The Post-Gazette's Dan Majors will be blogging about the NCAA tournament, from the first tipoff to the final buzzer. E-mail Dan at postscript@post-gazette.com. Dan the Fan's earlier posts.

The clock runs out 3/22/07

	Matt Freed, Post-Gazette Pitt head coach Jamie Dixon leaves the court after the Panthers' season ended with a 64-55 loss to UCLA last night in the NCAA West Region semi finals. Click photo for larger image.

There are a lot more people in the pub now than there were when the contest started and a bunch of them are wearing Pittsburgh Zoo T-shirts, the emblematic apparel that no student hoops fan should be without. Cream-colored with a big orange basketball pictured on the front, they are the very symbol of fashion tonight in Oakland.

And they go great with jeans and a flannel shirt hanging loose.

It's 11:30 p.m. now, and seats here are scarce, which makes me think a lot of these students were back in their homes studying hard and only able to tear themselves away to join their friends for the second half of the game.

Maybe they should have stuck to the books. UCLA drains another 3-point shot and with 11 minutes left in the game, Pitt is down by 11 points.

You know, I'm rooting for Pitt -- in my own keep-it-in-the-blog way -- and I'm starting to feel bad for these fans. They are just dying for their Panthers to put together some kind of run, some kind of rally that would let them do some extended cheering. But every time Pitt hits a shot or two, that dastardly UCLA coach Ben Howland calls a timeout and takes the wind out of their sails.

Pitt guard Ronald Ramon hits a 3-point shot to trim the score to 44-37 and Howland is up to his old timeout tricks. A fan here in the tavern tries to get a chant of "Let's go Pitt" going, but I think Dan the Fan is the only one who noticed. His words are lost in a buzz of frustration that seems to fill the room.

A couple of people have noticed the guy sitting up at the front of the room watching the game, looking at them and typing on his laptop. Evidently, they haven't heard about Dan the Fan yet. Well, we're still kind of new at this. Maybe it'll catch on as Pitt advances further into the tournament.

Then again, we might have to wait until next season, because the Panthers simply don't seem to be able to cut their way into this deficit. Another timeout with just over seven minutes to play, and there's not doubt about the mood in the room. There's a pulse, but it's not what I would describe as vibrant.

It's probably a good thing that they serve alcohol here. Not that we want anyone to get drunk or anything. But sometimes ...

We're getting down to the six-minute mark and Pitt is still behind by nine points. Sure, that isn't insurmountable, but overcoming it is going to require two things that we haven't seen a lot of: (1) Scoring points and (2) stopping UCLA from scoring points.

The Panthers manage to put a dent into it, but a foul call at the other end of the court goes against them, bringing an outcry of outrage from the fans. The ensuing foul shots and another quick basket restore the Bruins' advantage to 10 points.

The evening isn't shaping up as many of these fans might have hoped, and the bloggers in the room -- uh, that would be me -- need to be conscious of projectiles being hurled in frustration. Not that there's been any evidence of that yet, but I'm not feeling a lot of love in the room right now.

Pitt's Levance Fields fires in a 3-point shot that makes the score 54-45 and sparks a cheer here, but it might be too little, too late. Ramon follows with one of his own and the score is 54-48. A deficit of six points with two minutes to play is enough to breathe life into a "Let's go Pitt" chant that lasts longer than previous attempts.

UCLA scores a couple of free throws, but then Fields rings in another trey, as they like to say, and suddenly this place is throbbing. It's a minute past midnight now and Pitt is still alive.

Or at least I thought they were until CBS announces their "Players of the Game," a tell-tale sign that the network has pretty much decided that this one is in the books.

The clock ticks down to a minute remaining and Pitt is down by five when UCLA's Michael Roll takes a hammer, a nail and a 3-point shot to the Panthers' coffin.

With 34 seconds left, the score is 58-51, and the television picture shows the forlorn faces of the Panthers players sitting on the bench.

We've now reached that interminable point in the basketball game when the losing team, in a desperate effort to scratch its way back into the match, starts fouling and calling timeouts. I know its the first thing they teach in Basketball 101, but as a fan, you have to hate it.

And the fans hate the final: UCLA wins, 64-55, to advance to a game against Kansas. The Panthers, once again, taste the sweetness of reaching the Sweet 16, but are denied the fruits of reaching the Final Four.

