[InTheHole]

Larry Ness

20* NCAA Tourney GOY
is on Pittsburgh at 7:05 ET. The Big East placed

five teams in the Sweet 16 and all three in action on Thursday won (I'm
writing this prior to Friday's games being played). It's possible the Big
East could send four teams to the Final 4, one-upping its 1985 performance
when three teams went. That 1985 season is of course very special to
Villanova, as the Wildcats won their only national title that year,
beating Georgetown in one of the NCAA tourney's greatest upsets. Seeded
No. 3 in the East this year, Villanova owns extremely impressive wins the
last two games, crushing UCLA 89-69 in the second round (Bruins were going
for a fourth straight Final 4 appearance) and then beating Duke 77-54 in
the Sweet 16, handing the Blue Devils their worst tourney loss since their
1990 title game loss to UNLV (103-73). Pitt was one of six schools which
spent time at No. 1 this year but the Panthers have been far from dominant
in reaching the school's first-ever Elite 8. For you history buffs, the
Panthers did reach a Regional Final back in 1974, losing 100-72 to David
Thompson's NC State team (which one the national title that year), 11
years before the tourney expanded to 64 teams. Pitt opened TY's tourney
with a 10-point win over East Tenn St (as a three-TD favorite) and then
outlasted Okla St 84-76 in the second round. Thursday, the Panthers
trailed Xavier 37-29 at the half but held the Musketeers to 26 points (on
24.1 percent shooting) in the second half, winning 60-55. Both teams own
similar offensive and defensive numbers with the Wildcats owning more
depth on the perimeter but the Panthers owning more talent in the
frontcourt. Reynolds (15.2-2.9-3.4) and PG Redding (7.0-4.9-3.1) are
joined by swingman Anderson (8.8-6.0) in the starting lineup but it's
Villanova's pair of guards off the bench (Fisher at 10.8 PPG and Stokes at
9.6 PPG), who really make this team unique. The 6-8 Cunningham (16.3-7.4)
has had an excellent year but he may need more help vs the Panthers than
the 6-7 Clark (5.4-3. and the 6-8 Pena (5.4-4.3) are able to give him.
Fields (10.7-7.5 APG) and Dixon (8.5) are Pittsburgh's starting guards,
with Wanamaker (5.8-3.3) and freshman Gibbs (4.5) coming off the bench.
Pitt's 6-6 Young (18.9-6.2) and the 6-7 Blair (15.6-12.4) are special,
with the 6-8 Biggs (6.6-4.3) being the team's fifth starter. The team
other main contributor is 6-6 swingman Brown (5.3-3.2). Fields "saved the
day" late vs the Xavier (three-pointer and a breakaway layup) and after a
poor game vs East Tenn St, is back in form. Young's averaged 21.7 PPG in
Pitt's three tourney wins, while Blair has shot poorly the last two games
(8-of-23), after getting 27 points vs East Tenn St. However, Blair's
averaged 15.0 RPG in the three games. Cunningham (19.0-9.3) is playing as
well as Young but I think that both Young and Blair will be tough to stop
in this matchup. Redding has not been all that good so far, averaging 11.7
PPG in 'Nova's three tourney games, shooting 35.5 percent (including
4-of-15 on threes). These teams met just once this year, in Philadelphia
on Jan 28. The Wildcats won that game, outscoring the Panthers 41-26 in
the second half to overcome a 31-26 halftime deficit. Villanova played a
with a lot of emotion in that game, as it marked the final game played in
Philadelphia' famed Spectrum. The Spectrum opened in 1967 and was the home
for almost 30 years for the NBA's Sixers and NHL's Flyers. It hosted two
Final Fours (1976 and 1981, both won by Indiana) as well as what many
consider one of the best NCAA tournament games, the 1992 East Regional
final when Christian Laettner hit a turnaround from the top of the key at
the buzzer to give Duke a 104-103 victory over Kentucky. Villanova is
riding high off its wins over UCLA and Duke but I believe both of those
teams were overrated this year. The Wildcats had a great advantage playing
the Bruins in the Wachovia Center in Philadelphia, while the Blue Devils
shot an abysmal 26.7 percent from the floor, including 5-of-27 from
three-point range. Pitt's yet to play its "A-game" but I'm predicting
we'll see it here. In fact, I expect a 15-point win. NCAA Tourney GOY 20*
Pittsburgh.



NCAA Tourney GOY 20* on Pittsburgh.