Maybe not intentionally, but there is the Big East football special on ESPNU tonight at 8pm. Most of the ESPN.com attention today, though, is on the basketball side.
It started with ESPN announcing College GameDay Saturday night sites this season. The good news, Pitt plays on one of those games. The bad news is it will be at Villanova in the Pavilion.
Feb. 12: Pittsburgh at Villanova (from the Pavilion), 9 p.m. ET: In Wednesday’s Big East Shootaround, Jay Bilas pegged these two as the top teams in the Big East. Watching this Pennsylvania pair try to separate themselves from the chasing pack — which should include Syracuse, West Virginia and Georgetown — should be about as exciting as you’d imagine.
It is also the only College GameDay Big East appearance (2 each for the SEC, Big 12/10 and Big 10/11/12; 1 for the ACC and 0 for the Pac-10/12). It’s the first appearance for College GameDay at Villanova. That ‘Nova was willing to sacrifice the extra revenue to play in their true home court, would have made this a tough enough game. College GameDay excitement will only make it harder.
As that blurb indicated, the “summer shootaround” moved to the Big East and which team did Jay Bilas peg for #1 in the conference?
1. Pittsburgh: Jamie Dixon has a great program. Not good, but great. Every time you think the Panthers will take a step back, they find a way to win and wow you with high-level consistency and fight. With a young and inexperienced team last year, Pitt seemed to will itself to 25 wins and the best scoring defense in the league. This season, Ashton Gibbs returns with the confidence of a star; Gilbert Brown should have his best year, and was very good on a tour of Ireland; Brad Wannamaker brings toughness and leadership; Gary McGhee brings strength and finishing ability; and Dante Taylor will be far better and more productive. Pitt should have the best team in the Big East when it is all said and done.
Ashton Gibbs was on the list of 10 key players and J.J. Moore for the list of incoming freshmen to watch.
In a companion piece, their resident college basketball blogger Eamonn Brennan looked at the best case/worst case for each team. (He also learned that trying to do this sort of thing for a 16 team conference is draining.)
Best case: The supposedly rebuilding Panthers were a surprise in 2009-10, finishing in a second-place conference tie despite losing a trio of stars from 2008-09’s Elite Eight team. That won’t be the case this year: Pittsburgh returns four starters — breakout guard Ashton Gibbs, backcourt mate Brad Wannamaker and solid forwards Gilbert Brown and Gary McGhee — to a team that should compete for the Big East’s top spot yet again.
Worst case: It’s hard to imagine an experienced and proven Jamie Dixon-coached team taking much of a step back in the coming year. Instead, the danger for the Panthers is that last year’s impressive finish is this team’s peak. No one would scoff at another second-place Big East finish, but Dixon will be looking for this group to make a leap, and while that outcome remains a likelihood, it’s not a stretch of the imagination to think this particular group of Panthers has already topped out.
And the summer of high expectations for Pitt sports continues.
