A few things to get out of the browser tabs.

Tom Herrion is definitely in the mix for the Holy Cross job. He is interested, but so is his brother,  Bill, the head coach at New Hampshire. That just seems awkward.

Jamie Dixon speaks. Just in relative fluff. He is the first guest on ESPNU’s college basketball podcast with Andy Katz so there’s no wading through the other coaches being interviewed. He talks about Blair and Young, along with the U-19 tryouts. Nothing too earthshattering. Plenty of coach speak. He does admit that Dante Taylor is already penciled in as the starting power forward. And of course, not even a question about the USC job.

Andy Katz doesn’t get specific but he liked what he saw from Taylor at the tryouts.

Pitt should be pleased with the size and strength of incoming freshman Dante Taylor. The 6-9, 235-pound Taylor will be a load for the Panthers once he’s in shape.

While on the U-19 games, the Gibbs brothers are both involved in USA Basketball. Ashton is on the U-19 team, while his younger brother Sterling is on the U-16.

Draft Express was at the tryouts, and based on the talent of the U-19 team does not like the US’ chances. They did like the way things were run, though.

While it may sound cliché, the emphasis here is clearly on “playing the right away.” The coaches are for the most part all from programs known for being extremely organized and disciplined in their approach to the game, and much of the instructions they give the players from the sidelines revolve around concepts such as playing strong defense, moving the ball around unselfishly, correct spacing and not settling for bad shots. While there are referees on the court, they are forcing the players to adjust to the physicality of international basketball by calling the games very loosely, which makes things far more educational in our eyes.

With that in mind, it should be said that the USA Basketball people have not had the easiest time filling out the rosters with the best talent available to them. While they would never publicly state as much, word trickled down from the NBA-types that as many as 19 players declined their invites to attend these tryouts, just from the Under-19 group. There are many reasons for that, mostly revolving around the fact that the schools and college coaches want their players on campus in the summer to attend summer school and get a head start on staying eligible, and thus maintaining their APR (Academic Progress Rate), which is essential for not losing future scholarships. As Jerry Colangelo told us in a wide-ranging interview that will be published in the next day or two, “they have their own agendas.”

Some players, such as Kemba Walker, decided they would rather attend Nike’s Lebron Camp instead of representing their country in international competition, which is a real shame. Ignoring the patriotic element for a moment—which is a much stronger pull in seemingly every other country in the world outside of the US– it’s tough not to feel like these players are missing out on a wonderful experience. Colangelo vowed to pay special attention to this issue and stressed the success they’ve had getting the younger and older NBA players to make sacrifices and commit to USA Basketball. He feels like it’s only a matter of time until the U-19 group is the same way.

To be fair to Kemba Walker, he was on the U-18 team last year. The LeBron Camp is an important camp especially for those players eying an NBA future possibly as early as next year.

Big East Basketball blog takes a look at the recruiting targets for Pitt and WVU. Isiah Epps is either heading to Hargrave or National Christian for a year of prep.

Chris Dokish takes a shot at picking the Big East. He puts Pitt at #7. Key quote.

Bottom line- With such an inexperienced team, it’s unlikely that even Jamie Dixon’s wizardry could make the Panthers a major contender. But anybody completely dismissing a Jamie Dixon team, though, would be foolish.

Luke Winn’s power rankings in SI.com put Pitt in the #2 spot. It also gave a little love this way, which is always appreciated. Fox Sports.com also had Pitt at #2.

Meanwhile the ESPN.com power poll still keeps Pitt at #3.

By every count, UConn-Pitt  is the biggest or second biggest game of the weekend.

Only a Duke-North Carolina showdown for the ACC title could knock a game between No. 1 Connecticut and No. 3 Pittsburgh off the top line. But the good news is you don’t have to choose. Why? Because UConn-Pitt is Saturday! And it’s an early tip! So what we have are four possible No. 1 seeds playing against each other in the same weekend on opposite days, and isn’t March Madness just great?

My couch has already indentations from my rear over the course of this season. Saturday, alone, will be a marathon.

It also led the list for USA Today’s weekend.

1. Déjà vu: Stop us if you’ve heard this one. In the weekend headliner, Connecticut puts its No. 1 ranking on the line Saturday at No. 4 Pittsburgh. OK, it was a Monday before and it was in Hartford, but the shuffling at the top in recent weeks gives the Panthers the rare opportunity to knock off the same No. 1 team twice in less than a month. The two could definitely meet again next week in the Big East tournament final, and both would almost certainly be No. 1 regional seeds in the NCAA tournament should that occur. But neither of these teams will treat this as a mere exhibition. An epic battle inside could develop between Huskies big man Hasheem Thabeet and Pitt’s DeJuan Blair if they can avoid early foul trouble.

Useless factoid.

Based on the coaches’ poll, the game between No. 1 UConn and No. 4 Pitt is the fifth matchup of top-5 Big East teams in the past 10 years. The fourth-ranked team has won all four games, including Pitt’s win at UConn in February. The others winners include: No. 4 UConn over No. 2 Villanova in ’06, No. 4 Villanova over No. 1 UConn in ’06 and No. 4 Pitt over No. 5 UConn in ’04.