Oh well. Now these students won't have to have their weekend interrupted by the distraction of having to watch Pitt basketball on Saturday. They can focus on their studies.

Sizing up the first half, worrying into the second 3/22/07

During halftime, I have a chance to speak with a couple of the Pitt fans here. Michael Pettiford, 21, from Chesapeake, Va., and Renee Williams, 22, of Harrisburg. Michael is a senior majoring in chemical engineering at Pitt and Renee is a senior studying communication science and disorders. (I wonder if that means she can make heads or tails out of a blog.)

The two of them have been here since the start of the game and they remain hopeful for a Pitt victory, despite the Panthers' deficit.

"I think they'll be fine if they continue to defend well," Michael says.

Renee concurs saying, "They've just got to keep playing defense. And Aaron Gray needs to step up."

I point out that the rest of the room doesn't seem to share their optimism.

"That's something I've noticed about Pittsburgh fans," Michael says. "When their teams get down, they get down on their teams. They do it with the Penguins, the Pirates."

So they're confident Pitt will come back?

"Well," Renee says, "I think so. But I have UCLA winning on my bracket."

And so does Michael.

Of course, that's part of being a fan. You have to be loyal, but not to the point where you're blind to your team's shortcomings. And when you see them, aren't you somewhat obligated to point them out any way you can. Tell your buddies, write a letter to the sports editor, call in to a radio talk show.

You can't keep that expertise to yourself. In a way, that would be hurting your team.

The second half begins and the staff has switched the television channel to the high-definition. This is greatly appreciated by the crowd, which is very concerned with what they're seeing. I can tell because one young woman made the mistake of standing in one place in the front of the room just a little bit too long. Some of the guys in the back of the room gladly volunteered to suggest that she sit down or get out of the way.

You have to be mindful of when you move around this crowded room. It's like when you go to a comedy club. You have to pick just the right time to stand up and walk through the room.

Especially now. We're five minutes into the second half and the Panthers are still trailing the Bruins. This isn't sitting well with the faithful here in Oakland. I mean, it's not like they've been making plans for a parade down Forbes this season, but they still want their team to win.

Maybe the true Panthers have yet to step up.

The roar of the crowd 3/22/07

UCLA scores the first basket of the game and the Pitt fans here are already crest-fallen. Seriously, crests are literally drooping throughout Peter's Pub.

A responding basket by the Panthers, however, raises a roar of applause here.

Now this is interesting. I wonder if anyone has ever done a study on the need of fans to cheer and applaud even when the players whom they are rooting for are on the other side of the continent and couldn't possibly hear or be encouraged by their voices. And I know the refs can't hear the criticism being voiced.

Still, that's part of the fun of watching sporting events, I suppose. Frankly, it's probably for the best. I'd hate to think of these fans bottling up these thoughts and emotions. Better to just cut loose every time the Panthers score or the refs make a call for the Bruins.

Now that the Panthers fans are in full-throated full-throttle, I look around the room to see that many of them are sporting Pitt ballcaps and sweatshirts. They're not quite as fashion-conscious as Steelers fans are on game days, but they're showing their colors.

Face-painting isn't always appropriate. Sometimes, you have to just wear your heart on your sleeves.

As the Panthers commit one of their more egregious turnovers, I notice that the sweatshirts aren't the only things that are blue. Some of the opinions being expressed here tonight are rather colorful as well. Of course, there is a beer special going on, so you're going to have some of that.

UCLA opens an early lead and the fans start to vent a bit of frustration. Panthers center Aaron Gray seems to be an easy target, but that might be because he's so easy to see on the court. He's the big guy right there in the middle under the basket.

With six minutes left in the first half, a buddy of mine named Russ stops by the blogging station to say hi. Two things about Russ: one, he's an expert in electronics and, two, he's a regular here at Peter's Pub. Russ looks up at the television screen that I and the rest of the room are looking at and observes that the set is not tuned to the high-definition signal.

This is an outrage! No wonder Pitt is losing by five points. I express my anger along this point and Russ dutifully goes off to fetch Nick, the manager.

With any luck, we'll soon be seeing Pitt's comeback -- in high def!

Of course, there is always that moment of trepidation whenever someone steps anywhere near a television in a public place. "Hey, what do you think you're doing?! We're watching that!"

