Well, here’s to hoping that other than recruiting news, the Pitt football side of things are going to settle down for a little bit. I’ve hated giving the short shrift to the basketball team.

They’ve been doing exactly what we want in winning and getting better, yet it seems hard to focus on them until gameday. Well, guess what? It’s gameday. Big spotlight game. ESPN at 7pm. Liveblog tonight.

Let’s run down some belated media love — and there has been plenty of that — before moving to the Georgetown game tonight.

Pitt’s depth has been a big thing this year. A topic everyone has noted. And even three games into the Big East season, the rotation hasn’t really shrunk.

Eleven good players too, players that any team would be more than happy to have. Dixon played eight guys 14 minutes or more yesterday, while Talib Zanna got 5 minutes and JJ Richardson got 2

It seems as if every game or so another one pops up and makes his case for playing time. Lately, it’s been red-shirt freshman Lamar Patterson, who has a pretty damn solid skill set for a bigger guard at 6’5?, being able to see the floor and pass while also rebounding and hitting spot-up three’s. Patterson and Gilbert Brown (who’s been sensational from behind the arc to this point) have a good chemistry and really worked well together in some two-man game sequences Saturday that saw each result in knocking down open looks.

Earlier in the season it was red-shirt freshman Talib Zanna breaking out and grabbing a starting spot while Nas Robinson was recovering and coming back from a knee. When Zanna struggled, Robinson was inserted back into the starters role and has balled out since. JJ Moore started getting some meaningful run against big-time competition because he was defending and rebounding the way he needed to. Now Patterson has emerged, according to Dixon, in the last week or so with his play in practice. “It just seems like last week everything started clicking for him,” says Dixon, “he played well in practice and I think everyone was wondering what the thinking was in going with Lamar in the last game vs Providence but he’s practicing better there’s no other way to put it he looks more comfortable out there he’s a guy who’s a young kid who’s developing physically and he’s feeling more comfortable.”

I’m feeling like a broken record on this, but Coach Dixon has maintained that how you do in practice will dictate a lot of how much playing time you get. Patterson has been stepping it up there, and it is getting him more minutes in games.

J.J. Moore has improved when he gets in games, but he has to beat out Patterson in practice to get the playing time. It also helps that Patterson has some clear chemistry with senior Gil Brown on the court. If you saw the ESPNU Pitt All-Access, it started at Brown’s apartment and Lamar Patterson was there hanging out. Something that Brown said was fairly common. Guess it’s that old Lancaster-Lebanon league thing.

The ESPNU Pitt All-Access was a great watch. Especially for seeing some of the practice (though seeing Austin Ransom in the middle of it was a pleasant surprise). One the things during the practice was hearing Coach Dixon harp — especially on Brown — “Seniors lead!” Brown also got some love in his hometown paper, as he has played so much more consistent for the past couple weeks.

There’s another piece lauding the development of Gary McGhee. Just a great story, and the consistency of Pitt developing big men is a big reason guys like Malcolm Gilbert sign with Pitt. Gilbert, by the way, has been doing a fine job of developing before getting to Pitt (Insider subs.).

We’ve been out in full force all season long and it’s time to update our rankings in three classes. Sometime after the Hoop Hall Classic, we’ll introduce Otto Porter (Sikestown, Mo./Scott County Central) and Malcolm Gilbert (Philadelphia, Pa./Acad. of New Church) to our ESPNU 100; they’ve earned it and we’ve witnessed their growth.

The Hoop Hall Classic runs January 14-17. So presumably the new rankings will be by February.

Everyone loves how good this Pitt team is and how hard it is not to take for granted that Pitt basketball will keep winning.

Neat factoid, it looks like Gil Brown, Ashton Gibbs and Brad Wanamaker will get to 1000 points in their Pitt career this year.

In a rarity, Pitt gets rated a “Buy” by Seth Davis at SI.com.

I was going to rate the Panthers a Hold until I looked at their schedule. I’m not sure how this happened, but Pitt only has to play UConn, Georgetown, Syracuse and Notre Dame once. (And the Panthers already beat UConn.) So while Pitt can hardly climb much higher in the polls, I also don’t expect this team to fall too far. With no real dominant teams out there, this is a good year to be flush with intangibles like toughness and experience. For me, the difference-maker is 6-10 senior center Gary McGhee, not because he reminds anyone of Hakeem Olajuwon, but there are very few top teams that have a post player who is that big and reliable.

Today’s must read, this piece on Pitt’s offensive efficiency. The way they are always in motion, use space, and the role the frontcourt plays in helping the backcourt more than most notice.

With the guards generating such brilliant execution in the half court offense, the frontcourt takes center stage in the transition game. Pitt’s forwards consistently apply pressure to opposing defenses with their propensity for racing up the floor, displaying outstanding knowledge of lanes and spacing. Rather than heading straight for the area immediately surrounding the rim though, the Dante Taylors and Nasir Robinsons on the court move to open spaces in the still retreating defense, forcing the opposition to shift and adjust. It is in this way the big men prove to be the offensive catalysts in transition, creating scoring opportunities for the guards. Brad Wanamaker, Gilbert Brown and Travon Woodall actually have the highest usage rates in these scenarios, not purely because they are better equipped for it, but they capitalize on the openings created by the defense being drawn into the lane. Again, the Panthers utilize their knowledge and aptitude of spacing to force their opponents hand and create open scoring chances.

Now, finally moving to Georgetown and tonight’s game.

Anson at Cardiac Hill has a Q&A exchange with Casual Hoya.

The Hoyas are at something of a loss for well, the losses.

“I don’t think anybody is nervous,” Clark said. “We’re just antsy. A lot of times, it’s a close game at the end and we’re looking not to make the mistake instead of just playing.”

Thompson sidestepped a question about potential changes to the starting lineup, though he didn’t dismiss the possibility. He was far less elusive, however, when asked about team morale as the Hoyas attempt to bounce back from their worst start in conference play since 2003-04.

“When you go through a stretch like this, no one feels good,” he said. “Losing is horrible. We just have to approach it with a mind-set of: ‘What are we going to do about it? How are we going to get better?'”

The Hoyas have been spotty in their shooting. Turning the ball over and not doing a good job getting rebounds.

It’s a bit of paranoia, but also because Georgetown is too good to struggle like this for long, that I have a nervous feeling about this game. G-town knows they can’t drop a second straight home game in the Big East.

“We’re four games into an 18-game season,” Hoyas Coach John Thompson III said, somberly. “The bad news is we’ve lost three of those games. This is the Big East, so no game gets any easier. Does that put a heightened sense of urgency on the Pittsburgh game? Absolutely.”

Pitt knows it is coming.

“They are going to be hungry and eager for a win,” Pitt forward Gilbert Brown said. “We have to be really focused when we get down there.”

The Hoyas remain a dangerous opponent. They are No. 3 in the latest RPI.

But falling to 1-4 in the Big East could leave them with a long road to finish .500 in the conference — and avoid any NCAA Tournament bubble talk.

Georgetown still plays two games each against No. 4 Syracuse and No. 25 Cincinnati, along with trips to No. 7 Villanova and No. 10 Connecticut. The Hoyas also host No. 18 Louisville and, of course, Pitt.

Panthers coach Jamie Dixon is expecting a focused, prepared Georgetown team.

“They are going to be at their best on Wednesday,” he said. “That’s because they are good.”

And as usual, Coach Dixon stresses getting rebounds.

Last year, Pitt fell to the Hoyas at the Pete. A poor shooting night for Pitt along with foul problems and poor play by the frontcourt were big culprits. That and Chris Wright killing Pitt.