Just not sure if this number coincidence counts. Pitt is #3 in the AP and #4 in the ESPN/USA Today sponsored Coaches. The game is on CBS, so they will be using the #3 ranking for Pitt.

The national rankings dropped Pitt to 3 in the AP and 4 in the Coaches. The only thing more absurd than seeing Pitt voted #8 by two writers was seeing that one actually kept Pitt at #1. You can see the individual feelings from the writers. Shame we never get to see how the coaches vote.

The Power Polls were a little kinder. ESPN.com put Pitt at #3, only 1 point off of the #2 choice.

Gary Parrish at CBS Sports only dropped Pitt to #2.

Looks like the general view of the Providence loss, is indeed along the lines of, “these things happen.”

Just looking at a couple power rankings and Pitt only drops to #2 in both the FoxSports and Luke Winn’s at SI.com.

The term “consistency” gets thrown around by every coach and commentator, but there’s actually a stat to measure it on Ken Pomeroy‘s ratings site. There, consistency is determined by the standard deviation of a team’s scoring margin, and Pomeroy says, “Highly rated teams that are inconsistent [statistically] tend to look beatable more often.” While Pitt won’t hold on to No. 1 this week because of Tuesday’s loss at Providence, Panthers fans can take solace in the fact their team is at least the most consistent (or least vulnerable) of the top eight in our Power Rankings…

Kind of weird. It’s almost like the punditry might be giving Pitt some real respect or something.

And with the way the #1 ranking has been passed around like a hot potato, it seems like it is hard to hold it against Pitt this year.

Seth Davis at SI.com lists Coach Dixon as his second choice for coach of the year.

Unless both UNC and Oklahoma lose this weekend, Pitt will not be #1. I have no real problem with this. Teams keep winning, they keep rising. Add in that UNC also has Zeller back, they have added some some additional depth that makes them. Just keep winning.

Well, FoxSports Power Rankings actually moved Pitt to the top spot.

The good: Some might argue that Oklahoma deserves to be in this spot, but after the way the Panthers beat up on Connecticut Monday night in Hartford for their first-ever win over a top-ranked team, it’s too hard not to reward Jamie Dixon’s team with the No. 1 ranking. The bad: While Pitt certainly looks like a favorite to reach the Final Four, it still has another date with UConn in its regular-season finale and a meeting with Marquette prior to that game before the Big East Tournament even gets started.

Luke Winn at SI.com moves Pitt to #2. He was bemused by Gary McGhee’s performance.

ESPN.com’s power poll was more in line with expectations. Pitt at #3.

Two Big East Player of the Year candidates met last week, as well as the No. 1 and No. 4 teams in the nation. One pulled down 22 points and 23 rebounds while flipping the other over his back, as DeJuan Blair and Pitt dropped Hasheem Thabeet and UConn in Hartford.

No one had Pitt lower than #3.  A few had them #2.

And here’s Coach Jamie Dixon’t Five Good Minutes on PTI.

Not much to say abou the latest power polls. Luke Winn at SI.com has Pitt at 5th.

At ESPN.com, Pitt is still in 4th.

Meanwhile, Dante Taylor is the centerpiece forNational Christian, in a West Virginia Tournament. They couldn’t beat Oak Hill, but Taylor was impressive.

The Eagles (17-5) found inside success early, thanks to an arsenal depending largely on 6-foot-9 senior Dante Taylor. National led 8-4 early with Taylor establishing himself around the basket. He scored six of those eight, the first two on a dunk.

Taylor was obviously the focal point of National’s offense. The Pitt signee finished with game-highs of 33 points and 11 rebounds.

“He’s probably one of the five best big men in the country,” National coach Trevor Brown said. “He’s a hard worker. He’s improved a lot over the last couple of years. From day one, over four years, it’s just been a steady improvement.

“What we’re trying to do with him is let people see that he is one of the best big men in the country.”

And apparently he will be a McDonald’s All-American.

Rivals.com has listed some names that have reportedly leaked out: Kenny Boynton, Avery Bradley, Dominic Cheek, DeMarcus Cousins, Abdul Gaddy, Keith Gallon, Xavier Henry, John Henson, Wally Judge, Ryan Kelly, Tommy Mason-Griffin, Alex Oriakhi, Dexter Strickland Dante Taylor, Maalik Wayns and David & Travis Wear. In all, 22 players are expected to be invited to play in the game.

Really not unexpected, but it means I may actually watch the game this year.

I don’t expect any Pitt player to take home the Wooden Award. Still, it’s nice that Pitt actually has two of the thirty remaining candidates in Sam Young and DeJuan Blair.

There are four teams that have two candidates on the midseason cutdown list: Pitt, UConn (Adrien and Thabeet), Marquette (Matthews and McNeal), UNC (Hansbrough and Lawson).

