Pittsburgh Panthers

1. No one recruits NY like Pitt. Pitt coaches regularly take trips to New York and hand out the majority of their scholarships to the best players they can find. On this year's team, five players are from the NYC area, including starters Levance Fields, Ronald Ramon and Keith Benjamin. No wonder Pitt plays so well at Madison Square Garden. Their record there since 2001 is 20-8. Isiah, eat your heart out.

2. Always a bridesmaid. Yeah, that's Pitt for sure. Pitt has appeared in several Big East championship games and has won only once. Things don't get much better when the NCAA tourney starts. If there's been any consistency in this program the last seven years, it's been Pitt's tendency to get to the dance and not advance past the first week. The latest disappointment/kick in the balls: former Pitt coach Ben Howland and UCLA sent the Panthers packing in the Sweet 16 on route to a Final Four appearance.

3. The beast of the Big East is a freshman and wears a Pitt jersey. Dejuan Blair, who played his high school ball in a gym just off campus, was third in the league in rebounding and fifth in steals. Blair took home Rookie of the Year honors in the conference as a 6'7" center. Feel free to refer to him as "The Grizzly Blair." — Pat Sehn