Blogs

· Officials for tonight’s game are Tom O’Neill, Pat Driscoll and Randy McCall. There are no changes to the starting lineup – Sam Young, Tyrell Biggs, DeJuan Blair, Jermaine Dixon and Levance Fields for Pitt; Dwayne Anderson, Shane Clark, Dante Cunningham, Scottie Reynolds and Reggie Redding for Villanova. · When No. 1 Pitt tips off with [...]

Here are some notes from Friday’s media day at TD Banknorth Garden in advance of No. 1 Pitt’s game with Villanova in the East Regional final at 7:05 p.m. on Saturday. • Villanova coach Jay Wright said the electric atmosphere first meeting between the two teams – at the sold-out Spectrum in the final collegiate [...]

• A van full of reporters went by the unofficial Pitt bar in Boston a couple of minutes ago. On the trip over from the media hotel (Copley Marriott) to the TD Banknorth Garden, the shuttle cruised past Johnnie’s on the Side on Portland Street near the arena. There are hundreds of blue and gold [...]

• Pitt held an open practice on Wednesday afternoon at TD Banknorth Garden to prepare for Thursday night’s game with No. 4 seed Xavier at 7:27 p.m. Pitt has won six in a row in Boston, including a pair of wins in the 2003 NCAA Tournament at the Fleet Center (same building, new name). • [...]

DAYTON, Ohio – Pitt scored 10 of the final 12 points of the game and beat Oklahoma State, 84-76, this afternoon in an East Region second round game. Sam Young scored a game-high 32 points, DeJuan Blair had 10 points and 12 rebounds and Levance Fields had 13 points and nine assists for the top-seeded [...]

*** With the Big East playing so well in the opening rounds of the tournament – Connecticut, Syracuse, Villanova and Louisville (and No. 1 seed Pitt in the second round) – talk in the media room at UD Arena turned to the chance of an all-Big East Final Four in Detroit. No one dismissed the [...]

If you thought Pitt’s nail-biter with East Tennesse State was almost an upset of epic stature, it was. First, as we all know, No. 1 seeds are 100-0 against No. 16 seeds since 1985, but Pitt’s 72-62 decision was the tightest first-round victory for a No. 1 seed in 12 years. The last time a [...]

• Any Pitt fans who are visiting Dayton and wondering how come it’s so difficult to get around certain parts of town, click on this link and you’ll understand. http://www.liveleak.com/view?i=338_1215270379 The Stewart Street Bridge is about half completed since the July 2008 demolition of the 96-year-old span. The bridge crossed the Great Miami River and [...]

Pitt coach Jamie Dixon is one of four finalists for the 2009 Naismith Men’s College Coach of the Year, the Atlanta Tipoff Club announced on Thursday. Other finalists are Jeff Capel of Oklahoma, Trent Johnson of LSU and Bill Self of Kansas. The winner will be announced in early April. Here are the past winners [...]

Seniors Sam Young and Levance Fields and sophomore DeJuan Blair were three of 15 players nationwide selected to the Sports Illustrated magazine All-America team. Blair was named to the First Team, Young got second team accolades and Fields earned third team honors. Pitt is the only program with three players on the Sports Illustrated All-America [...]