top of Pitt’s depth chart — so I doubt the depth at the position would bother him.

I just don’t see it, and frankly Pitt has other needs than taking another WR who would have to sit next year and would only have one year of eligibility.

You may have heard something about it.

Like the rest of us, several of players were not even watching the UNC game.

Several members of the Pitt basketball team gathered inside an Oakland apartment Sunday evening to watch the Philadelphia Eagles NFC Wild Card game at Minnesota.

That’s when the text messages started to flood the players’ cell phones.

North Carolina, the unanimous No. 1 team in both the Associated Press and ESPN/USA Today Coaches polls, trailed at home to Boston College.

“We saw (Boston College) was up 15,” senior point guard Levance Fields said. “That’s when we were like, ‘Whoa.'”

Which is essentially what everyone else said when they found out.

The players have been saying and doing all the right things.

When it became clear Pitt would be atop today’s The Associated Press Top 25 poll, the players gathered late Sunday night for a shootaround at Petersen Events Center.

Many of them returned to the gym early Monday morning.

“We could look at it two ways,” senior forward Tyrell Biggs said. “It could be a distraction, or it could be motivation. We want to look toward the motivation.”

Pitt is taking its newly minted No. 1 ranking in the AP Top 25 men’s basketball poll in stride. The coaches and players say it won’t inflate their egos or alter their underdog approach.

“Nothing has changed at all,” senior forward Sam Young said. “We’ve just got more people believing in us now.”

And recognizing there is now a bulls-eye.

“People are gunning for us now,” senior point guard Levance Fields said. “We’re the top dogs in the country. We have to play that way and practice that way.

…

“It’s something every basketball player dreams of, being No. 1 as an individual and as a team,” senior forward Sam Young said. “That’s what we work for. Now that we have it, we have to keep it. We’re here now, but we’re not done. We’re going to try to keep it as long as we can.”

Ron Cook embraced the moment.  Assistant coach Brandin Knight deflected the silly questions of comparing this team to his teams.

“To try to rank this team with the other ones … I say the same thing every year,” Knight said. “Let these guys be them. It’s not 2002, 2003 or 2004. This is a new era. This is Levance Fields, Sam Young, DeJuan Blair. This is their era. Let them shine as they may.

“We make comparisons in the locker room, and it’s fun to joke around. But, at the same time, I don’t talk about it with Levance. People always say talk about what you used to do. I say for what? I’m not playing anymore. I want them to do greater things than we did.

“Right now, it’s not something we can judge, is this team better? The [No. 1 ranking] doesn’t make this team great or better than ours. What makes them great is that they continue to compete and play well throughout the season.”

Comparisons come after the season. Hopefully, this team will rank at the top.

It’s a mad, mad, mad world. I know some won’t believe this but a bit of love from Luke Winn.

The argument for Pittsburgh as North Carolina’s prime title challenger is a strong one. The Panthers are the only team in the country in the top 10 in both adjusted offensive and defensive efficiency.

This follows an earlier post where he put Pitt as the prime contender to be the team that can challenge UNC for the national championship.

1. Pittsburgh

Optimistic View: The DeJuan Blair-and-Tyrell Biggs duo could go blow-for-blow with Hansbrough and Deon Thompson in the post, and Levance Fields is the nation’s only floor general with a steadier hand than Lawson. Last year’s Panthers wouldn’t have been able to defend Carolina’s offense, but this year’s Pitt D has been ratcheted up to an elite level, ranking seventh in adjusted defensive efficiency, 13 spots ahead of UNC.

Pessimistic View: Speed isn’t Fields’ strong point, and Lawson is the fastest end-to-end point guard in the country. The perimeter length of Danny Green and Marcus Ginyard might be able to bother Sam Young, whom most opponents struggle mightily to defend. Pitt also doesn’t have the quality depth to match Carolina’s.

Staying at SI.com, I’m a bit surprised that with Pitt ranked #1 Seth Davis still labels Pitt a “Buy” in his team stock report.

I still have some nagging suspicions about the Panthers’ ability to score quickly and easily enough to win a national championship, but their 16-point win over Georgetown left no doubt that when it comes to intelligence and toughness, they are as good as they come. Levance Fields has some physical limitations, but no point guard in America does a better job of distributing the ball to the right people in the right places. (Fields leads the Big East in assists and assist-to-turnover ratio.) I generally prefer teams that are more prolific from three-point range, but I also like that this team is not dependent on threes.

Plenty from Mike DeCourcy at the Sporting News to note. Even before the Pitt win over G-town, DeCourcy was high on Pitt in the Big East.

