Showdown in the steel city

The stakes were high last time UConn and Pitt squared off.

This time they're even higher.

With a win Saturday at Pittsburgh (noon, CBS), UConn clinches the Big East regular season title.

"I'm excited and [the team] should be excited," Calhoun said. "It's an opportunity to win a championship in one game, two hours, after all the practices, the long trips, the tough road games."

When the Panthers (27-3, 14-3 Big East) visited the XL Center on Feb. 16, they were ranked No. 4, as they are now. UConn (27-2, 15-2) was then ranked No. 1, the same ranking it currently holds.

In that game, Pittsburgh big man DeJuan Blair had his way with UConn's Hasheem Thabeet, as his 23 points and 22 rebounds powered the Panthers to a 76-68 victory and the No. 1 ranking in the following week's poll. Thabeet mustered just five points and four rebounds, and UConn fell to No. 4 in the polls. The 7-foot-3 center isn't overly concerned about the result of that Feb. 16 match-up, however.

"We're not really disappointed in ourselves because we lost last time [to Pittsburgh]," Thabeet said.

"We're working hard and we are ready to go over there and take on a new challenge."

From an individual standpoint, Thabeet - and Calhoun - chalked up Blair's dominance to the fact that Thabeet played just over half the game because of foul trouble.

"First of all," Callhoun said, "we need Hasheem to play more than 23 minutes."

"I was in foul trouble that game," Thabeet said. "This time around I need to go over there and play aggressive."

In addition to determining the winner of the game, the battle in the paint will go a long way in determining who wins Big East Player of the Year. At this point, Thabeet (13.6 points, 10.7 rebounds, 4.5 blocks) and Blair (15.9 points, 12.6 rebounds) seem to have distanced themselves from the pack. Naturally, that award isn't the first thing on Thabeet's mind.

"It isn't Hasheem Thabeet vs. Pittsburgh," he said. "It's UConn vs. Pittsburgh."

"I'm really not looking forward to talking about Big East Player of the Year," Thabeet continued. "All this talk will be for fans, media, writers. All I need to do is go over there and play ball."

At the same time, Thabeet would consider it an honor to take home the Player of the Year trophy.

"I work hard all the time; I believe in what I do," Thabeet said. "Even if I don't get it, I'd love if A.J. Price gets it or Jeff Adrien gets it."

Calhoun, on the other hand, was a bit more open to talking about the prospects of Thabeet possibly winning conference player of the year, an award that five former Huskies - Donyell Marshall, Ray Allen, Richard Hamilton, Caron Butler and Emeka Okafor - have won.

"To me, the game at noon and the game at 9 [p.m.] Saturday [Louisville vs. West Virginia] will be a big part in that," Calhoun said.

After defeating the Huskies on Feb. 16, Pitt's stint at No. 1 didn't last long. The Panthers suffered a 81-73 loss at unranked Providence just eight days later. Since then, Pitt has won two straight games, including a 90-75 blowout of No. 15 Marquette Wednesday night.

If the Huskies emerge victorious Saturday, they will claim the Big East regular season title outright and earn the No. 1 overall seed in the Big East tournament.

Pittsburgh currently owns the No. 3 seed and has no chance of earning the top seed in the conference playoffs. A victory over UConn would make Louisville (15-2) the champion, put Pitt in second place and the Huskies in third. If Louisville were to lose its final regular season game, Saturday at West Virignia, then all three teams would be in a three-way tie for first place.