PITTSBURGH - Pittsburgh knew it would be penalized in the NCAA tournament draw for losing four of its last six games, including a second-round defeat to Villanova in the Big East tournament.

Still, the No. 22 Panthers (20-9) probably weren't ready for this - a No. 9 seed and a trip to distant Boise, Idaho, for a first-round game Thursday against No. 18 Pacific (26-3), rather than a projected No. 6 or 7 seed and a short journey to Cleveland.

The Panthers must get ready for some early morning basketball, too. The Pacific game will start at 12:40 p.m. EST, or 10:40 a.m. local time.

Of the six Big East teams to make the 65-team field, Pittsburgh is seeded the lowest, and is the only one that may have to beat a top-seeded team - in this case, Washington (27-5) - just to advance past the first weekend of play.

"I am disappointed because we are better than a ninth seed, but that's my opinion and I'm not on that (NCAA selection) committee and my opinion doesn't carry much weight," athletic director Jeff Long said Sunday night.

Pitt likely was penalized not only for a poor finish that included consecutive home-court losses to West Virginia and Connecticut, but for a weak pre-conference schedule that saw the Panthers leave Pennsylvania only once before early January.

"I think that's probably what the committee was looking at, but people have to realize that when you're playing in the Big East and ... with the way our conference is set up for TV with all of the top teams playing each other twice, we have a difficult schedule," Long said. "We also projected some (non-conference) teams would be better than what they turned out to be."

Pitt went 4-1 against Big East powers Boston College, Connecticut and Syracuse, but was beaten twice by West Virginia and was upset by Georgetown, St. John's and Bucknell.

That's why, given the Panthers' unaccustomed late-season struggles and four home-court losses, senior forward Chevon Troutman said they can't complain.

West Virginia and UCLA, coached by former Pitt coach Ben Howland, are in Pitt's region, but the Panthers can't play either team before the regional final. West Virginia is seeded seventh after winning three games in three days to reach the Big East tournament championship game. Pitt had played in the Big East final in the previous four seasons.

"Everybody's asking about West Virginia, but they deserve it because they swept us and went to the championship game," Troutman said. "We played our way into a No. 9 seed, so we've got to work from there."

A year ago, the Big East regular-season champion Panthers were upset with a No. 3 seed and a second-round game in Milwaukee against Wisconsin that effectively was a home game for the Badgers, yet they made it to the Round of 16 before losing to Oklahoma State.

This time, the Panthers likely will have to beat a top-seeded team just to reach the round of 16 - or, point guard Carl Krauser said, the kind of challenge these Panthers seem to like.

"It's going to be the same exact thing as last year, only this time we're going to go further," Krauser said. "We're not going to stop and quit, we're going to get past the Sweet 16 and the Elite 8 and just keep rolling."

Pacific (26-3), a team loaded with international players and junior college recruits, is 26-3 but had a 22-game winning streak ended with a 65-52 loss to Utah State in the Big West championship game Saturday night.

The trip to Boise also doesn't bother Krauser, who said playing there might prove less distracting than first-round sites Cleveland, Indianapolis or Charlotte, all of which are within driving distance of Pitt fans.

"I'd rather be in Idaho, away from everybody and playing tough basketball," Krauser said. "It's going to be a lot of fun."

Troutman agreed, saying, "We tend to thrive on playing higher-ranked teams than us, so we should be all right."

Even if the long trip may not be.

"We're going to have to pack up the station wagon," coach Jamie Dixon said.