4. So how about your Big East power ranking right now, Nos. 1-16?

OK, so you went quickly from the easy stuff to the tough question. I’ll manage. Here we go, not in order of ability or performance to date but in order of potential to win the league regular season: 1. Pitt; 2. UConn; 3. Georgetown; 4. Syracuse. 5. Notre Dame; 6. Louisville; 7. West Virginia; 8. Marquette; 9. Villanova; 10. Cincinnati; 11. Rutgers; 12. Providence; 13. Seton Hall; 14. DePaul; 15. St. John’s; 16. South Florida.

After Pitt became #1:

One byproduct from my days covering Pitt basketball in the late 1980s and early 1990s for The Pittsburgh Press is a friendship with a man named Sammy D. He sits courtside at nearly every Panthers game and has for as long as I’ve known him. Sammy D’s expressed ambition through all of that time was not for his team to make the Final Four or win the national championship — but to be ranked No. 1 for at least one week of the college basketball season.

It’s never happened before at Pitt: not with Don Hennon, Billy Knight, Sam Clancy, Jerome Lane or Brandin Knight.

Sammy gets his wish now, but the No. 1 ranking may be more trouble than it’s worth for the Panthers. Although they’re closer than ever to having the talent to support such esteem, they still seem best suited for a role as a lovable underdog admired for effort as much as results.

Two things you hear constantly from broadcasters when watching Pitt play: DeJuan Blair grew up five minutes from the Petersen Center, and subtle condemnation regarding the Panthers not making it past the Sweet 16 this decade. (The flip side of that is the Panthers have made it to the Sweet 16 four times in seven seasons).

This team will carry that burden into the tournament in March, which could turn out OK. Remember how much pressure was on Kansas last year just to reach the Final Four?

As for when they could suffer their first loss?

4. When and why will No. 1 Pitt suffer its first loss?

With the next two games being at home against St. John’s and South Florida, perfection seems safe for a while.

The first real danger for the Panthers should come in their Jan. 17 road trip to Louisville, although the Cards have a long road to travel to bring their play to a level where they would be competitive in that game. If Louisville’s not ready, certainly West Virginia will be on Sunday afternoon, Jan. 25.

But the game that might be most intriguing in that stretch is at home on Big Monday — Jan. 19 against Syracuse. The Orange have played better at the Petersen Center than a lot of Big East opponents, and this is the best team SU has taken to Pitt in while.

I’m already getting edgy about the St. John’s game. D.J. Kennedy coming home, a young team that can just get streaky, decent defense, lots of hype around Pitt, a presumed gimmee. I’m so glad they knocked off Notre Dame. No excuse not to take them seriously after that.

As I said in the earlier post, lots of unfinished loose-ends. I touched on one issue — Matt Cavanaugh. A “negative” issue. So, let’s go positive. Coach Wannstedt is saying that LeSean McCoy really is coming back.

After speaking with McCoy, McCoy’s family, and a number of NFL talent evaluators, all agreed, Wannstedt said, that it is in McCoy’s best interest — and it is his desire — to return to school for at least one more season.

“I had a good talk with his parents and several talks with LeSean,” Wannstedt said. “LeSean believes, and his mom and dad believe, that he’s excited about being here and we all believe that this next year will do nothing but enhance his opportunities for the National Football League.”

Or is it that simple? Not if you ask mom.

But McCoy’s mother said Monday that the family is awaiting a report from the NFL Draft Advisory Board before making a final decision.

“LeSean does love being there. He loves Pitt and loves the football team. I know he wants to be there,” Daphne McCoy said. “But he’s 20. At 20 years old, you don’t always know what’s good for you.

“For right now, it looks like he’ll be back next year. If the report tells us anything different, we’ll see if he should come out at this time.”

I side with mom, on this. Do I want McCoy back? You bet. Should he get all information before making a final decision and take a lot of that into account, especially the financial aspects? Oh, hell yes. Do I believe McCoy wants to come back? Yes. Should he? I think reasonable minds can differ on that.

Until I hear it from McCoy himself after he gets the NFL evaluation, it is not a done deal. I’d put it 80-20 that he stays, though.

There’s a fine line between celebrating an achievement and going a bit over the top. Hard to believe that Pitt may have managed to go a bit over the edge this quickly

#1 in the polls

A commemorative t-shirt? For the polls? Really?

I know it’s the first time. I know I said it’s a big achievement and one Pitt fans should be proud, happy about and even celebrate. I’m just not there for a t-shirt.