Meanwhile, despite the less-than-sharp image on the TV screen, I can see that Pitt has fallen eight points behind UCLA, and I notice that there are rumblings of grumblement here in the pub. Some fans seem to have lost their focus and are getting distracted by conversations and the "paper-rock-scissors" tournament that the tavern is hosting.

Well, it is a sports bar. And people love good competition.

At halftime, the competition between Pitt and UCLA might be described as good, but it would be even better if the Panthers weren't losing 32-26.

Panther mania time 3/22/07

The Pitt game, of course, is the late game, which is another point that favors the UCLA fan and his West Coast-bioclock over the Pittsburgh-based fan.

But the Panthers have been the late game every time they've taken the court, and it doesn't seem to have bothered them. It's bothered the newspaper reporters, photographers and the sports guys on the 11 o'clock newscasts aplenty, but the players themselves have managed to deal with it just fine.

As far as the fans are concerned, I couldn't say. The ones who make watching the Panthers' games as a social event are usually up for the duration, even if they run past midnight and wreak havoc with their mornings. But the Pitt fans who are home on their sofas watching the games on their own televisions might be nodding off during the second half for all I know.

The first game being played on the San Jose court pitted the mighty Kansas Jayhawks against the up-and-coming Salukis of Southern Illinois. It was a tight game going right down to the closing seconds, and the crowd at Peter's Pub seemed to be leaning toward -- if not actually rooting for -- Southern Illinois, in all likelihood because the winner of this game will face the winner of the Pitt-UCLA match. Kansas would be a more frightening foe, not only because they have such a storied history, but they also have awesome players.

Very often, sporting events come down to who has the most awesome players.

The first game ends with the Salukis coming an errant pass away from a desperation basket that would have tied the score and a chorus of disappointment groans its way through the tavern.

Best-case scenario: Pitt beats UCLA ... and faces Kansas.

Funny thing about these brackets. Every time your team wins, it means they have to play somebody even tougher. What's fair about that?

Well, we're minutes away from the Panthers' tipoff, and Peter's Pub is fairly filled with frat-boys -- and other students -- eager to root for their team. I might not be sitting with the fans in San Jose, but there's no doubt that I'm in the midst of Panthers mania.

Savoring the pregame buzz in Oakland 3/22/07

Let's say that the forces that be -- that is, the forces that be my bosses -- decided that it simply wasn't practical to send Dan the Fan to San Jose, Calif., to witness first-hand tonight's NCAA tournament game between the University of Pittsburgh and the favored Bruins of UCLA. If, God forbid, that were to happen, what would Dan the Fan do?

Why, the next-best thing, of course.

So, here I am setting up shop at Peter's Pub on Oakland Avenue in Oakland, where I hope to be surrounded by rabid Panthers fans, reporting on what ought to be a lively atmosphere with an intoxicating mix of enthusiasm and euphoria.

Oh, they have other intoxicating mixes here, but I won't be partaking in those, in order that I might bring you the straight, honest reporting that you've come to expect.

The Pitt game is a good couple of hours away when I arrive, but Peter's Pub is already hopping with the early NCAA tournament games, as well as a couple of television sets tuned to the Penguins-Islanders hockey game. Fox Sports Radio has just pulled the plug on its live broadcast from the front of the dining room, and I claim the space the DJs were occupying near the window. So far, business is brisk and I can feel the pregame buzz building.

Nick, one of the managers here, has told me that this is nothing yet. Wait until we get to 9 p.m., when the pub's upstairs banquet facility is turned over to a group of students from the Pitt law school.

Evidently, this gaggle of future lawyers has a regular Thursday night outing they call "the bar review," in which they break free of the studious restraints of learning law and gauge the recreational facilities of Oakland.

According to Alicia Robben, 24, of Cincinnati, a second-year law student, the turnout tonight is expected to number close to a hundred as the planets of partying and Pitt tournament basketball have perfectly aligned at Peter's Pub.

Hmm. I wonder how that last sentence made it through the Alliteration Police.

	Rebecca Droke, Post-Gazette
	The "Zoo", a student cheering group, turned up the volume for the Panthers tonight in their second round tournament game against the storied University of Tennessee in the second round of the NCAA Women's Basketball Tournament at the Petersen Events Center in Oakland.