The Big East placed 1/3 of the players: Young, Blair, Adrien, Thabeet, Matthews, McNeal, Flynn (‘Cuse), Harangody (ND), Monroe (G-town), Williams (L-ville).

Levance Fields is a finalist for the Cousy Award — best point guard. There are 13 D-1 finalists.

Jonny Flynn, Dominic James (Marquette) and A.J. Price (UConn) are the other Big East PG Finalists.

Sam Young also is a finalist for the Lowe’s Senior CLASS Award. There are ten finalists. Sam Young could use some help in the fan vote. And he has more planned in his off-the court community service.

Pitt stayed at #7 in Luke Winn’s SI.com power poll. He notes Ashton Gibbs’ emergence on the perimeter and Jermaine Dixon knocking down 3s of late to make the team more complete on offense.

The ESPN.com power poll has Pitt at #4.

If it’s Friday, it’s time to list out where Pitt is in the various power polls. After all, how else can we achieve righteous indignation at the punditry that hates Pitt if we don’t know which ones.

FoxSports dropped Pitt to #5 and bitched about the free throw shooting.

At the beginning of the week — before the Syracuse game — Mike DeCourcy had Pitt at #5. On the bright side, he had a cogent critique.

Sam Young is not slumping as a shooter. He’s slumping as a shot-selector. It’s hard to say why he began to perceive the demand for him to take and make guarded shots. There was a smidge of that in the victory over Georgetown, but it faded quickly. It has been more evident as he has shot 15-of-49 in the past three games. The nature of the Panthers is to generate and convert high-quality shots while denying them to opponents. To be great, they must remain that team.

Which is something that jibed exactly with what he did in the Syracuse game. It also meant he got to the free throw line.

Before his recent drought, Young had attempted at least one free throw in 46 of the previous 49 games.

“It’s just him attacking and not settling,” Fields said. “It kind of got him going. It’s always good for a scorer to get a couple easy ones at the free throw line.”

Against Syracuse, Young nearly single-handedly fouled out Harris — even if it meant getting one of his shots blocked. Young drew two shooting fouls on the junior forward, including his fifth with 3:17 to play. Young also drew shooting fouls on Syracuse forwards Rick Jackson and Kris Joseph.

Most shooting fouls come from the defender being late and desperate to stop the clean look. That’s what Young was getting in the game.

Luke Winn at SI.com only dropped Pitt one notch to #2, and focused on Levance Fields.

… In it, point guard Levance Fields says, “To be honest, some of us got snubbed, if you really want to look at it that way, from being those kind of recruits.” Fields is the strangest case of being overlooked, because typically New York guards — like, say, Sebastian Telfair — tend to be overhyped rather than overlooked. When Fields made his college decision in 2004, he was choosing between St. John’s, South Florida, Miami and Pitt. He was the 14th-ranked point guard on Rivals.com’s board that year, and as you scan up the list, only second-ranked Mario Chalmers — who, if you recall, had a decent title game in March — turned out better than Fields. The No. 1-rated point guard that year was none other than Greg Paulus.

Fields being overlooked is easily explained. His body type just doesn’t scream elite point guard. Or more precisely, future NBA point guard.

ESPN.com also put Pitt at #2.

The Big East survival guide warns against letting one loss turn into two, or even three. Pitt heeded that warning with a dominating win over Syracuse at home on the heels of the Panthers’ first loss against Louisville. But it’s back on the road again, with upcoming trips to West Virginia and Villanova.

Now, the big shock. Gottlieb was had Pitt at #2 (and had UNC at #1???). Jay Bilas, however, put Pitt down at #6 — the lowest of all voters.

Really late, but all will be clear sooner.

Power rankings. All keep Pitt at the top.

Fox Sports

Luke Winn at SI.com — and love for DeJuan Blair this week.

ESPN.com — and guess who still won’t put Pitt at #1. It’s not that Gottlieb hates Pitt. I doubt he does. His whole schtick, though, is to be “controversial” and “outside the box.” A Skip Bayless without the perma-tan.

Another Tom Herrion piece, this time from Charleston, SC. A sort of, don’t look back in anger story.

“When I was younger, so much was about how fast and how quickly I could become a head coach. I’m tremendously grateful to the College of Charleston for giving me the opportunity,” said Herrion, who worked as a TV analyst for one season before joining Dixon’s staff.

“But having been a head coach and done a reasonably good job, I have a different perspective now. I know I’m at a great place and I think you value different things after you’ve had different experiences.”

So don’t feel too sorry for Herrion. He makes more money now than he did in Charleston when he and his family lived in the showcase I’On neighborhood in Mount Pleasant.

Herrion generally is lauded as Pitt’s top recruiter and helped sign an incoming class rated among the nation’s best.

He also knows the top assistant at a top program likely will get calls about head coach openings.

“If the right situation arose, I would listen,” Herrion said. “But it would take quite an offer. I am very aware of how fortunate I am to be in the situation I’m in.”

…

Sort of like Larry Shyatt, the former Clemson head coach who has been part of two national championship teams as a Florida assistant and remains in Gainesville.