I really don’t know what to say about that, other than: blatant cash-in/grab.

Sigh. Well, getting away from the warm fuzzies of the basketball team for a bit. There’s more than a bit of unfinished business with Pitt football. I might come back to an abbreviated media recap. Right now, my sense is that it is almost as if we are back to the beginning of the season. Right after the BGSU debacle. The frustration with Wannstedt, the complete disappointment in Cavanaugh.

Right now, the comments from Coach Wannstedt the other day are being parsed, dissected and interpreted. Fun. Fun. Fun.

Let’s start with the obvious big issues: QB Bill Stull and OC Matt Cavanaugh.

Not just the fans have turned their questions on Matt Cavanaugh within the Pitt program.

Games like that make you wonder if the program can take the next big step as long as Cavanaugh is calling the plays.

It was such a glaring issue in the Sun Bowl.

…or the play callers and decision makers who left them in the game and did little to change things up in order to help them out?

For instance, I’ve been a critic of fans who are always crying for Greg Cross to get in the game – but if ever there was a game that cried out for something different, and if ever the team had enough time to put together a few packages for a guy with his talents, this was it. Particularly when you consider that the Beavers defense in their last game gave up 65 points and like 400 yards rushing TO A SPREAD OFFENSE TEAM.

Let me state that again – a team gets ripped by a spread offense running the ball. Pitt has a quarterback who you recruited to run similar spread schemes. Pitt had almost ONE MONTH to prepare said quarterback and offense for a few packages like that.

Honestly, though, was anyone really surprised that Cross never got into the game? I know I wasn’t.

That brings us to Coach Wannstedt’s teleconference and what he said.

…he also took the opportunity to say he will retain offensive coordinator Matt Cavanaugh for next season. Pitt’s season ended with a 3-0 loss to Oregon State in the Sun Bowl Wednesday.

Wannstedt said that Cavanaugh has been unfairly criticized and that the Panthers’ problems on offense are mostly because of poor execution and are not Cavanaugh’s fault. Despite the struggles of Pitt’s quarterbacks, he said, Cavanaugh is one of the best quarterbacks coaches in the country.

“Are you kidding me? We’re not going to base anything off of just one game,” Wannstedt said. “Matt has forgotten more about coaching quarterbacks than most of the other guys out there will ever know. And you can quote me on that one.”

I guess that’s the first issue. Wannstedt sees it as “just one game.” Everyone who is critical just sees the Sun Bowl as the final straw. I admit to being in the latter camp with Cavanaugh at this point. From his struggle to adjust to being an OC in college — remember when he admitted to not realizing/remembering that hashmarks were in different places — to playcalling that has made little sense far too often, to not developing any QBs with any degree of consistentcy or confidence. I will concede that it can be hard to declare the QB all on him, as they players have some responsibility.

Still: Bill Stull, Pat Bostick, Kevan Smith, Greg Cross. None of them are good enough? None have progressed much? At the very least it has to call into question his ability to evaluate. At worst, he’s just not doing the job. If “you are what your record says you are,” then at some point those players and their development reflect your ability.

Honestly, I wish I could muster the anger and frustration. I guess I’m a little numb since I’m not in the least bit surprised by this. Coach Wannstedt believes in his circle and his way. He would rather fail with it, than change his way. We’ve all known this. This is part of it.

The part that actually gets me close to upset is that Wannstedt appeared to put the offensive struggles all on “poor execution.”

DPJ is rightfully pissed off about everything he read.

This has been the hallmark of the staff since the moment they were hired. The is 0 accountability from the staff. We always used to joke about “Not My Fault Walt” but really, when was the last time you heard Wannstedt accept responsibility. This season Cavanaugh admitted a few times that his game plans were poor and the results of which led us to lose to Bowling Green as well as struggle against Iowa and Buffalo.

I will say that it is more Wannstedt than the staff at this point. Wannstedt may be trying to defend his embattled OC, but he’s instead put the blame on his players and the team instead. Nice work.

Even, though, it sure seems like the staff screwed up in some huge ways.

Freshman tackle Lucas Nix didn’t play in the Sun Bowl, but Wannstedt said Nix would have started at left tackle and played the “whole game” if coaches had known prior to pre-game warm-ups that Pinkston would not be available. Instead, fifth-year senior Chase Clowser got his first career start.