This time the fans are for real 3/20/07

What a difference a day of giving away free tickets makes. The Petersen Events Center, home to tonight's second round of the NCAA women's college basketball tournament games, is much livelier than it was Sunday night, when the Panthers played James Madison University.

Of course, that might have more to do with the excitement that inherently builds when a team advances to the next round. Or it might have something to do with the Panthers' opponent -- the vaunted Volunteers of Tennessee.

Tennessee fans travel. And they aren't hard to spot, all dressed up in their citrus-splash orange shirts and their "Where does our team play when they're done beating this team?" attitude.

But I suppose that's what makes them great fans. They follow their team, they make an event of every outing, and they are loyal and vocal. They know all the words to "Rocky Top" and they aren't afraid to share them with you at the top of their lungs.

Tennessee won the opening tipoff tonight, but the Lady Panthers came out swinging and swatting, knocking the ball free from a Lady Vol, scrambling for the turnover, and hustling down the court for the first basket of the game.

A lead to remember
Pitt's women are beating the women from Tennessee. It may be 2-to-0 in the first minute, but it's real and no one can ever take it away from them. They can tell their grandchildren about it.

And so can the Pitt fans, who celebrate the moment with a righteous roar.

It's a very different vibe from what was vibing here Sunday night when a more subdued -- and less populated -- "crowd" politely clapped as the Lady Panthers put away the James Madison University Lady Troublemakers, or whatever they're called, to advance to this game.

Some might suggest that the Panthers fans were on the endangered species list Sunday night because they'd just been through a harrowing weekend of rooting the men's basketball team through two tournament victories in the Buffalo bracket. But that argument doesn't really hold NCAA-sponsor Dasani water. The Tennessee fans seemed more than capable of mastering the same level of multitasking as they made their presence known.

The University of Pittsburgh responded yesterday with the magnanimous offer of 300 free tickets, and that -- and the publicity that went with it -- has brought the Pitt fans out in force. You can hear it in the arena and, apparently, you can see it on the streets outside. I just got a cell phone call telling me that Post-Gazette sports chieftain Jerry Micco, in his car on Forbes Avenue, has been caught in a tangle of Oakland gridlock for more than an hour and still isn't here as the game nears the midpoint of the first half.

I see Steelers wide receiver Hines Ward and defensive back Deshea Townsend managed to make it here. They must know the back roads.

The Lady Vols, meanwhile, have been asserting themselves and built up a lopsided 24-11 lead, much of it due to the fact that they are scoring a whole lot more often than the Lady Panthers are. (And people say I don't understand the intricacies of modern sports.)

Fans are in the game
Yet, somehow, someway, the Panthers' fans are still in the game, chanting to the direction of the cheerleaders and the accompaniment of the Pitt band. One of the cynics seated near me on press row sneers that the support seems "forced," like the canned laughter heard during a weak sitcom. The only thing missing is the red "applause" light.

I wonder. Again, there's no denying that it's markedly different from the atmosphere here Sunday. In fact, when I was attending the first round, I was struck by the impression that women's college basketball fans were much more -- how shall I say this? -- "civilized" than those who paint their faces and make fools of themselves at the men's games.

Little did I know that it was just a matter of numbers. Tonight, with Panthers fans packing the house -- except for the uppermost section of rafter-region rows -- it's very different. I think the university was giving away more than tickets. These fans have been pumped up with complimentary Red Bull or some other energy drink.

With 6 minutes left in the first half, the Lady Panthers are putting up a little run of their own and PG Assistant Managing Editor for Sports Jerry Micco is just in time to see it. Poor guy.

I have to tell you, the Pitt women are giving this game everything they've got, but it's like there's no stopping Tennessee, which has stretched its lead to 15 points and, like the greedy gals that they are, are trying to score more. Selfish, really.

And that "Rocky Top" song. It's still the first half, and the Tennessee band has played it five times already. I guess once you learn how to play a song perfectly, you really don't want to play any other songs at all.

The first half ends with a shot by the Lady Panthers' Shavonte Zellous that amounts to what fans like to call "an airball," which Pitt center Marcedes Walker jumps up to grab. Unfortunately, Tennessee's Candace Parker has some physical interaction with Ms. Walker, who falls hard to the floor. After a minute or so, she is able to get up and limps off to the Pitt locker room to a supportive ovation from the fans.