“Funny you should mention that,” Herrion said. “Larry and I talked on the phone just this week.”

That. Well, that would be awesome for Pitt and Dixon if Herrion took that kind of role for the long-term.

Warning. Warning. Jay Bilas likes Pitt over Louisville.

The Cardinals struggle to shoot from the perimeter against grinding defenses, and Pitt can grind it out with the best of them. The Panthers are just as deep as Louisville and are more physical. Unless the Cards hit shots, Pittsburgh will get a win in Freedom Hall. The difference can be Levance Fields and his ability to handle pressure and DeJuan Blair and his ability to dominate on the glass. Blair has the length and offensive-rebounding capability to really bother freshman Samardo Samuels.
The Winner: I like Pittsburgh to win on the road.

Erp.

Meanwhile Mike Cook is giving life in the NBDL a shot as he gets back to full strength.

After failing to make the BayHawks in large part due to being out of shape and recovering from a severe knee injury, Cook has since returned to the team slimmer in size, but very heavy in determination.

“I really wanted to prove to everybody that I was a better player,” said Cook, who is from Philadelphia. “I didn’t have to prove it to myself. I thought I had to prove it to everybody else. That really pushed me.”

Although Cook isn’t starting for the BayHawks, as he did at the University of Pittsburgh, the fact that he’s even playing right now makes those who have been with him through this trying process very proud.

“Having seen the pain he was in initially and the fact that he is playing basketball a year later almost brings tears to my eyes to see that,” Pitt trainer Tony Salesi said.

Good luck to Mike Cook.

Back to the fun stuff.

Power polls from the various sports sites. Unanimity, for this week at least, is good.

Luke Winn at SI.com:

These Power Rankings begin with an exclusive What-If Scenario: In the course of reporting the James Harden feature that’s in this week’s SI, I stumbled across a Pitt story: Arizona State assistant Scott Pera — the former Artesia High coach whom Harden followed to Tempe — told me he had discussions with Pitt’s Jamie Dixon about job opportunities in the spring of 2006. The Sun Devils made the first move on Pera in late May, and he left Artesia to become their director of basketball operations. The first day Pera was starting work at ASU, Dixon called him to say, “I’m ready to move now [and offer you a job].” Pera, who grew up in Hershey, Pa., might have accepted that offer had it come much earlier. He said that he wasn’t sure if Harden, an L.A. kid, would have been willing to make the same cross-country jump. “You should ask James that,” Pera said. “I’d be interested to hear what he says.” So I asked Harden. And he said, “Yeah, I would have gone [to Pitt]. That’s a great program, coach Dixon is a great coach, and that would have been a good opportunity for me, too. I didn’t want to stay in L.A.” Pitt fans, could you imagine having a starting lineup of Levance Fields, Harden, Sam Young, DeJuan Blair and Tyrell Biggs?

And Pitt fans are accused of never being satisified.

ESPN.com had Pitt ranked at the top. Two of their ten voting analysts kept UNC at #1. Jay Bilas was one of them, I think everyone and their dog knows who the other was — but he swears no malice (Insider subs).

FoxSports doesn’t grasp permalinks in their power rankings. So, this will change over time. Still, for now.

The good: The Panthers are enjoying their first No. 1 ranking in school history after thumping Big East rival Georgetown on its home floor with a double-digit win. The bad: Pitt proved with its win over the Hoyas that it can play with the big boys despite a soft non-conference schedule, but things get tough later this month with road games at Louisville, West Virginia and Villanova.

Finally, it is time for some hardcore number crunching. John Gasaway at Basketball Prospectus has sung the praises of their offensive performance. Now he hits on game planning against Pitt.

With all this talent and all these skills, the game plan for any Pitt opponent is two-fold: force the Panthers to shoot threes and keep Blair (and his teammates) off the offensive glass. The dilemma posed by Pitt, of course, is that the best way to accomplish the former objective, a zone, inhibits accomplishing the second goal.

Or does it? Consider Syracuse last year. The Orangemen have long been synonymous with the term “zone defense.” Yet somehow way back in 2008 Jim Boeheim’s team managed to combine zone D with excellent defensive rebounding. Future Pitt opponents, take heart! True, it didn’t work out so well for Georgetown but maybe you can have your zone and your boards too. The ‘Cuse did it last year with strength in numbers: Donte Greene, Arinze Onuaku and Paul Harris, in particular. Other Big East teams might try to do the same, given the Panthers’ iffy perimeter shooting. So far this season Pitt has made exactly one in every three of its attempts from beyond the arc.

…

Is Pitt the best team in the country? A better question might be: who are the best teams? Carolina may have lost at home to Boston College but the Tar Heels will rise again. (After all, last year the Final Four-bound Heels lost at home to a team, Maryland, that didn’t even make the NCAA tournament.) As for Pitt, well, clearly they’ve already risen. Until further notice the best teams in the country include, at a minimum, UNC and the Panthers, warts and all.

And right now, that is all you want to be. Considered one of the best teams. No one wins anything now.