Good god, does that cry out for more detail. What does that even mean? I know Pinkston got hurt the day before, but why was it a one or the other situation? They didn’t want to spring it on Nix at the last minute? And then, they didn’t want to make a change? You know, to — what? Disrupt the O-line? I freely admit that I don’t know the full context and what else went into this, but nothing about it made sense on the 31st and it still doesn’t. Clowser was completely overmatched and unable to do the job. Yet, Nix wasn’t going to get a snap because Clowser got the start?

The AP Writers Poll is out, and no surprise Pitt is #1.

“I think it means a lot to our fans and our city and it means a lot to our university, much more so than to me and our players,” Panthers coach Jamie Dixon said Monday. “But it is part of the reason why we play and work so hard so I am glad for them.”

The Panthers have a lot of familiar names in the Top 25 with them as they are one of a record nine Big East teams in the poll.

The 16-team league had a record eight schools ranked for three weeks earlier in the season, but the return of Marquette and the first appearance of West Virginia made it nine Big East teams.

“I know I said a couple of times when people mentioned that we didn’t play any ranked teams on our nonconference schedule that it’s hard to schedule any when a third and now more than a third are in our conference,” Dixon said, laughing. “I think it’s a good thing. People talk about how hard it is but we knew it was that way when we were signing up for it. You want to play against the best and we’ll have that opportunity a lot.”

The Panthers opened Big East play this week with road wins over Rutgers and Georgetown. They won’t play again until hosting St. John’s on Sunday and Dixon doesn’t think all that time with a No. 1 ranking will affect his players.

“We’ve talked about different things from the beginning of the year and how you can either use things as motivation or let them become a distraction and this is one of those situations that’s come up,” Dixon said. “We need to use this to make us better and it starts today at practice.”

That’s a solid talking point on scheduling teams. Jeff Goodman is sold on it.

The awesome Pollspeak has the rundown on AP Voters. The two voters who put Pitt at #2 and UNC at #1 are from Peoria and Dallas. Disturbingly, where they put Pitt, could be considered their more defensible decision.  How about not only keeping Louisville in the poll but a spot ahead of Minnesota who beat the Cards. Keeping Memphis ranked. Both had Georgetown below UConn. Heck, how about putting Illinois a couple spots ahead of Michigan right after Michigan beat the Illini? I’m certain both voters put in their ballots before the Arizona State-Cal game last night, which I is borderline since the game started 9pm central for them.

Here’s the Pitt press release with handy charts suitable for framing.

I suppose to programs that have done it multiple times and have National Championships, this might seem like a nice but relatively minor event. Arguably getting to number 1, even in early-January is as much about about being high enough in preseason rankings and attrition of those teams ahead.

The time that truly matters is at the end of the year.

That may be true. It does, however, matter right now. This is a big deal for Pitt. In the 101 years that Pitt has played basketball, and however many years that there have been polls Pitt has never been ranked #1. Not in NCAA Tournament seedings. Not in the polls.

Even in this period where Pitt has set itself as one of the top-25 teams of this decade, they have never reached higher than #2 for only brief periods.

The polls come out later, but teams ranked 1, 2 and 4 all lost (here’s a couple AP voters showing their ballots).

Just an ridiuclously awesome thing to enjoy the reflected glory of what the team has done. I mean, I know it’s silly, but I’ve had a big goofy grin on my face most of the day just thinking about seeing Pitt in the #1 spot.

The players know to say the right thing.

“We’re excited,” sophomore center DeJuan Blair said. “It means a whole lot for us. But we need to stay focused and keep our heads in it, stay humble.”

The first Pitt basketball team to ever accomplish it. At least one goal achieved.

UPDATE (1:33): Here’s the Coach’s Poll (ESPN/USA Today) story, Pitt got 30 of 31 votes — one coach kept UNC at #1.

Yeah, so, I didn’t see that upset coming tonight. I was actually watching the USC-Oregon State game, since I figured that UNC would kill BC in Chapel Hill. I mean, UNC wasn’t just winning games, their “closest” game was by 15 to start the season against Penn and against ND. They blew out Michigan State. They were just dominating. I’m not complaining, but I didn’t see even a chance they would lose until the following Sunday when they head to Wake Forest.

So, barring something really bizarre, like Duke leapfrogging Pitt. No, that couldn’t happen. Right? Pitt will be #1 in the national polls tomorrow. I mean, ESPN.com already made Pitt, the the team of the week.

Some haven’t wasted any time moving Pitt to #1.

Naturally, the next Pitt game will be on Sunday. Of course, the Steelers are scheduled for their playoff game on the same day. The good news is that Pitt plays at noon at the Pete. Plenty of time before the Steelers 4:45 kickoff.

