Pitt's quickness worries Villanova

Pittsburgh had every right to consider this a rebuilding year after losing three vital cogs from last season's team, which could have gone to the Final Four had Scottie Reynolds not dashed to the basket and hit the shot for the ages that put Villanova there instead.

But the Panthers scoffed at such an idea.

Picked in the Big East preseason coaches' poll to finish ninth, they have carved out what has become for them a typical season - 20 wins and a legitimate shot at a double bye in the conference tournament.

Today, third-ranked Villanova gets its first chance to see the No. 19 Panthers in person, taking them on in a nationally televised game at the Petersen Events Center.

It's been an interesting run for Pitt (20-6, 9-4), which returned just four of the eight players who competed against the Wildcats (22-3, 11-2) in the 2009 NCAA East Regional championship game in Boston.

"I'm very impressed but not really surprised," Villanova coach Jay Wright said. "I know what their program is built on. Their program is not built on great individuals even though they had them last year. They developed and became great individuals on a great team. So you knew the guys that were coming behind them were learning the same things."

The Panthers lost two players - Sam Young (Memphis) and DeJuan Blair (San Antonio) - to the NBA, along with point guard Levance Fields. In their place came players who improved while waiting their turn, particularly guards Brad Wanamaker and Ashton Gibbs.

Wanamaker, a 6-foot-4 junior from Roman Catholic High, leads Pitt in assists (4.4) and is second in scoring (12.7 points) and rebounding (6.3). Gibbs, a 6-2 sophomore, tops the Panthers in scoring (16.2) and is No. 1 in the Big East with a 90.2 percent mark from the free-throw line.

Wright fears that if the Wildcats aren't careful, Pitt's two guards could have the same effect on today's game as Connecticut's duo of Kemba Walker and Jerome Dyson did Monday night, when the Huskies defeated his team, 84-75.

"I'm concerned about their overall team quickness and ability to control the basketball," he said. "Walker and Dyson did a great job of controlling the game from the guard spot. [The Panthers] have guys that can do that and really spread you out and control the tempo of the game."

The Panthers have done a good job with tempo as they showed in Thursday night's 58-51 win at Marquette. They lead the Big East in fewest points allowed (61.2 per game), while Villanova is the conference's highest-scoring team (85.0).

Another problem could be Villanova's lack of success in Pittsburgh. The Cats are 0-2 in the Pete, which opened in 2002, and lost their last four at Pitt's old home, Fitzgerald Field House, where they last won in 1996. Pitt owns a 14-1 home record this season.

Senior guard Reggie Redding said he still remembered the noise on the Wildcats' last trip, a 69-57 loss in 2008.

"It's not called the zoo for no reason," he said. "When you go there, you can expect anything. The last time we were there, we walked in and the student section was already in the gym. They were just heckling and heckling, saying whatever. You've got to be ready for that and try not to pay too much attention."

The Wildcats enter today's contest seeking to avoid their first back-to-back losses since Feb. 2 and 4, 2008, when they lost to Syracuse at the Wachovia Center and to St. Joseph's at the Palestra, respectively.

Nasir Robinson, a 6-5 sophomore forward from Chester High, also starts for the Panthers, averaging 6.7 points and 5.8 rebounds.