Tomorrow is the first of three straight road games. Admittedly there is a 10-day gap between the FSU game and Rutgers on the 31st. It also the first true road game of the season and the only one in the non-con. Oh, and it is only the third game against a team from a power conference. I guess, no matter how you slice it, it hasn’t been the most challenging non-con schedule.

The Pitt-FSU game is the FoxSports Net national game at 5:30. Tim Brando and Mike Gminski have the call. The game can be found on FoxSports Pittsburgh, North, South, Rocky Mountain, Arizona, Northwest, West, Detroit and Houston (Alternate); Comcast Chicago, Bay Area; Sunshine Network and MSG Plus.

The ESPN.com power poll holds Pitt steady at #3.

See Sam dunk. See Sam score. With Sam Young playing like an All-American and double-double machine DeJuan Blair down low, playing Pitt is a scary prospect for opposing Big East teams.

Yes, I know Gottlieb had Pitt down at #5. Shocking to be sure. He’s holding to his same talking points from the start of the season (Insider subs.).

After watching an extensive amount of tape on Pitt and calling their Siena game in person Wednesday night, I am left with about the same impression that I had before the season.

Pitt is very strong, long and athletic, and the addition of Jermaine Dixon at the 2-guard spot gives them a lockdown perimeter defender. Sam Young is a steadily improving wing who might be this year’s Joe Alexander. By that I mean Young is a dynamic scorer from 17 feet in, has the ability to post smaller guards, and in transition, he has not lost his incredible bounce. Young is not a true guard in terms of ballhandling or passing skill, and I still think they miss a Mike Cook-type of all-around weapon to make everyone else better. Tyrell Biggs is playing with a ton of confidence, and DeJuan Blair is just a complete beast at the block.

Of course there’s a but…

In terms of their Final Four potential or even Big East potential, it is obvious that the Panthers will win with their defense and inside scoring. To beat Pitt, you must stop them in transition off misses and turnovers, block out and contain Blair at the block. Fields is solid as heck, but they still lack offensive pop from the two guards they have had in the past. My questions linger …

• Can Blair stay out of foul trouble on the road?

• Can Fields’ foot not bother him the entire season?

• Can Jermaine Dixon shoot the ball like he did in exhibition games?

• Can Pitt score from the perimeter against a top-level zone or quality interior defense?

Roughly translated, I see no reason to change my notes cribbed from preseason magazines.

Jermaine Dixon is looking forward to the FSU trip since he played junior college down there. He might be a little too excited to play in front of friends.

“When coach (Jamie) Dixon came down in April to recruit me,” said Jermaine Dixon, who played two seasons at Tallahassee Community College, “he said we’d be coming back down to Tallahassee to play Florida State. I’ve been waiting for this ever since. I’ll get to see some old coaches, teammates and friends.”

Jermaine Dixon, the top shooting guard for No. 3 Pitt (11-0) struggled to contain his excitement Friday at Petersen Events Center before boarding a bus for the airport.

Judging from his level of enthusiasm, it was becoming a chore.

So, I guess we shouldn’t be surprised if Dixon hoists a few shots he shouldn’t early in the game.

Meanwhile in a notebook piece, no shock that Dwight Miller is being redshirted. Interesting that Coach Dixon felt the need to make a “special note” on Miller’s improvements in practice. Perhaps a subtle (or not so) way of letting Miller know he still figures into the plans and is an important part of the team.

Coach Dixon concedes that he is still struggling to give minutes to both Ashton Gibbs and Travon Woodall from game to game.

Not much that still needs to be said about Pitt dealing with Siena. Pitt could turn it on at spurts and like they have most of the season to date, came out in the second half and put the game out of reach. A final hard push by Siena made the score a respectable 13 point loss but it really wasn’t. It could be argued, though, that the good thing about Siena’s final push — it reminds the players that they can’t lay back until the clock is at 0:00.

Pitt started the second half with a 16-3 run to lead by as many 22 points, but Siena battled back and trailed by 10, 71-61, with 1:21 remaining.

“This was good for us because I think we learned something,” said Pitt coach Jamie Dixon, who admitted that the Panthers didn’t play their best game. “We saw a team that just kept battling, battling, battling and fighting and cut down a 22-point lead to 10 at the end, so give them credit.

“It seemed like that last seven minutes was an eternity.”

Still there was the fact that Blair was a completely dominating beast. There was a concerted effort by Pitt to work the ball inside rather than just take the outside shots — like against UMBC. Blair responded with another double-double.

Plus, despite the late Siena run, Pitt had some numbers that as Coach Dixon said, “teams would die to have.”  Only 7 turnovers, 25 assists on 30 field goals, +11 on rebounds.

This was the first ESPN telecast, and featuring Doug Gottlieb as an analyst. Which makes no one happy. I have found that for the most part, I don’t hear him anymore. Just a harmless buzzing. What is amusing, is that a guy who makes his living on ESPN as being the hateable one, is so stock as an analyst.