So, this late media recap takes on a decidedly different feel in light of the events of today.

This team has the chance to really capture the city. Even hockey fans, frustrated by the Pens.

How bad was it for the Penguins on Saturday? Outside of the fights, the biggest cheers from the sold-out crowd came after the score of Pitt basketball’s win over Georgetown was shown on the center ice scoreboard.

If you want to geek out on numbers, Hoya Prospectus has the tempo-free numbers. As they feared, DeJuan Blair was not contained.

Should we just stay with the Blair-centric stuff? Yeah. There’s more. He was the dominant force and generally draws people to him.

Blair, who once weighed more than 300 pounds, lost 10 pounds in the off-season, decreasing his weight to 265 pounds. The results have been noticeable.

On Saturday, Blair had 20 points and 17 rebounds in leading third-ranked Pittsburgh to a 70-54 victory against No. 11 Georgetown, snapping the Hoyas’ 29-game home winning streak. Blair played 31 minutes, and an occasional wide grin made it clear that he was not low on oxygen.

“I’ve got good teeth,” Blair, a sophomore, said. “Why not show them off?”

After the game, Blair did not hide that he used all the hype of Monroe to motivate him (Hasheem Thabeet should be put on notice).

“They hype those guys up so much,” Blair said. “[Monroe] is supposed to be the next big thing. They were picking this young cat against me. I’m not going to take that. Why not go right at him? …

“I guess I got the better of him today.”

Blair is approaching new levels of cool by referring to Monroe as “this young cat.”

Not to mention making sure the scouts see more than his size.

Pitt players, admittedly, didn’t forsee a rout or the kind of rebounding domination that occurred.

“We talked about making a statement to the rest of the country,” Pitt senior Sam Young said. “That’s what we did. Considering they were coming off a big win at Connecticut, and we were coming into their house … For us to have a big win against them, shows a lot for our team.”

Young and fellow forward Tyrell Biggs each scored 14 points as Pitt’s frontcourt annihilated Georgetown’s front line. The Panthers outscored Georgetown, 48-22, in the paint and did what they pleased against the Hoyas, who never figured out a way to counter the Panthers’ brute strength.

“They’re not a great rebounding team,” Young said. “We thought we could come in here and outrebound them by a lot. But we didn’t think it was going to be like that.”

Yes, statement was a theme. It’s been made, now it’s about getting ready to face having the bullseye.

The danger for Georgetown, in playing in a professional arena, the extra seats to fill. Especially with a sizable school within a reasonable driving distance coupled with a pretty decent sized concentration of alumni in the area. It can remove that homecourt advantage.

Steelers fans are known for traveling better than any in the NFL. Pitt basketball may gain that same reputation after thousands descended on Verizon Center on Saturday. Dixon made mention of the fans during his post-game interview.

“Our fans were terrific,” he said. “It was amazing we had this many fans here.” At one point in the second half, there were loud chants of “Defense, defense” — when Georgetown had possession.

Of course Georgetown has other concerns beyond not having homecourt.

“We have to bounce back,” said Hoyas head coach John Thompson III, whose team departs tomorrow for Monday’s encounter at No. 7 Notre Dame. “We have to figure out what we’re going to take away from it, and then immediately focus on what’s ahead.”

At some point, Thompson will have to figure out how to stop DeJuan Blair, who paced the undefeated Panthers (14-0, 2-0 Big East) and outshined his counterpart, Georgetown freshman sensation Greg Monroe, by using his six-foot-seven, 265-pound frame to clear out space for 20 points and 17 rebounds.

Monroe, who soared to the top of NBA draft boards after out-dueling Connecticut’s Hasheem Thabeet, had 15 points and eight rebounds but gave credit where it was due.

“[Blair is a] very good player and he knows how to use his strength and his width,” said Monroe. “He’s also deceptively long. That’s his whole game plan, using his strength and wide body under the basket to get points.”

The rebounding or lack thereof, is a big issue for the Hoyas.

“In many ways you do throw [the film of the game] away, because that’s the type of game that sits in your stomach. But we don’t have time for that, because we have a game on Monday [at [JUMP]No. 7 Notre Dame],” Georgetown coach John Thompson III said. “That’s the nature of this league, and to a certain extent this year: You have to bounce back. You’re going to have to figure out what to take from it and immediately focus on what’s ahead of you.”