At halftime the support doesn't waver
At halftime, the score is 40-24 in favor of Tennessee. Usually, a fan seeing this would think, "This isn't much of a game," but I don't get that sense here tonight. People seem to be giving the Pitt players a little benefit of the doubt.

I've been to a few Pitt women's basketball games over the years and always was a little disappointed by the fan turnout. Those who came seemed to be friends or relatives of the players. I've seen more people waiting for a table at the Fuel and Fuddle on a Friday night.

Tonight, however, they've turned out. It's probably the Lady Panthers' last game of the season, and the fans have come to give them a proper send-off.

Who knows, maybe they'll like what they see and come more often next season.

Positive notes
The second half begins on twin positive notes. First, Marcedes Walker is fine and ready to take her 6-foot-3 place on the court. Second, the Lady Panthers have decided not to roll over and rattled the rims for an 8-0 run, cutting the Tennessee lead to 40-32. This doesn't seem to sit well with Lady Vols coach Pat Summitt or the Tennessee faithful, who are standing at their seats with their arms folded and their mouths tight. There's a timeout on the court, and the Pitt fans are making so much noise that one of the sportswriters complains that he can no longer hear the referees' whistles.

I don't know. I kind of like it when the local fans have something to cheer.

Eventually, however, you had to figure that the Tennessee women were going to score more points. I mean, they aren't playing for Drake, for goodness sake.

But the Lady Panthers won't go away and the crowd is loving it. Marcedes elbows her claim to a tough rebound and is fouled on the other end of the court as she puts in a shot. The accompanying free throw makes the score 48-37, and the fans burst into screams of support.

The next timeout brings another round of "Rocky Top" -- the eighth of the evening -- and the Tennessee cheerleaders, along with their mascot. Pitt, of course, is represented by the majestic Panther, a rare beast of strength, speed and cunning, symbolic of the Pitt athletic heart and spirit.

Tennessee's mascot ain't nothing but a hound dog.

But I digress. There's more to describe here than just the costumed characters who try to get the fans pumped up. There's a game going on.

With 10 minutes left in the second half and the score 54-40, the referees call a foul against Pitt's Danielle Taylor and the fans really let the offending official hear it. You know, they can't teach this stuff to fans. It's instinctive. Good fans simply know when to give the refs the business.

I've also noticed that while these players are called the Lady Panthers and the Lady Vols, they aren't always ladies. They sweat like athletes and, when the calls go against them, they can cuss like sailors.

Frankly, I wouldn't have it any other way. You know, play like you mean it.

The fans certainly seem to appreciate it. I see that some of the Pitt fans brought signs to wave for the ESPN television cameras. Signs are a great touch, the perfect thing to have when your presence, your clothing, your clapping and your cheering simply aren't enough to get your message of support across.

Time out for a Dog Roll
And now, ladies and gentlemen, it's time for the Dog Roll, or whatever they call it, when the giant orange-tuxedoed Hound Dog that serves as the Tennessee mascot literally crawls the length of the basketball court atop rolling male cheerleaders. It's a wacky stunt that I have to admit to never having seen before, so I have to give them credit. And the fans -- even the Pitt fans -- seem to love it, responding with an appreciative round of laughter and applause.

Hey, up in the stands! Steelers center Greg Warren and kicker Jeff Reed, looking all off-season in his sweatshirt and spiky blond hair. You know, these guys are pro athletes and they're here enjoying a women's college basketball game. So who are the couch potatoes and barstool experts to say that this game is not worth their attention?

"Rocky Top," the official song of Tennessee timeouts, is blaring again, this for the 10th time. But there's only a little time left in the game, meaning my over-under of a dozen renditions is going to be real close.

Hanging in there for the Panthers
As the game winds down into the final minutes, I notice that the Pittsburgh fans are doing something very un-Pittsburgh like. They appear to be staying for the entire game.

No, seriously, this is strange. Pittsburghers don't stay for the last innings of baseball games, the last songs of concerts, or the last act of "Henry the Fifth." And they certainly don't stay for the last minutes of a blowout basketball game.

But here we are with 40 seconds left and Pitt down by 13 points, 66-53, and the people are still here. Marcedes Walker misses a free throw and a fan yells out, "That's OK, Marcedes." I can't imagine that happening at a men's game. Of course, not many men are named Marcedes. Not that many women, for that matter.

