No. 1 seed Pittsburgh and No. 3 seed Villanova could stage a Big East revival in the regional finals in Boston in two weeks. But both teams will have to work to make it happen.
Jamie Dixon's Panthers begin the tournament Friday in Dayton, Ohio, with a warmup against East Tennessee State. The Bucs rolled over Jacksonville in the Atlantic Sun tournament final with a power game. That won't work against Pitt. That sets up a second-round matchup against the winner of the 8-9 game between Oklahoma State and Tennessee. First-year Oklahoma State coach Travis Ford has the Cowboys running and gunning, and that should be enough to beat Tennessee. The same style will get stuffed by the Panthers.
In the other half of the Panthers' bracket, Florida State should be too much for a Wisconsin team that barely made the field (when is the last time a Big Ten team was a No. 12 seed?). The Seminoles should find Xavier waiting in the second round in Boise, Idaho, and that should be a battle. But the feeling here is that FSU is too athletic and will move on to Boston.
In the bottom half of the draw, Duke will begin its NCAA jaunt in Greensboro, N.C., by rolling over Binghamton, and should do the same against Minnesota or Texas, both of whom stumbled at the end of the season. But after that trouble awaits. UCLA, Virginia Commonwealth, and Villanova are all dangerous teams. UCLA has been spotty of late and VCU could give the Bruins problems. American will be no match for Villanova. The Wildcats, playing at home in Philadelphia, will have a huge edge in both rounds and should head north to Boston.
The regionals should be chalk, chalk, and more chalk. Pittsburgh is too talented and physical for Florida State. And while Duke must deal with Villanova, the Blue Devils will be in trouble if Wildcats coach Jay Wright comes up with a plan to cut off the Blue Devils' long-range shooters. Count on that happening.
That should leave Villanova and Pittsburgh in a Big East showdown. Villanova won a regular-season meeting in Philadelphia Jan. 28 (67-57), but not this time. The Panthers are bigger and better.
UPSET SPECIALS: VCU over UCLA, Minnesota over Texas
MOVING TO BOSTON: Villanova, Florida State, Pittsburgh, and Duke
REGIONAL CHAMP: Pittsburgh
TEAM TO WATCH: Duke. Which team will show up? The one that lost to Boston College, Clemson, and Wake Forest? The key to controlling the Blue Devils is stopping Kyle Singler, who does more than score. He makes the offense flow. If Duke is making its threes, not many teams, including Pitt and Villanova, will be able to beat the Blue Devils.
PLAYER TO WATCH: DeJuan Blair, Pittsburgh. Who can forget the battle he had with UConn's Hasheem Thabeet during the regular season? Blair is listed at 6 feet 7 inches, but he is a force to behold underneath. The key will be how the officials call the Panthers' games. If it's Big East style, Blair and his teammates will be tough to stop.