The 6-7 Blair is commonly portrayed as a round mound of rebound but in truth that’s just part of his arsenal. He shoots often and effectively, making 64 percent of his twos thus far, albeit against uneven competition. Most strikingly, he plays the 5 yet records steals at a higher rate than any of his teammates. Blair stands out, and that’s not easy to do on a team with featured-scorer Sam Young and assist-hoarding point guard Levance Fields. This is an outstanding offense, one that ranked among the top three in the Big East last year and looks just as efficient this year.

So please explain to me why so many people, most especially last night’s announcers, still insist on viewing Pitt as an all-defense no-offense team? (”Sometimes it seems like they expend so much effort on defense they have trouble scoring.”) One of the things about sports that really interests me is the incorrigibly durable power of branding seen within its precincts. Highly-paid MBAs would kill for their companies’ detergents or razors to possess the same kind of talismanic hold on perceptions that college basketball teams exhibit.

Take Pitt. I don’t mean the team I’ve just described, necessarily. I mean “Pitt,” the brand. What comes to mind? Rugged, physical teams, players from NYC, Carl Krauser, grind it out, tough D, annual success in the Big East tournament, etc.

Make no mistake, that perception was earned, not fabricated. As it happens, however, it no longer accords with reality….

Pitt’s defense has been very good this year, make no mistake. But the offense has actually been better.

I’m pretty sure that I can explain it simply. Pitt is a very efficient offensive team. They aren’t, however, a up-and-down the court team. They don’t run it down the court and take it right to the basket. They move the ball and look to get it for an open look or get it inside. They get back on defense and make an opposing team move and pass for the score. There aren’t many quick, one pass and score possessions against Pitt or by Pitt. That helps keep the pace slower. In too many lazy analysts’ minds, a slow-tempo team means defensive minded team that has deficiencies on offense.

Amusing article on Tyrell Biggs being Pitt’s best 3-point shooter by % to date. I’m not sold on a sample size of 8-15 over 11 games. I’m just happy that the sample size is that small. It also gets into the rest of Biggs’ game and his development.

Biggs, a big question mark for the team before the season started, has developed into a solid all-around player. He is the team’s fourth-leading scorer (8.5 points per game) and third in rebounds (5.1 per game).

For someone his size, Biggs always has leaned toward being more of a finesse player than a power player. That was not lost on Dixon, who implored him to focus on improving his rebounding skills and tenacity before the season.

“He’s gotten better at it,” Dixon said.

“His numbers are a little better, but defensively he is a far better player than he was last year. I just think he’s playing with confidence, and he’s giving confidence to other players on the team. I think that’s the biggest thing. His leadership has been tremendous for us.”

The perception of Biggs is rather hardened from his first three years. It will take a while for perception to start to change.

As for Blair, he hasn’t changed the perception that he is a force under the basket. It’s just that he’s even better at it this year. As Pitt moved to #5 in Luke Winn’s power rankings.

Some DeJuan Blair numbers for you to ponder: Pitt’s sophomore big man is rebounding at a superhuman rate thus far, pulling down 25.8 percent of available offensive boards (ranking first in the country) and 29.2 percent of defensive boards (ranking eighth). Offensive rebounding is regarded as more of an “effort” stat that defensive rebounding, and no other major-conference player was even close to Blair through Sunday’s games…

He’s also improved other parts of his game.

That play reminded Dixon of another 6-foot-7 frontcourt force who was known for averaging double-digit rebounds and whipping crisp passes.

“We really talked to him at the start of this year about Wes Unseld, a player he never heard of and what a great outlet passer he was,” Dixon said. “I thought DeJuan could be that.

“I think that’s the biggest improvement he’s made this year, in his outlet passing. He had a tendency to be somewhat not as protective of the ball and didn’t use his passing skills and his strength to get a good outlet to get us going.

“Now, he is.”

Never heard of Wes Unseld. Thanks. I needed to feel older.

So, I tweaked my right shoulder a couple weeks ago, and this week it has been killing me. Makes using the computer a bit difficult, so that hasn’t helped with posting.

Luke Winn keeps Pitt in the power rankings at #6, but complains of Pitt’s non-con.

January 3. I’m excited for that date, and not because of the International Bowl. It’s the day Pitt travels to Georgetown and finally gets to play a ranked team. I know go-to-guy Sam Young is a first-round draft pick, and I believe the Panthers are good, but how can I be sure when the best team they’ll play in the entire non-conference schedule is Washington State? It’s a shame that the Panthers’ non-league slate includes nary a sure-fire NCAA tournament squad. Wazzu might be in the Dance, and so might Texas Tech and Vermont, but none is a lock.

The lack of a marquee non-con game is something even Pitt fans have been a bit unhappy with it. With Florida State looking like the most dangerous game remaining in the non-con. I mean Siena will be desperate, but they haven’t been anywhere near as good as expected. Heck, the fact that I’m even pointing to the Siena game as a possible threat says it all.

Over at ESPN.com, Pitt moved up to #3 (though tied with Gonzaga) without playing a game.

