Pittsburgh's Jermaine Dixon, center, goes up for a shot between Notre Dame's Luke Harangody, right, and Tory Jackson in the first half of an NCAA college basketball game in the quarterfinals of the Big East tournament, Thursday, March 11, 2010, in New York.

PITTSBURGH — Last season, Pittsburgh looked down its NCAA tournament bracket following a one-and-done Big East Conference tournament and saw ... Villanova.

This season, Pitt can look down its NCAA tournament bracket following a one-and-done Big East Conference tournament and can see ... Syracuse.

The top two seeded teams in the Big East tournament landed in the West Regional, with the Orange seeded first and Pitt at No. 3. Both teams were rewarded for their strong regular seasons rather than their quarterfinal exits in New York.

There's a lot of work ahead of Pittsburgh (24-8) before it reaches a possible rematch in the regional final with Syracuse — a team it defeated in early January — starting with Friday's game against Oakland (26-8) in Milwaukee.

But the thought of playing Syracuse (28-4) again — something that didn't happen in the Big East tournament — offers the Panthers plenty of motivation as they make their ninth consecutive NCAA tournament.

"You can't ignore it, but we're thinking about Oakland only and that's something we've got to get past," Pitt senior Jermaine Dixon said Sunday, not long after the Panthers gathered around a large-screen TV to watch the NCAA tournament selections.

Getting past the first game is something Pitt does better than most.

The Panthers have advanced to at least the second round in seven of the last eight tournaments — including last season, when Pitt nearly made the Final Four before Villanova's Scottie Reynolds devastated them in the closing seconds of the regional final with a length-of-the-court drive for the winning basket.

While this team lacks the star power that one did, with no DeJuan Blair or Sam Young to get an important basket when needed, these Panthers have more NCAA tournament experience than most teams. Pitt bounced back from its one-game showing in the Big East tournament last season by winning three games in the NCAA tournament, and nearly became the first Pitt team to win four games in the tournament.

If the Panthers get by Oakland, the Summit League champion, they would meet Big Ten tournament runner-up Minnesota (21-13) or Xavier (24-8) on Sunday. Pitt beat Xavier 60-55 in last year's round of 16. Win twice in Milwaukee, as the Panthers did when they were sent there in 2004, they could meet second-seeded Kansas State (26-7) in Salt Lake City on March 25.

"I think this team has a lot of what we had last year and maybe even more, possibly," forward Gilbert Brown said. "I really feel very confident in this team and our abilities. Just finishing near the top of the Big East proves we're capable of doing anything. We've got a favorable draw and we've just got to make the best of it."

Pitt hasn't faced Oakland since 2006-07, when the Panthers won 66-55 in an early season tournament.

This is one of the most unpredictable of the Panthers teams that have advanced to every NCAA tournament since 2002. They have beaten Syracuse, West Virginia and Villanova, yet lost to Indiana and barely got by Wofford. They also scored only 15 points in the first half against New Hampshire, and were held to a season-low 45 points in their Big East tournament loss to Notre Dame.