The Pittsburgh Panthers men's basketball team certainly had the look of a No. 1 team while dismantling Georgetown on the road, 70-54, Saturday afternoon.
Monday, following losses by No. 2 Connecticut to those same Hoyas and Boston College's upset of No. 1 North Carolina Sunday night, the Panthers are officially on top of The Associated Press and USA Today/ESPN coaches poll for the first time in the school's 101 years of basketball history.
Whether that means this is the best squad the school has ever produced, however, is certainly up for debate.
Saturday's victory over Georgetown showcased everything Pittsburgh has going for itself this season.
Star center DeJuan Blair scored 20 points and pulled down 17 rebounds, completely stealing the spotlight from the Hoyas' freshman center Craig Monroe who reportedly had several NBA scouts watching him at the game.
Sam Young, who has lived up to his billing as one of the nation's top players this preseason, scored 14 points and pulled down eight rebounds while Levance Fields controlled the game from the point, dishing out eight assists.
Pittsburgh's bench also chipped in, outscoring Georgetown's, 14-2.
But just three days prior to the victory that moved Pittsburgh to 14-0 and left them as one of just four teams in Division I basketball with an undefeated record, the Panthers struggled through a six-point win at Rutgers.
Blair played only eight minutes due to foul trouble and scored just two points and had two rebounds, and Pittsburgh trailed for a good part of the second half.
This same inconsistency has haunted the Panthers during their renaissance period this decade. Despite going 203-51 over the past eight years, nearly winning 81 percent of its games, Pittsburgh has yet to advance past the Sweet 16.
Following its run to the Big East championship, no team was hotter than Pittsburgh entering the 2008 NCAA Tournament, prompting ESPN analyst and legendary coach Bob Knight to pick the Panthers as his NCAA champion. But Pittsburgh fell flat on its face, collapsing in the second half during a loss to Michigan State in the second round.
This season Pitt will have plenty of opportunities to test itself. Including the Panthers, nine Big East teams (Connecticut, Syracuse, Georgetown, Notre Dame, Marquette, Villanova, Louisville and West Virginia) are currently ranked in the USA Today/ESPN coaches top 25.
Some argue the strength of the Big East and the physical play that is a trademark of the conference will wear its teams out before the NCAA Tournament, but in the past 10 years Big East teams have won it all three times (Connecticut twice, in 2004 and 1999, and Syracuse in 2003).
To win the NCAA Tournament, Pittsburgh will have to beat six quality teams in consecutive games without a hiccup. Their Big East schedule will give the nation an idea whether the Panthers are capable of that. From Jan. 17 to Jan. 28 Pittsburgh plays four consecutive ranked teams within the Big East, with three of those games taking place on the road.
If Pittsburgh is able to develop the consistency its lacked in past years, but flashed momentarily in last year's Big East tournament, during that run the Panthers may find themselves No. 1 when it actually means something - in April.
Mike Boytim can be reached at mboytim@altoonamirror.com.
