With Pitt eyeing a No. 1 seed in the upcoming NCAABasketball Tournament, the thought that keeps running through my head is do the Panthers deserve it?

They way they have performed this season, the answer is yes.

Entering this week's Big East Tournament, the Panthers are 28-3, with all three of their losses coming in the rough-and-tumble conference, all close games, all on the road at Louisville, Villanova and Providence.

Pitt even knocked off the same No. 1 team twice, Connecticut, to become just the seventh program in history to pull off the feat.

Louisville, however, is the Big East Tournament's No. 1 seed because of the better conference mark, but that shouldn't matter as much since the games will be in New York City's Madison Square Garden.

Pitt has won the Big East Tournament twice this decade (2003, 2008), reached the championship game seven of the past eight years and won two regular-season crowns.

What concerns me is that Pitt has never broken through during the NCAATournament. They've never reached the Elite Eight since 1973, when the squad fell to a David Thompson-led North Carolina State team that won the national championship.

They've reached the Sweet 16 four of the past seven years but haven't gone deeper despite their success under former coach Ben Howland and current coach Jamie Dixon.

Then there's the 2005 and 2006 seasons — a 79-71 first-round upset to Pacific, then a 72-66 second-round loss to Bradley, respectively — that put a damper on those two seasons.

To be a No. 1 seed, you'll get a No. 8 or 9 seeded team, which can be a trap game. You may have a strong mid-major team to play — remember Kent State in the Sweet 16 in 2002? — or a strong program having an off season that can still be dangerous.

Once you reach the Sweet 16, you're staring at a majority of Top 20 programs, all capable of winning another game.

Yes, Pitt is battle tested, but the Panthers could be out early if sophomore center DeJuan Blair gets into foul trouble, maybe not in the first round, but after that. it could happen.

As a Pitt graduate, I guess I view the school from a different perspective. It seems every time the Panthers take a step forward, whether in football or basketball, they take a step or two back.

Strong season, then bowl game flops, even the Fiesta Bowl loss to Utah during the 2004 season. A national-TV drubbing, then last year's 3-0 loss to Oregon State in the Sun Bowl.

I guess I have a way to temper my enthusiasm: On my bracket, I never pick Pitt to go any deeper than the round of 16 so I'm not disappointed. If they go past that, then I'm thrilled and the bracket no longer matters as much.

The pieces seem to be in place for the Pitt basketball team, which worries me more. When expectations are very high, Pitt seems to falter. I hope I'm wrong this time, but I'm afraid I'm not.

A Final Four would be great, but I'd be happy with the Elite Eight. I think that will be just about right this year.