Time eventually runs out and the Lady Panthers fall, 68-54. The Pitt fans give them an ovation worthy of a season's hard work and a night of best effort. The Pitt program, however, is on a different level from that of the mighty Tennessee women's basketball team, and they have some serious catching up to do. Still, the Lady Panthers have nothing to be ashamed of and no apologies to make for what we saw tonight.

The fans break into a spontaneous chant of "Let's go Pitt" as the women leave the court and the players acknowledge them with waves.

We'll see them again next season.

White knuckle time: Pitt holds off VCU to edge out a 84-79 OT win 3/17/07

As the second half begins, it's become clear that the Virginia Commonwealth fans are here for the whole thing. They're not giving up and they're not going anywhere. Their band is blasting and the cheerleaders are still shining those toothy homecoming-parade smiles.

The Rams score the first basket of the second half and the fans cheer as strongly as if it tied the game up.

The truth, however, is that it makes the score 41-28, so their playes still have their work cut out for them.

Not that a 15-point deficit is insurmountable. Anyone who has watched much college basketball has seen it happen time and time again.

But right now, Pitt isn't showing any sign of slowing down. The Panthers are still hustling after loose balls and refusing to give ground to the speedy VCU guards who are buzzing around their ankles.

Five minutes into the second half and the Panthers still have their 15-point edge. and then forward Levon Kendall calls a play, takes a pass and drains a jump shot to extend the margin to 17.

Pitt's players, particularly their guards, are showing that they aren't about to get out-feistied by the more-publicized feistiness of VCU. And the Panthers' fans are cacophonous in their approval. I'll be the first one to tell you that they were rather muted during Pitt's game against Wright State the other night, and I'll be darned if I can tell you why. But tonight, the fans seem to be hitting their stride. Who knows, maybe they're a reflection of their team, echoing the enthusiasm that the players show, feeding off it somehow.

Or, maybe, it's the other way around. Perhaps the players get pumped when their fans are cheering and chanting, and it creates some kind of symbiotic cycle.

But that wouldn't explain why the adulation of the VCU fans has failed to rally the Rams.

Wait a tick. Could it be that talent wins out? And the Panthers are just more talented?

We'll have to see. At the 10-minute mark, the Rams' fans send out a strong chorus of "V-C-U! V-C-U!" and "Let's go, Rams!" And, sure enough, their team rings up a pair of baskets sandwiched around a Pitt turnover. The next thing you know, Pitt's lead has been whittled to 10 points, and after guard Mike Cook misses a jump shot, the Rams, despite their lack of size, rebound again -- in every sense of the word.

VCU guard Eric Maynor, the hero who hit the game-winning shot against Duke, makes two free throws and with less than seven minutes to play, the score is 58-50.

You know, earlier today I wrote something silly about preferring games that go down to the wire because they are so much more enjoyable to watch. Well, obviously, I had failed to have a good breakfast, because that's crazy talk. I'm from Pittsburgh and I'd like to see Pittsburgh win. This close-game stuff isn't any fun. I don't like butterflies in my stomach. And I don't like gnawing on my fingernails. I like putting my feet up and thinking about what restaurant I'm going to have dinner at.

Perhaps Pitt coach Jamie Dixon is like me in that regard. He is working the bench extra hard right now, substituting players and calling out encouragement. It seems to be having an effect because the Panthers have stopped the bleeding, so to speak. Mind you, they aren't rebuilding their lead, but they are back in the groove of trading baskets with their opponent.

The only trouble is that while the Panthers are hitting two-point shots, the Rams keep arcing in 3-pointers, and as the clock stops with 4:35 left in the game, the score is a sweat-producing 63-58.

The Panthers' biggest problem right now seems to be in-bounding the ball after VCU scores. The Rams defenders swarm and dart around the court, denying Pitt's players an opening.

With less than four minutes left, there's a timeout and some fan comes up from his seat and asks the reporters alongside of me if they know who won the Georgetown game. Armed with the appropriate knowledge, I turn in my seat and tell him that the Hoyas beat Boston College.

Then I realize my faux pas. The other reporters scowl at me, silently communicating that I have committed a foul of my own.

