The previous time Pitt played in the Final Four the NCAA only invited eight teams to its tournament, which at the time was viewed as something only slightly more glorious than a postseason exhibition. The year was 1941, the tournament was 3 years old, and the Panthers had to win just once to reach the Final Four.
Now, 68 years later, in this tournament that has evolved into a grand sporting spectacle, Pitt is one victory away from reaching college basketball's biggest stage.
"I'm excited, nervous, anxious, ready ... everything you can think of," said senior point guard Levance Fields, who is playing in his fourth consecutive NCAA tournament. "But it's being anxious and nervous in a good way. I understand this is the chance. It's been four years knowing how hard it is and how much competition there is to get to this point. To have a chance is a blessing. I'm thankful for it."
In a rare matchup between conference foes in the NCAA tournament, No. 1 seed Pitt (31-4) will play No. 3 seed Villanova (29-7) in the East Region final at 7:05 p.m. today at TD Banknorth Garden. It's the first time since 2002 that two teams from the same conference will play in a region final and the first time since 1987 -- when Providence defeated Georgetown -- two teams from the Big East will compete for the right to go to the Final Four.
Several Pitt players yesterday expressed that the pressure had been relieved from their shoulders after beating No. 4 seed Xavier Thursday night. The Panthers, who have not played in an Elite Eight since 1974 and fell short in four previous Sweet 16 games, carried that burden with them into this tournament.
"We're intense and ready for this game," junior guard Jermaine Dixon said. "We finally got over that hump of not getting past the Sweet 16. We like what we've done. We feel good about it, but we're still not satisfied. We're still hungry. We want to win the national championship. We feel like this is the team that can do it."
In order to get that chance, Pitt first will have to exact revenge on a Villanova team that handed the Panthers one of their four losses earlier in the season.
Villanova beat Pitt, 67-57, Jan. 28 in the final college basketball game played at the Philadelphia Spectrum. The Wildcats, by virtue of that victory and a few others in recent years, own the psychological edge going into this game. They have defeated the Panthers four times in the past six meetings, including the previous two. Pitt has not beaten Villanova since January 2007.
In the most recent loss two months ago, Villanova's press hurt the Panthers. The Wildcats forced 17 turnovers and got Pitt's offense out of its rhythm. The 57 points Pitt scored in that game was a point shy of the season-low for the Panthers, who are averaging 77.3 per game overall.
Villanova junior guard Scottie Reynolds said that press the Wildcats implement is adaptive in nature and is not always used as a tool to create turnovers.
"Sometimes, we'll go all out and try to force turnovers and try to speed teams up," Reynolds said. "Sometimes, we like to run down the clock, so when they get over half court they don't have a chance to run their offense for a long period of time. That way, we don't have to be on defense as long in the half court. It's designed to fit whatever moment it is in the game."
Also factoring into that loss was foul trouble. Sophomore center DeJuan Blair played only 23 minutes. He had to sit for 10 minutes in the first half and quickly picked up third foul in the early stages of the second half. In addition to Blair, starting power forward Tyrell Biggs also got into foul trouble and played just 15 minutes.
"They were not smart plays on his part," Villanova coach Jay Wright said of Blair's fouls in that first game. "He has learned from that. It wasn't [Villanova center] Dante Cunningham going at him. He went for some steals. He was being overly aggressive when he didn't have to. We've watched a lot of other Pitt games preparing for other teams, and he's gotten much better at that. We're going to have to deal with him for 40 minutes, I think."
Blair's inside presence can be effective because Villanova does not have a powerful center who can match his strength on the blocks. Cunningham is 6 feet 8 and weights 230 pounds, but he is not an overly physical player.
"I can't get into foul trouble for my team to win," Blair said. "I have to be on the court. I'm more disciplined now. Everybody on my team, my family and my coaches keep saying, 'Stay out of foul trouble.' I have to be disciplined. I have to act like I have two fouls as my coach told me."
In addition to having Blair on the bench for long stretches of that game, the fouls helped the Wildcats get easy points from the free-throw line. They were 19 for 28 from the line, and their leading scorer, Reggie Redding, went 10 for 10.
"Our guards did a great job of penetrating and moving the ball around the court," Cunningham said. "Our guards did a great job of drawing fouls."
Scouting report
Pitt: Playing in the Elite Eight for the first time since 1974 after defeating No. 4 seed Xavier, 60-55, Thursday night. ... Trying to advance to the Final Four for the first time since 1941. ... Senior F Sam Young scored 19 points to lead Pitt against Xavier. ... Senior G Levance Fields made a 3-pointer with 50.9 seconds remaining to give the Panthers the lead for good. ... Lost at Villanova, 67-57, in the only game against the Wildcats in the regular season.
Villanova: Advanced to the Elite Eight for the second time in four seasons with a 77-54 thrashing Thursday night of Duke. ... Senior G Scottie Reynolds led the Wildcats with 16 points against the Blue Devils. ... Outscored Duke, 44-18, in the lane. ... Has won six of seven.
