Mar 15, 2007 4 min read

BUFFALO, N.Y. (AP) – The challenge for Pittsburgh is simple – forget that debacle in the Big East championship game and worry about another mid-major looking to wreak havoc in the NCAA tournament. Consider that 65-42 drubbing by Georgetown in the Big East final Saturday night a distant memory.

“We had a great practice today, fought hard against one another,” Antonio Graves said Wednesday. “That helped wash that loss out of our minds. These past couple of practices have really helped. We know it’s going to happen, that we’re going to have bad games. We’ve just got to look forward to the next game.”

For Pittsburgh (27-7), the third seed in the West Regional, that’s a first-round game against upstart Wright State (23-9) today. The Raiders, seeded 14th, are fresh from a 60-55 victory over Butler in the Horizon League championship game, which put them in the NCAA tournament for only the second time in school history and first time in 14 years.

“Our kids had an excellent last two months of the season and worked really hard,” Wright State head coach Brad Brownell said. “Things came together late, and I’m glad they did. Now we have our hands full.”

The Raiders have won 11 of their last 12 games, including two over Butler, the fifth seed in the Midwest. And so there is hope, especially against a team that hasn’t excelled in this tournament.

In 18 previous appearances, Pitt was ousted in the first round seven times. In the past six years, the Panthers have gone 71-25 in the Big East, averaging nearly 27 wins per season, and have been selected to play in the NCAA tournament each year. But they have not made it past the round of 16, and under head coach Jamie Dixon lost to Pacific in the first round two years ago and to Bradley in the second round a year ago.

“These upsets happen all the time,” 6-foot-10 Pitt forward Levon Kendall said. “It’s something we’re aware of. We’ve been in that situation before. But I think we have enough maturity on this team, enough experience, that guys are going to be ready for this game regardless of the seeding.

“We want to put that lump in the past,” Kendall said. “The media usually doesn’t give us a ton of praise. We have to get past that stage. We have the tools. Guys are prepared.”

Pitt will have to be prepared for one player in particular – Horizon League player of the year DaShaun Wood. The 5-11 senior guard from Detroit has scored in double figures 43 games in a row, is averaging 21.8 points over the past 10 games, and has scored 30 or more three times this season. He also has 124 assists, notching five or more 10 times.

“He averages about a third of their points,” Dixon said. “You can’t give him anything easy. They run a lot of things for him, we understand that and our guys know that.

“He’s going to get his shots up, so you want to make them as difficult as possible. But he’s very clever, as sound fundamentally as we’ve seen this year. He knows how to play without the ball.”

Pitt has a substantial size advantage, with six players 6-6 or taller. Wright State’s tallest player is 6-8 junior forward Jordan Pleiman, who hasn’t played more than 24 minutes in the past six games.

“We definitely like to use our size to our advantage,” said 7-foot center Aaron Graves, who was 1-of-13 against Georgetown and finished with a season-low three points. “We think that we have a little bit of a strength there. But there’s also times when we can go small when I go out of the game. It’s actually a strategy that a lot of teams have tried – go a little smaller.”

Wright State’s biggest hurdle just might be overcoming the awe of it all.

“This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for everybody that’s involved in this,” senior forward Drew Burleson said. “To get a police escort was really amazing. The coaches have devised a good game plan, and if we execute it I think we’ll have a chance.”