PITTSBURGH — Call it a not-so-sweet 16.

Pitt's basketball team has played in seven of the last eight Big East tournament finals, has been ranked in the Top 25 regularly since 2001-02 and has appeared in the last seven NCAA tournaments.

Then, almost magically each March, the Panthers seem to get stuck on the number 16.

It's only October, but the Panthers obviously had March on their minds when preseason practice began Friday.

The Panthers are getting tired of constantly making it to the NCAA round of 16 only to advance no further — it's happened five times in seven years — and this potentially could be the team that ends that jinx.

With three starters back from a team that went 27-10 and was playing as well as any in the country when the NCAA tournament started seven months ago, anything less than a trip to the round of eight would be a disappointment. Pitt hasn't advanced that far since 1974.

"It's cool to be getting a lot of attention, but we've been ranked pretty high before," point guard Levance Fields said. "It's based on who we have coming back, and we have some talented players. Sam Young is one of the best players in the country, but we're not going to get too overhyped."

That might be difficult considering Pitt returns its top three starters in Young (18.1 points per game), the MVP of the Big East tournament; 6-foot-7 sophomore DeJuan Blair (11.6 points, 9.1 rebounds) and Fields (11.9 points). Also back are end-of-season starter Gilbert Brown (6.5 points) and solid inside player Tyrell Biggs (5.4 points).

"When you have two or three big names, you're picked higher," said coach Jamie Dixon, who recently signed a contract extension through the 2015-16 season. "I don't know if we've had three guys (back) like this, but I'll take those three. They're pretty good."

Now, Dixon only needs to get them playing at the same time.

Fields, one of the Big East's most reliable point guards, missed seven weeks with a broken left foot last season and wasn't on the floor again Friday. He is out indefinitely following a second foot operation in less than a year, an August bone-graft procedure.

Dixon isn't ready to predict when Fields will be ready, and he said every practice missed by his senior is a setback.

The pre-Big East schedule looks to be easier than that of a year ago, with only three games outside Pittsburgh — Texas Tech and either Mississippi State or Washington State in Newark, N.J., and Florida State.

The nonconference home games also don't look very challenging, with visits by teams such as Belmont, Vermont, UMBC and Division II Indiana (Pa.).