What’s ahead of the Hoyas (10-2, 1-1) is the final leg of a daunting trio of opening conference games (at No. 2 Connecticut, vs. No. 3 Pittsburgh, at No. 7 Notre Dame). Although the Irish (10-3, 1-1) are less imposing on paper than the Huskies and Panthers, they feature the league’s reigning player of the year in center Luke Harangody and the nation’s second longest home winning streak (43 games).

If the Hoyas don’t do a better job of rebounding at the Joyce Center, Notre Dame will make it 44 straight.

“Is it deflating to see them get a rebound after forcing a difficult shot on defense? Yes, of course it is,” Thompson said.

Oh, and maybe get more than 2 points in the final seconds of a blowout from the bench. Hoya Paranoia has been, for the moment, it seems put in its place.

A bit later, JT III conceded what every eyewitness knew: “We have to get better. How? I’m not sure.”

Give the man high marks for candor. Seven consecutive wins against Maryland, American, UConn and a pastry box full of creampuffs perhaps raised unrealistic hopes among some of the faithful. With a roster composed mostly of talented underclassmen, the Hoyas could indeed be very good. They aren’t yet, but who cares? There is, after all, no such thing as January Madness.

It is a fair point. A team like Georgetown will very likely improve by the end of the season. While Pitt won’t see them in the regular season, let’s not forget the Big East Tournament. There will be plenty of teams like that.

Finally, someone at the game shot video and has their own highlights of the game. Thanks.

If No. 11 beats No. 2, No. 3 beats No. 11 and UR beats No. 1, what does No. 3 equal?

Down go the Tar Heels!

Pitt was ranked No. 3 going into the week.

No. 2 UConn fell to Georgetown . Than, Pitt knocked off the Hoyas.

Now, just seconds ago, the final variable fell into place.  The team most pundits have already given the National Title, No. 1 North Carolina,  fell at home, to our good friends the BC Eagles, 85-78.

Fan House already has a take on the game.

How they did it was pretty simple: BC was on fire from behind the arc and clamped down the Heels defensively. The Eagles also fought on the offensive glass and kept UNC from getting into their deadly transition game. That fact caused the normally poised Tar Heels to take frustration shots and make frustration fouls which fed the deficit.

I don’t see how anyone can’t pick Pitt to be No. 1.

The Panther’s have never been ranked No. 1 , and it will be interesting to see how the team will handle the bulls eye.

Pitt’s next game is Sunday at home against St. John’s (who beat ND this weekend).  The Red Storm  seem to have a knack for upsetting the Panther’s when they least expect it. You can bet the Pete will be buzzing a week from today.

First, barring any shocks tomorrow, Pitt will be #2 and it won’t be in dispute. Pitt is off until the 11th.

The acceleration of news cycle. Bloggers and such, means that sports news orgs are now getting instant opinion stuff out on big games. There was little competition when Pitt-Georgetown was on other than Ohio St.-Minnesota or the International Bowl.

That meant quick love for Pitt.

So it’s time to cement Pitt as the Big East favorite and biggest threat to North Carolina this side of Tyler Hansbrough jumping off a house, breaking his leg and ending his career prematurely, because the Panthers were fantastic at Georgetown, grabbing nearly as many offensive rebounds (18) as the Hoyas did total rebounds (20) thanks to a 20-point, 17-board effort from sophomore DaJuan Blair.

That’s strong.

That’s convincing.

That’s why the Panthers should be the unanimous No. 2 team in the country.

And just so we’re clear, it’s not that I ever doubted Pitt, because it’s always been clear that the Panthers have a great coach (Jamie Dixon), some great experienced talent (Sam Young and Levance Fields) and a developed habit of winning. It’s just that I have trouble pushing teams to the top of the rankings when they haven’t beaten anybody of note (that, by the way, is the reason I have UCLA ranked lower than the Bruins are in both the AP and Coaches poll), and entering this weekend the Panthers were 13-0 with their best win coming by single digits over a Florida State team that had previously lost by double digits to Northwestern.

Meantime: No. 1 North Carolina had wins over Michigan State, Notre Dame and Kentucky; No. 2 Connecticut had wins over Wisconsin, Miami and Gonzaga; No. 4 Oklahoma had wins over Davidson, Purdue and Southern California; and No. 5 Duke had wins over Michigan, Purdue and Xavier.

In other words, Pitt’s resume was less impressive than the other four teams in the top five of the latest AP poll.

Before anyone starts complaining, even before the game Gary Parrish said Pitt was the #2 team in the country.

The game returned a lot of attention to Blair in the context of Pitt making a statement.

The Pittsburgh players termed their game against Georgetown a statement game, a chance to disprove those who believed the Panthers’ No. 3 ranking was built on nothing more concrete than a cloud of underachieving opponents.

