The #13 Pitt men's basketball team will get started on its bid for a Big East Tournament championship on Thursday night when the third-seeded Panthers, 25-6 overall, 12-4 in the Big East, face the winner of the 6-11 game that pits Marquette against St. John's. That game will be the final contest in the opening day of the tournament, so Pitt will be the last team to find out their Thursday opponent.

"It's always awkward going in when you don't know who you're playing," Jamie Dixon said Monday, "so we'll do a little bit of preparation for both (St. John's and Marquette). But we've got to worry about ourselves.

"We've put ourselves in a good position when you look at things overall. But we feel that we can play better than we've played this year, so that's what we're trying to do."

In particular, the Panthers are looking to play better than they have recently, as they lost two of the final three regular season games and three of the final six, a stretch that included a blowout home loss to Louisville in one of Pitt's worst defeats of the past six years. But Dixon isn't worried about his team playing .500 basketball over the last six games.

"There's disappointment anytime you lose, but I think we've been so successful and so consistent over the years because we respond to it. We need to do that now.

...More... To continue reading this article you must be a member. Sign Up Now for a FREE Trial