Now, fans are going to be coming up nonstop, asking us for scores and results from other games across the country.

Meanwhile, the score of this game continues to get tighter. Another Pitt turnover, another VCU basket, and Pitt's lead is down to three stinking points. This is NOT the way to San Jose! It's more like the way to the cardiac unit at the nearest Buffalo hospital.

Two minutes remaining, and the score is 67-64, and Pitt loses the handle on another ball. VCU grabs it and guard B.A. Walker's daring 3-point shot swishes through the nylon noose that has tightened around the Panthers' throats.

The timeout on the court might serve the players and the television network advertisers, but it feels like torture to me. And when Pitt, once again, fails to produce any points from its next opportunity, Virginia Commonwealth eases down the floor -- the frantic pace of their comeback now behind them -- and scores to take a lead of their own, 69-67.

Pitt answers with a score to tie it up, and this house is rocking. Then, after a fortuitous turnover for the Panthers, guard Levance Fields is fouled with two seconds left. He gets two chances at the free-throw line, misses them both, and as the buzzer bulldozes everyone into overtime, Fields rips off his headband in frustration and whips it into the crowd.

The fan who is closest to it cringes away from the sweaty souvenir. Can't say I blame him.

Have I mentioned that while the Panthers' fans are cheering their best, most of the people crowded into the arena seem to be pullling for VCU. It's really something to hear.

The overtime begins with Pitt winning the tipoff and taking the first lead. Then, after a VCU miscue, Pitt's Aaron Gray hits a free throw for a three-point lead.

Trouble is, VCU likes to score three points at a pop.

But sometimes, so does Pitt. Fields makes up for his missed free throws at the end of regulation by sweetly sinking a 3-pointer of his own to rebuild Pitt's advantage to four. A few moments later, Pitt guard Ronald Ramon nails one of his own, and Pitt is up 78-71 with 2:11 to go in overtime.

VCU calls timeout as it becomes clear that the tide has turned against them. The Pitt band blares its horns through the Panthers' fight song, and the Pitt fans roar out their loudest and strongest cheers of the night.

Still, VCU's players refuse to leave the court until the game is officially over, and their fans are right there with them. All they need is a turnover -- which Pitt dutifully provides -- and another basket and, with 33.5 seconds left in overtime, the score is 80-77.

Suddenly it occurs to me that one of my co-workers back in Pittsburgh is hosting a St. Patrick's Day party tonight back at his home in Mt. Lebanon. Too bad I have to be here, instead.

VCU has the ball and scores again. But, strangely enough, this is a layup, rather than a 3-pointer, and the score is 80-79.

Pitt's Mike Cook comes down the court and is fouled. The VCU fans are giving him the business, screaming as loud as they can to distract him, bellowing that there is no way he will make his two free throws.

He does, however, and with 6.6 seconds left, Pitt is up 82-79. There is a timeout and the Panthers cheerleaders set off a chorus of "Let's go, Pitt!" that their fans buy into with everything they've got.

VCU fails to capitalize on its possession and when Pitt's Sam Young converts his two free-throw opportunities, the game is out of the Rams' reach.

Final score, 84-79.

The Panthers are in the Sweet 16 and headed for California.

Whew!

Pitt leads Virginia Commonwealth, 41-26, at halftime 3/17/07

As a fan attending these games, I like to see close matchups that take the excitement down to the last seconds. (Nothing is more boring than something that's really boring.)

But when I'm sitting in the press row between the victorious underdog team and the vitriolic fans that are rooting for them, it can be kind of hairy.

On Thursday, my work station was right in front of the fans from Virginia Commonwealth. When the Rams stunned the heavily favored Duke Blue Devils, I was afraid I was going to get steamrolled in the midst of towel-swinging athletes and sign-waving supporters.

Today, it was the kids from Butler University and their boosters. Fortunately, the people in charge of HSBC Arena sent a big security fella to stand beside me. (It wasn't just to safeguard me, I'm sure, but I did appreciate it.)

The Pitt-Virginia Commonwealth game begins and it's evident that the Panthers' fans are, indeed, in town. They must have been having lunch somewhere during the first game. But as center Aaron Gray scores the first bucket of the contest, a Petersen-like roar goes up that reveals their numbers.

Maybe it's those cream-colored shirts the Pitt fans wear that makes them tend to blend right into the background. It's so muted and mild. A shade you might paint your bathroom, but not your game room.