The Hoyas were the perfect foil. Just five days earlier, they went into Connecticut and stomped the second-ranked Huskies. Now they were gunning for No. 3 in a building where they hadn’t lost since January 2007, a stretch of 29 consecutive games.

The Panthers got their statement, a 70-54 victory that now stands as John Thompson III’s worst home loss since the first game of his Georgetown career.

Blair provided the exclamation point. The sophomore almost single-handedly outrebounded the Hoyas, pulling down 17 boards to Georgetown’s 21, and chipped in 20 points to cement the double-double.

“Of course that inspires me,” Blair said of the lovefest that encompasses Thabeet and Monroe but never him. “I always have to show people more. It’s been that way my whole life, so I don’t really care about what people say about them. I’d rather just prove what I’m all about.”

…

“We know people were saying, ‘Yeah but who did Pitt play?'” Blair said.

When the Panthers gathered in the huddle, they actually said “statement game.”

“Yeah I heard that,” Pittsburgh coach Jamie Dixon said. “We didn’t bring a banner or anything along to practice but I heard them say that. We’re getting better. To me, that’s our statement.”

Of course, that also means welcoming having the target on the backs. Pitt is at the top of the Big East food chain at the moment.

After months of playing second-fiddle to Big East powers UConn and Louisville, the Panthers weren’t ready to let the Hoyas become the new talk of the town after their surprising defeat of the Huskies on Monday. Instead, Blair and his frontcourt partner and roommate Tyrell Biggs dominated the game inside, leaving the Hoyas struggling for any chance at the boards. The two combined for 34 points in the paint while Blair pulled down a Hoya-heartbreaking 18 boards.

“That’s my roommate. We’re best friends,” Blair said after deferring some of the credit to Biggs. “We’re trying to be the best frontcourt in the nation.”

And as big of a statement game for Pitt as this win was, it was also a coming out party for Blair. The sophomore said he had been concentrating on proving that along with his team being the best, he, in fact, was the premiere center in the Big East — not Uconn’s Hasheem Thabeet or Monroe, whom he had played with at the Amare Stoudemaire Skills Camp in June.

At the end of the game, it was very clearly heard the contingent of Pitt fans in the Verizon Center. In the comments, the size was put as significant. The Hoya fans were aware of it as well.

(11:54 am) There are a whole lot of Pittsburgh fans here. A bunch scattered in the lower bowl, and then practically all of the upper deck. So far, they’re louder than the Hoya fans.

…

(1:52 pm) Summers gets his season high today with those free throws. Hoyas are still down by 18, though, and the Pitt fans are getting a bit obnoxious.

Only “a bit?”

Not a surprise to be the lead at ESPN.com’s college bball page

My less homerific recap of the game is at FanHouse.

Maybe I’m just negative, but I am holding my breath to find out what the status of Gilbert Brown and his left shoulder is. Hopefully it’s just a stinger and they didn’t feel like risking anything. This and the Rutgers game, was showing how much better and confident he was feeling as he was coming back from various injuries.

It is no exaggeration to say that the only thing keeping Georgetown in the game for the first half was DaJuan Summers. 16 points on 6-9 shooting and 3-3 on threes. And he was doing that even with the defense on him. He was — as Dan Shulman put it — shooting over the defense. Not much you can do when a guy was that hot. The rest of G-town was shooting 3-18, 1-7. Well, the FT shooting helped them too. They went 8-10.

In the second half, even as Georgetown initially got closer and even, I was a little less worried. The refs were letting the teams bang a bit more inside. I was annoyed at first since Pitt was being hacked, but then it became apparent that the refs were calling it both ways, so that only helped Pitt with controlling the paint. Georgetown looked unwilling or unable to battle in the paint.

Georgetown went with the typical strategy of doing everything to keep Pitt on the perimeter. To try and deny the ball inside. The problem was that while Pitt shot poorly on 3s again, Georgetown was in no position to get rebounds. They had no answer for Blair. But Biggs, Young and plenty of Pitt players were getting right in there to grab the ball. Plus, while Pitt may not have made from outside the perimeter, the Panthers were 29-49 inside the arc.

I’m still waiting for Levance Field to come around on offense. His shot has no touch or confidence. Like those of us watching, it seems that he isn’t sure what will happen when he shoots.

It is a joy to see the light go on for players. It’s been that way for Biggs all season. For Brad Wanamaker it seems to have happened in the past couple games. He looks so comfortable coming into the line-up right now. He knows what he’s supposed to do and is embracing it. He doesn’t look intimidated out there.

