We will have a liveblog tonight. In an ideal world, we can continue the trend of keeping the basketball liveblogs free of discussion of the ongoing football insanity. Please?

Providence has looked good at times this year, but it is hard to ignore the 13 straight Big East losses the Friars are riding. They lost their season opener at home to the now hot St. John’s team.

Not that Pitt or any team in the Big East should take any team lightly in the conference (well, maybe a little bit with DePaul). Providence the under Keno Davis have been a pesky  problem for Pitt.

Senior forward Gilbert Brown said the Friars have good players that are starting to develop into a good team.

“We’re not overlooking anyone, especially in our conference,” Brown said. “When you look at teams like Providence, DePaul, Cincinnati and those that are steadily improving, you have to give them a serious look in scouting and really prepare for them. Last year, it came down to the wire. The year before when we were No. 1, they beat us. I’m looking forward to playing this game because I’ve never won at their place.

“In the Big East, it’s just the caliber of players. Just like the Tennessee game, you never know how they’re going to play. They were clicking against us, and then you look at the next couple of weeks and they’re not playing so well. You have to prepare and know what to do because they have good players.”

The player to watch for Providence is Marshon Brooks. He’s the second leading scorer in the Big East. Admittedly in Providence’s system it shouldn’t be surprising to have a Friar among the top scorers in the Big East. In his own way, like UConn’s Kemba Walker, Brooks is the Friars.

Brooks can do more than score; he ranks first or second on the Friars in rebounds, assists, steals and blocked shots.

He performs his best against top competition. He scored 33 points against Alabama, 28 at Boston College and 27 at Syracuse.

He scores in a variety of ways. Whether it’s on the perimeter (he leads the team in 3-pointers), on an offensive put-back or in transition. Providence coach Keno Davis moves Brooks around, from shooting guard to small forward to power forward.

“They try to get matchup situations to exploit him,” Dixon said.

I would expect that Pitt will have guys like Wanamaker and Brown on him on the perimeter, and if he gets past, the defense will clog the lanes. A lot of what we saw with Kemba Walker.

The only other intrigue is that new Pitt assistant/hot-shot recruiter, Pat Skerry came to Pitt off of Providence’s staff. Making for the obligatory “homecoming” storyline.

“They were great about stepping up at Providence, but it was a selfish move on my part, looking at my career first,” said Skerry, who returns with Pitt for a matchup against the Friars on Tuesday. “Jamie has produced a lot of head coaches (Mike Rice, Rutgers; Tom Herrion, Marshall) and he has a great program that’s won a lot of games. It’s a great opportunity.”

He says nice things about his time at Providence (and living in Rhode Island for five years), but it is clear he is impressed with what he has seen being at Pitt.

While recruiting remains Skerry’s principal duty, he says the chance to learn from Dixon has been eye-opening.

“The chance to work for Jamie and in the program that he helped build is a great opportunity for my development, very much like the chance I received to go to Providence with Keno and into the Big East. Those are two national coach of the year award winners,” he said.

Pitt is off to a 13-1 start and comes to the Dunkin’ Donuts Center ranked fifth in the country. A year ago, Pitt raced out to a 15-2 start. In Dixon’s seven seasons, the Panthers have won 25 or more games six times. They’ve advanced to the Sweet 16 of the NCAA Tournament twice and the Elite Eight once.

“The goal here is to win a national championship,” said Skerry. “Jamie is incredibly driven. He attacks things daily. It’s a battle royal every day, in a good way. There’s a culture at Pitt of how to practice every day, and the older guys teach the younger guys. You don’t have to wind guys up to practice hard. They’re ready, and that’s all Jamie.”

Which is just another reason to look forward to Pitt’s turn on ESPN-U’s All-Access show on Wednesday night. It airs at 6:30 pm on Wednesday, January 5. Rebroadcasts are Thursday, January 6 and Saturday, January 8 at 5pm. Set your DVR accordingly.