Back on Track

Pitt lost a lot on Saturday: an undefeated record and a No. 1 ranking. But the Panthers didn't lose their confidence.

Back in the comforts of their own stadium, the Panthers handed Syracuse its second conference loss with a dominant second half. The two clubs, both of which you should expect to see for the second weekend in March, were closely matched for the first half, but Pitt pulled away after the break thanks to Sam Young's 19 second-half points.

I'm starting to detect a trend in the Big East: There isn't a clear-and-away favorite. And there won't be. Pitt emerged early after Georgetown went on the road and beat UConn. But then Pitt went on the road and lost to a very good Louisville. Then, Notre Dame goes and loses to St. John's on the road and after a few weeks of conference play, the Irish are 3-3. Heck, Louisville (4-0) and Marquette (5-0) are on top of the league. And I can't see Marquette, with its glaring weaknesses down low, or Louisville, with its rollercoaster inconsistency, staying .

(It's the same with the ACC, where Wake Forest, Duke and UNC are all pretty much equal. You could say the advantage in the early-going is Wake's because the Deacs are No. 1 and they beat UNC, but they haven't played Duke yet. And it's only January.)

So, we get Villanova at UConn on Wednesday. We've got WVU at Georgetown on Thursday. Oh, and then Saturday, UConn travels to South Bend for a tangle with the Irish.

What a conference.