Almost lost in all of this was Sam Young. He struggled a little in the first half — clearly trying to show friends and family — but was the team player he thrives as in the second half. He finished with 14 points and 8 rebounds.

Oh, and this.

If you look at the slate of games today, the Pitt-Georgetown game is the game of the day.

Game worth flying to see in person: I wrote a column earlier this week about Cincinnati and how its schedule is impossible, at which time an astute reader pointed out that though it’s just as tough as I described it’s actually one of the easier Big East schedules. That’s a fair point, and for proof consider that No. 11 Georgetown opened league play with a win at No. 2 Connecticut, and now the Hoyas will spend Saturday hosting No. 3 Pittsburgh. Then on Monday, they’re at No. 7 Notre Dame, which means Georgetown could lose its next two games and still be a legitimate top 10 team. And that, my friends, is life in the Big East this season.

Maybe Tennessee-Kansas would have been if both teams were playing better. The Big 11 offers some surprisingly interesting games with OSU-Minnesota and even PSU-Wisconsin. The most underrated and few will see is tonight with Wake Forest at BYU — but airing on the mythical Mtn. Network. I do a chart of all games that air on Saturday. There is no game that features higher teams facing.

In ESPN.com’s power poll this week, Pitt moves to #2 and G-town at #4. At least for now.

Even though, this is only the second game in the Big East for each team, this game is even bigger when you look at the last couple of years.

“Playing Pittsburgh is a beautiful thing,” Georgetown senior guard Jessie Sapp said. “You always know when you play them, it’s going to be a war. I think there’s still a bitter taste in our mouths left over from last season’s Big East Tournament final, [which the Hoyas lost 74-65]. They played so hard in that game, and I don’t think we matched their intensity in that game. Everybody’s ready to make sure that doesn’t happen again.”

One of the game’s more intriguing matchups pits Sapp against senior point guard Levance Fields, who leads the Big East and ranks third nationally in assist-to-turnover ratio (4.4). The two first met on the court seven years ago when both tried out for New York’s famed AAU program, the New York Gauchos.

“The way we met was going against each other in that tryout,” Sapp said. “I’ve never beat him at Pittsburgh, and he’s never beat me here. I told him that’s not changing.”

Dating to March 2007, the Hoyas have a Big East-best record of 46-8. Pittsburgh is the only team responsible for more than one of those losses.

The guard I am most fearful of for this game, though is Chris Wright. He is healthy this year, and has looked so quick to the basket. Like what was expected last year.

Hopefully Sam Young won’t come down with the affliction that seemed to hurt so many Pitt players when it was time for a road game at MSG vs. St. John’s. He is very excited for this game.

While Pitt’s players from New York City always seem to leave their hometown with a win or a trophy, Young is still searching for his elusive first victory in the District.

“I always play in front of my family when I’m down here,” he said, “and we always seem to lose.”

Brad Wanamaker’s performance against Rutgers made Coach Dixon happy.

“There has never been a doubt in my mind how good a player he is,” Dixon said. “I was so sure he was going to be such a good player, and nobody thought he was as good as he was. I have so much confidence in him. At times, I’ve been harder than I should on him.”

Looks like Coach Dixon has seen the tapes with his facial expressions when Wanamaker has screwed up in the past.

The bench performance against RU impressed Andy Katz, who for reasons that escape me, was at the regional telecast as a sideline reporter.

But the Panthers will get even better throughout the course of the season if Gilbert Brown and Brad Wanamaker can duplicate what they did against the Scarlet Knights.

Few teams in the Big East, let alone the country, have a player like Brown off the bench. Pitt coach Jamie Dixon envisioned that Brown was going to be a star. But injuries have constantly limited him. That wasn’t an issue Wednesday. Brown made shots (4-of-8), got to the free throw line (3-of-4), elevated for an intimidating dunk, blocked a shot, scored in double figures (11) and gobbled up important minutes (22).

“The injuries have been slowing me down all year,” said Brown, a 6-foot-6 sophomore wing. “I’ve had both ankles, forearm, knee, shoulder, everything.”

Dixon said the running joke among the staff is that Brown is always hurt. But what’s no laughing matter is how much Brown will change the Panthers if he stays healthy.

“He can make shots, defend; he’s athletic, and he’s very smart,” Dixon said of Brown. “He knows everything that is going on.”

Sounds more like gallows humor. Pitt fans as well have high expectations of Brown if he can stay healthy.