Hidden stat: Villanova is 10-4 in the NCAA tournament under coach Jay Wright. Three of those losses came to eventual champions of the tournament -- North Carolina (2005), Florida ('06) and Kansas ('08).
Now, 68 years later, in this tournament that has evolved into a grand sporting spectacle, Pitt is one victory away from reaching college basketball's biggest stage.
"I'm excited, nervous, anxious, ready ... everything you can think of," said senior point guard Levance Fields, who is playing in his fourth consecutive NCAA tournament. "But it's being anxious and nervous in a good way. I understand this is the chance. It's been four years knowing how hard it is and how much competition there is to get to this point. To have a chance is a blessing. I'm thankful for it."
In a rare matchup between conference foes in the NCAA tournament, No. 1 seed Pitt (31-4) will play No. 3 seed Villanova (29-7) in the East Region final at 7:05 p.m. today at TD Banknorth Garden. It's the first time since 2002 that two teams from the same conference will play in a region final and the first time since 1987 -- when Providence defeated Georgetown -- two teams from the Big East will compete for the right to go to the Final Four.
Several Pitt players yesterday expressed that the pressure had been relieved from their shoulders after beating No. 4 seed Xavier Thursday night. The Panthers, who have not played in an Elite Eight since 1974 and fell short in four previous Sweet 16 games, carried that burden with them into this tournament.
"We're intense and ready for this game," junior guard Jermaine Dixon said. "We finally got over that hump of not getting past the Sweet 16. We like what we've done. We feel good about it, but we're still not satisfied. We're still hungry. We want to win the national championship. We feel like this is the team that can do it."
In order to get that chance, Pitt first will have to exact revenge on a Villanova team that handed the Panthers one of their four losses earlier in the season.
Villanova beat Pitt, 67-57, Jan. 28 in the final college basketball game played at the Philadelphia Spectrum. The Wildcats, by virtue of that victory and a few others in recent years, own the psychological edge going into this game. They have defeated the Panthers four times in the past six meetings, including the previous two. Pitt has not beaten Villanova since January 2007.
In the most recent loss two months ago, Villanova's press hurt the Panthers. The Wildcats forced 17 turnovers and got Pitt's offense out of its rhythm. The 57 points Pitt scored in that game was a point shy of the season-low for the Panthers, who are averaging 77.3 per game overall.
Villanova junior guard Scottie Reynolds said that press the Wildcats implement is adaptive in nature and is not always used as a tool to create turnovers.
"Sometimes, we'll go all out and try to force turnovers and try to speed teams up," Reynolds said. "Sometimes, we like to run down the clock, so when they get over half court they don't have a chance to run their offense for a long period of time. That way, we don't have to be on defense as long in the half court. It's designed to fit whatever moment it is in the game."
Also factoring into that loss was foul trouble. Sophomore center DeJuan Blair played only 23 minutes. He had to sit for 10 minutes in the first half and quickly picked up third foul in the early stages of the second half. In addition to Blair, starting power forward Tyrell Biggs also got into foul trouble and played just 15 minutes.
"They were not smart plays on his part," Villanova coach Jay Wright said of Blair's fouls in that first game. "He has learned from that. It wasn't [Villanova center] Dante Cunningham going at him. He went for some steals. He was being overly aggressive when he didn't have to. We've watched a lot of other Pitt games preparing for other teams, and he's gotten much better at that. We're going to have to deal with him for 40 minutes, I think."
Blair's inside presence can be effective because Villanova does not have a powerful center who can match his strength on the blocks. Cunningham is 6 feet 8 and weights 230 pounds, but he is not an overly physical player.
"I can't get into foul trouble for my team to win," Blair said. "I have to be on the court. I'm more disciplined now. Everybody on my team, my family and my coaches keep saying, 'Stay out of foul trouble.' I have to be disciplined. I have to act like I have two fouls as my coach told me."
In addition to having Blair on the bench for long stretches of that game, the fouls helped the Wildcats get easy points from the free-throw line. They were 19 for 28 from the line, and their leading scorer, Reggie Redding, went 10 for 10.
"Our guards did a great job of penetrating and moving the ball around the court," Cunningham said. "Our guards did a great job of drawing fouls."
Scouting report
Pitt: Playing in the Elite Eight for the first time since 1974 after defeating No. 4 seed Xavier, 60-55, Thursday night. ... Trying to advance to the Final Four for the first time since 1941. ... Senior F Sam Young scored 19 points to lead Pitt against Xavier. ... Senior G Levance Fields made a 3-pointer with 50.9 seconds remaining to give the Panthers the lead for good. ... Lost at Villanova, 67-57, in the only game against the Wildcats in the regular season.
Villanova: Advanced to the Elite Eight for the second time in four seasons with a 77-54 thrashing Thursday night of Duke. ... Senior G Scottie Reynolds led the Wildcats with 16 points against the Blue Devils. ... Outscored Duke, 44-18, in the lane. ... Has won six of seven.
Hidden stat: Villanova is 10-4 in the NCAA tournament under coach Jay Wright. Three of those losses came to eventual champions of the tournament -- North Carolina (2005), Florida ('06) and Kansas ('08).
