Panther Pride

In March Madness, there is a lot of hype surrounding No. 1 seeds. True, a No. 1 seed has won the championship seven out of the last ten years. In three of those years, however, one #2 seed (UConn, 2004) and two #3 seeds (Syracuse, 2003, and Florida, 2006 have brought home the title. Which lower-seeded squads are worthy of making a run to the Final Four?

Today, I'll profile a Big East team that always causes problems in my brackets. Today, this team secured the #3 seed in the West Region. Nicknamed the Panthers, they make their home in the city of Pittsburgh - which is a lot like Detroit, except with a competitive football team, and not as dependent on the American auto industry.

As a No. 1 seed in the 2009 NCAA Tournament, the Panthers lost to Villanova by two points in the Elite Eight. Over the last eight years, the University of Pittsburgh has made the Sweet Sixteen six times. A pretty good track record, except that Pitt never gets farther than the third round (except for last year). Pitt returns only one starter from last year, senior guard Jermaine Dixon (after losing DeJuan Blair (Spurs) and Sam Young (Grizzlies) to the NBA Draft). This year, the Panthers are led by guard Ashton Gibbs and assist-maker Brad Wannamaker. Over the years, Pitt has been known for its stifling defense and its average offense. This season is no different. The Panthers are averaging 68.8 points on offense and they allow 61.7 points per game. What's disconcerting is that the Panthers scored 77.4 points per game last year. The team's field goal percentage is also down, from 47.9% in 2009 to 44.7% in 2010. Can Pitt put enough points on the board to go far in the tourney? History says No. Defense alone can't win championships.

Coincidentally, Pittsburgh is the latest stop on the world tour of Charles' bottle opener. It's a feature I like to call "Where's the Chuckman's Bottle Opener?" If you're unfamiliar with how I stole my friend's beer cap remover, I simply took it out of his silverware drawer when I was helping him move into a new condo. I pilfered the bottle opener because it plays the Washington State fight song. Part of my reason for doing this is showing Charles all the places he could go if his heart desired. But mostly I hate that bottle opener.

Which reminds me...Washington State lost to Oregon in the opening round of the Pac-10 Tournament on Wednesday night, 82-80 in OT. The picture above (near the dilapidated steel mills of Pittsburgh) is dedicated to the Cougs' loss, and their terrible play in general. Mind you, Washington State got the No. 9 seed in the conference tourney only because USC is suspended from postseason play. Let's not forget that Wazzu is the worst team in the Pac-10 in both basketball and football. Let us never forget.

I'll go ahead and provide Charles' rebuke to my last statement: "At least Cougars aren't stealing laptops from frat boys" (in reference to the Duck's football team antics off the field). To which I would say, "I can't really judge Masoli's behavior too much...since I steal bottle openers from my friends."