The Panthers seem determined to show the America East who’s boss. They destroyed Vermont last week, and defending AE champ Maryland-Baltimore County is next.

In the ESPN panelists, Fran Fraschilla and Mark Schlabach had Pitt at #2. Hubert Davis was the lowest, putting Pitt at #5.

Seth Davis at SI.com mostly loves Pitt this year.

The two games I saw illustrated the number one reason to like Pitt’s chances to finally break past the Sweet 16 and reach the Final Four. The semifinal against Texas Tech was an open-floor, run-and-shoot affair, and Pitt prevailed 80-67. The final against Washington State, on the other hand, was a nails-on-a-chalkboard halfcourt grinder. Yet Pitt still won, 57-43. Because this team is deeper and more athletic than any other Jamie Dixon has had, Pitt can beat good teams no matter the tempo of the game. That’s a critical asset to take into the NCAA tournament, because in the course of trying to win four or six games, you have to be able to prevail playing different styles.

This team will also improve as Levance Fields plays his way back into shape after gaining a lot of weight during an inactive summer spent recovering from a foot injury. Fields told me he still has another 10 pounds to go, and as we all know those last 10 are the hardest.

Even so, the one nagging question I have about Pitt is whether they’ll be able to score enough quick, easy points to win the whole thing. Yes, this is as good a defensive team as you’ll see, buy can the Panthers make up for their lack of outside shooting with offensive rebounding? More and more I see teams suffer during the tournament because they are not proficient enough at the offensive end. Sam Young is scoring a ton of points right now (20.8 through the first nine games), but this team lacks a three-point sniper like Ronald Ramon, who graduated last spring. Their starting shooting guard, Jermaine Dixon, is there primarily for his defensive abilities.

Obviously, no one would be surprised if Pitt makes the Final Four. But if you’re asking me, in the second week of December, to choose, yes or no, whether they’ll get there? My answer would be no.

A concern echoed by Mike DeCourcy at the Sporting News.

2. Does Pitt deserve to be mentioned in the same breath as UConn and UNC?

That question presupposes UConn is to be mentioned in the same breath with North Carolina, and it’s not yet clear that’s the case. We’ve got to see some more development from the Huskies, and what they’ll look like when forward Stanley Robinson returns at the semester break. I continue to believe they will serve as North Carolina’s strongest challenger, but at this point there is a gap between No. 1 and No. 2.

The Panthers are a terrific team with the kind of toughness Pittsburgh loves to see. Given Sam Young’s development and the presence of DeJuan Blair, they might have a couple of the NBA-level talents that can make a difference in the later rounds of the NCAA Tournament.

One thing I’ve suspected would hold Pitt back is the absence of a great jump-shooting threat. Memphis was not a great 3-point shooting team a year ago and made it to the NCAA title game — but even at that the Tigers shot just short of 35 percent for the year. Pitt is at 33 percent and hasn’t begun to face the most difficult part of its schedule.

If the question amounts to whether Pitt is third in line to win the NCAA title, I suspect not. Gonzaga has more of those kinds of weapons.

We will see if some of that sorts itself out as Coach Dixon sorts out the guards in the rotation and/or there is some separation from an offensive production standpoint. Maybe it will be Brad Wanamaker, after all.

Dixon said Wanamaker is unselfish to the point where it has become a detriment to his game. He has the tendency to rush in transition, and that has led a bevy of turnovers. Despite averaging only 14 minutes per game, he leads the team with 17 turnovers.

Dixon has been stressing to Wanamaker to take the open shot when he has it. Wanamaker worked tirelessly in the offseason to improve his jump shot, and Dixon would like to see him show more confidence in that improved part of his game.

Wanamaker, who shot 16.7 percent from 3-point range last season, has made 4 of 7 shots from behind the 3-point arc this season.

“He’s a much improved shooter,” Dixon said. “It’s not even close. He’s shooting the ball well. We’re trying to get him to the point where he’s shooting the open shot rather than driving in and taking a more contested shot. That’s something he has to get used to. That’s a common thing going from high school to college, but probably more so with him because he was such an effective driver in high school.

“He is a far better shooter than he was. He’s put in the work. I thought he could become a good shooter because of his form and his release. He’s a good free throw shooter. It was building on that form and just getting more comfortable doing it.”

Of course, these discussions are whether Pitt can win the National Championship/Final Four. I’ll take that discussion any day over whether the team is a bubble or even if it can get to the Sweet 16.

Coach Dixon has been pleased with the team’s performance to date.

The Panthers have played different styles of teams in the opening month — Texas Tech and Duquesne were more up-tempo, Miami and Akron ran deliberate half-court sets, Belmont was reliant on perimeter shooting and Washington State was a tough, hard-nosed defensive team.

“It’s been good so far,” Dixon said. “We’ve improved; there is no question about that. We’ve taken care of business. We’ve won by large margins in every game.”

About the only missing ingredient has been any sort of inside challenge for sophomore center DeJuan Blair, averaging 14.9 points and 13.4 rebounds. Florida State’s 7-foot-1, 241-pound Solomon Alabi probably will present the toughest non-conference test.

