Pitt Panther Prowl

Pitt-UConn: the new Georgetown-Syracuse

Since 2000, things in the Big East have been changing. I know, that is the understatement of the year given that in that time period, the Big East became this enormous 16 team power conference. But the changes are more subtle, yet more significant than that.

What we have witnessed in the past few years is a changing of the guard, so to speak, amongst the Big East elite.

While Georgetown’s return to power the past two seasons may not seem significant (in that the media treats it as though Georgetown had never stopped being a power team), consider that the last solid team they had featured Allen Iverson at point guard.

More significantly, we have seen two perennial powerhouses struggle in recent years, even considering both teams have won a national championship this decade. Since winning the national championship in the 2002-03 season, going 30-5 that year and having the most important college player of the year, Carmelo Anthony; Syracuse has declined all but one year, and finished the last two seasons 23-12 and 24-11 respectively. During those past two seasons, they missed the NCAA tournament one year, and were a lock to be left out the year before except for a gutsy win over Pitt in the Big East Championship. They are currently 15-7, and on pace for another year missing the NCAA tournament, while the future doesn’t necessarily look any brighter. Consider that since losing Anthony, their primary player has been Gerry MacNamera. I am not slamming Gerry Mac, but he can’t define a program like a Carmelo Anthony can. Since he graduated, the big name for the Orange is Eric Devendorf (who is now injured for the season). Jonny Flynn, a freshman, looks solid. But he is about the only bright spot on the team.

Likewise, since its last 1 seed in the NCAA tournament (2005-06), UConn has spent more time the last two seasons looking for an identity than living up to the one it had forged as THE class of the Big East. It is hard to believe that the same team that went 33-6, winning the National Championship in 2003-04; and that went 30-4, getting a 1 seed in 2005-06, could be the same team that finished 17-14 last year (6-10 in conference), and that is currently 15-5 (11-5 until this current hot streak). There is actually hope for UConn, considering their biggest problem has been players leaving for the NBA. They aren’t as likely as Syracuse to remain mediocre because [Coach] Jim Calhoun seems to have a knack for recruiting super-studs. This knack has also been his bane, however. If it wasn’t for guys like Rudy Gay bolting as soon as they hear on ESPN that they are a potential first rounder, UConn would still be the dominant team in the conference.

The most notable change since Y2K is the emergence of the Pitt-UConn rivalry. While this may not have gotten as much attention last year due to the off season for the Huskies, the fact that UConn and Pitt have been the most dominant teams in the conference the past 8 seasons has led to a media-created rivalry where the Pitt-UConn games always seem to have conference championship implications the way Georgetown-Syracuse used to and UConn-Syracuse did in recent years. Consider the following written by Colin Dunlap for the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette:

• Hidden stat: These are [sic] top two programs in the Big East Conference over the past seven seasons. Pitt is first (179-45 overall, 76-28 conference); Huskies second (167-60, 73-31).

The greatest factor in the development of this rivlary has been the dominance of Pitt, especially in the Big East tournament, since the end of the Ben Howland era and through the [much preferred] Jamie Dixon era. Pitt has played in the Big East Championship game 6 of the last 7 years. And UConn was their foe in three straight (2002-04). In fact, since 2001, Pitt and UConn have played 11 times, with UConn having a slight lead in the series (6-5), and all but 1 game being decided by 10 points or less. Of their six losses to UConn in that time, four have been by 4 or fewer points.

With a series that has been played this close, in a conference this tough, and the perennial implications of their match-ups (fighting for Big East regular season and tournament championships), it is no surprise that this game has become such a rivalry. It was, after all, that first Big East Championship lambasting of UConn that legitimized this program and gave us the annual hope that Pitt could be a contender nationally. On that point, Jamie Dixon has not let us down, keeping Pitt glued to the top of the Big East standings on a yearly basis, even as their company has been somewhat of a carousel in recent years.

While the Backyard Brawl will always be the big rivalry within the hearts of Pitt fans, there is no doubt that Pitt-UConn has become the game of most significance for determining conference domination. While UConn seemed to be down this year, they have won four straight, including an upset over then No. 8 Indiana. When it is all said and done, tomorrow’s (2/2/08) game against UConn could carry similar weight to years past. And much like years past, the winner of this game will be propelled into position to challenge [Georgetown] for the regular season crown, while the loser will almost certainly be out of the race.