Lots of links to put out for Pitt.

Pitt has accomplished more than credited this decade.

A puff piece on how far Coach Dixon has come, and he’s now more intense.

Fear of being the first #1 seed to fall to a #16 seed is always present.

ETSU comes with dreams of being the first.

ETSU will try to press. Somehow I don’t think it will be the same as Louisville’s or Villanova. Or even Seton Hall’s.

Human interest story on ETSU’s Kevin Tiggs.

Is Dayton a hot ticket with both #1 seeded Pitt and Louisville? Or because Ohio State is playing there? Or is it less so, because Dayton is playing in Minneapolis today?

How do you do a story that talks about stats and psychology for Pitt in the NCAA Tournament without that many numbers?

Is Pitt already too tight for the NCAA Tournament or merely all business.

Pittsburgh had its news media availability midmorning Thursday, and the Panthers presented a serious and stoic public face.

Guard Levance Fields closed his eyes for a minute or two at the podium, as if meditating, while taking questions. Forward Sam Young did not crack a smile. And in the locker room, the rest of the Panthers were mostly quiet, watching other tournament games on television. All business, on the Pitt end.

“Our goal is to survive and advance,” Fields said.

Louisville, meanwhile, met the news media on Thursday afternoon. The Cardinals were all smiles, loose and full of laughter. In the locker room, guard Edgar Sosa took over for a local television station, posing questions to his teammates while others howled in the background. The Sosa Show, he called it. Funny business, for the Cardinals.

I guess it depends on whether Pitt succeeds.

A puff piece on Levance Fields. And another piece that happens to bring up that the court is the same place where he broke his foot. Also mentions again how serious Pitt is about the whole thing.

They hope to change that this year, in large part by not overlooking their early opponents. In fact, when a reporter here asked if they would be watching Louisville, another No. 1 seed from the Big East Conference who is playing the first two rounds here, forward Sam Young cut off the question before it was finished with a hearty “No.”

“We’re way too mature to make that foolish mistake again,” he said, noting that Pittsburgh did that last year and in this month’s Big East tournament. “A lot of times when you get a high seed, you look too far ahead.”

Finally, senior Tyrell Biggs gets a little love in USA Today.