“We’ve played a lot of teams, as usual, that operate without a post guy inside,” Dixon said. “That’s something we always seem to face in the non-conference. It will be interesting when we play against a bigger post guy.”

That won’t be happening tonight against UMBC. They aren’t big and they aren’t deep.

UMBC can’t afford any injuries. All five starters average at least 29 minutes per game, led by workhorses Darryl Proctor and Jay Greene, who log as much court time as just about anyone in the nation.

Proctor, a 6-foot-4 senior forward, is playing 38.9 minutes per game, and point guard Greene, a 5-8 senior point guard, is averaging 37.6.

Take away the season-opening victory over Stevenson University, when starting forward Rich Flemming didn’t play, and sixth-man Chauncey Gilliam’s playing time, and the remaining reserve players on the Retrievers’ bench have played a total of 13 minutes all season.

Expect a bit of rust from Pitt, but this should still be a blowout.

Game at 4pm today. Remember, Pitt’s website will stream the video live and for free at 7pm. Once more, props to Pitt’s athletic department for doing this.

Vermont has been a good team so far, despite their 4-2 record.

But Vermont could easily be undefeated. The Catamounts’ losses came in overtime — to Maryland and George Mason.

Vermont fell to George Mason, 80-79, in the opener. Six days later, the Catamounts took Maryland to the brink in an eventual 89-74 loss on Nov. 21 in College Park, Md. Maryland needed a 3-pointer with six seconds left in regulation to force overtime in coach Gary Williams’ 400th career victory.

“We’re two points away from being 6-0,” Lonergan said.

The Catamounts own a 31-point victory over Yale — the same Ivy League team that won at Oregon State two weeks ago — and handed host Delaware its most lopsided loss of the season (78-63), more than Big East teams Rutgers and Seton Hall.

Vermont has won three in a row since losing to Maryland.

“We matched up well with Maryland — they aren’t proven inside,” Lonergan said. “Pittsburgh may not have the height, but they are big inside. That is really concerning to us.”

A pair of All-America East players — junior forward Marqus Blakely and senior guard Mike Trimboli — lead Vermont. Blakely averages 18.3 points and 9.0 rebounds per game and ranks in the top 20 in the nation in blocked shots (2.8) and steals (2.8).

And of course, they are saying that their goal is to win the game.

There are questions about the guard rotation for Pitt after Fields and Jermaine Dixon. Coach Jamie Dixon says it is still unclear and unset.

“They haven’t separated themselves,” coach Jamie Dixon said. “Travon, Ashton and Brad, no one has really separated themselves from one another. … We don’t have all the answers today.”

In the power polls. Luke Winn at SI.com keeps Pitt at #6.

It’s weird how these Panthers are almost statistically reminiscent of last season’s Memphis squad, which shot 34.9 percent from long-distace (ranking 170th) and 61.4 percent from the free-throw line (ranking 329th) but was still very offensively efficient (ranking fourth overall). Pitt is slightly better in both cases, shooting 35.2 percent on threes (ranking 121st) and 66.7 from the stripe (ranking 207th), while sitting at No. 1 in the offensive efficiency rankings.

As Winn noted, little has changed with Pitt’s 3-point shooting. That trend is national despite an extra foot.

ESPN.com returns with theirs and Pitt is at #4. Mark Schlabach put Pitt at #2 in his ballot — the highest spot for Pitt. Three of the ten voters had Pitt at #5 — the lowest.

Some more lists as the basketball season gets underway.

DeJuan Blair gets in among the best college centers.

4. DeJuan Blair, Pitt. There aren’t a lot of 6-7 centers at the highest levels of college basketball, but you just don’t find a DeJuan Blair on every corner. Blair’s combination of length and width more than compensate for his disadvantage in height. And he isn’t just strong, he is disarmingly skilled and unreasonably quick. Of all the statistics that defined his freshman season, the one that never ceases to amaze was his total of 62 steals. That’s just under two per game. Which is what Stephen Curry averaged as a quick guard playing in an uptempo system. Just saying.

Sam Young could get himself into the middle of the 1st round of the NBA draft this year. He ranks among the top-5 seniors according the NBADraft.Net.

Want to start an argument. Try and rank the Big East coaches from 1-16.

6. Jamie Dixon (Pitt) – Pitt has become a familiar name in the NCAA tournament thanks to this guy. He’s moved up a rung in the recruiting latter by getting big-time local talent in Dejuan Blair, who grew up a mile from the Petersen Events Center. Dixon is an Elite-8 away from becoming a premier coach in college basketball.

I can’t argue too hard against Coach Dixon being slotted there. I don’t agree with the order of the top-5. I’d put Pitino #1, Calhoun #2, Boeheim #3, Thompson III #4 and Huggins #5. Here’s what’s amazing about the coaching in the Big East. You look at the top half of the coaches (include Villanova’s Jay Wright and ND’s Mike Brey), and the majority of the fans of each program would still want to stick with their coach. A lot of very good teams and outstanding coaches.