The VCU fans are as loud and loquacious as they were the other day, and they're still being joined in their cheers by basketball-lovers who are here looking for an upset. I guess they want to be able to tell people "I was there when little Virginia Commonwealth advanced to the Sweet 16! What a tournament!"

Kind of like I do when I tell people that I was there in Pittsburgh when tiny Coppin State pulled the chairs out from under the favorites at the Mellon Arena.

At the first timeout, Pitt has an 11-9 lead and seems to be on its game. None of the nervous stumbling out of the starting blocks that we've seen other teams fall victim to. But that's just my impression. I overhear a much more experienced sports reporter sitting near me tell one of his colleagues "Pitt doesn't look good. They're in trouble today."

Next thing I know, the Panthers have scored two unanswered baskets and opened up a 16-11 lead.

Wait a second. I just noticed that one of the referees for this game is the thin-skinned guy who ejected a VCU fan from the game against Duke on Thursday. That could work in the Panthers' favor if he still remembers the way the Rams supporters were abusing him. I'll keep an eye on him.

I know one thing. As we come down to the 10-minute mark in the first half, there haven't been nearly as many foul calls as this crew whistled in the other game.

Suddenly, Sam Young has showed up, slamming home a righteous dunk and then rolling in a sweet layup, a one-two punch that pulls Pitt out to a 22-15 advantage!

You know, the toughest thing about blogging as a fan from the media row is that the reporters maintain a sense of professional objectivity during the contest. Maybe they reserve all their emotions for the stories they'll write later. But, as a fan, I'm used to letting the occasional "Hey, ref, what are you looking at? Don't you see him grabbing him!?"

I'm afraid that just isn't done here in the press box.

There's another timeout on the floor and Pitt coach Jamie Dixon and his assistants gather for a quick strategy session in front of the bench across from me. In the group is Brandon Knight, whom I encountered last night walking along a downtown Buffalo boulevard. I usually don't bother people in such situations, but I didn't think there was any harm in saying Hi and wishing him luck. He seemed friendly enough, and I was walking away, he called out to me, "You be careful tonight."

I guess he was worried that I might slip and fall on the snow-covered sidewalk. Nice of him, don't you think?

As play resumes, the ref I've been watching flags a Panther for traveling. So much for his holding a grudge against VCU.

Fortunately, the turnover doesn't hurt Pitt, and the men in the white uniforms storm to a 28-19 lead.

With 5:28 left in the first half, some of the Butler players emerge from the locker room in their street clothes -- after winning the earlier game against Maryland, 62-59 -- and take seats in the front row of the section where their fans are sitting. The players are greeted with cheers and high-fives by the crowd, but an arena security guard isn't quite as enthusiastic to see them. He congratulates them on their victory and then informs them that the row behind the press section is reserved for media overflow. This raises a muttering of boos from the fans until another security guard -- this one with a walkie-talkie -- jogs over and tells the other guard that it's OK for them to be there.

Once again, the Butler fans have something to cheer about.

As the players settle in to watch Pitt-VCU, it occurs to me that they're not really scouting Pitt or anything like that. In the old days of the NCAA Tournament, teams playing in the same arena for the first and second rounds would progress to square off against each other later on the same bracket. But that isn't the case anymore. Pitt, presuming they win this game, wouldn't encounter Butler until the Final Four.

All right, now things are getting interesting. With Pitt leading 34-22, the ref I've been watching just called a technical foul of some kind against VCU and is really getting the business from Rams coach Anthony Grant. There's a timeout called and I can see Grant and the ref eyeballing each other. Of course, I might be misreading things. It's not like college basketball coaches are ones to air their grievances at the men in striped shirts.

The next time down the court, the Pitt and VCU players start to get a little bit more physical, it seems I can hear them banging and slapping away at each other under the basket nearest to me, and the refs call a couple more fouls. At one point, after a particularly vicious encounter of impact, my favorite ref even tells the two players to shake hands before play resumes.

We approach halftime with Pitt's Mike Cook wobbling dizzily to the free-throw line after getting his bell rung to the floor. He makes one foul shot to give the Panthers a 39-26 lead, and then Antonio Graves puts in a shot for a halftime mark of 41-26.

The coaches, players and much of the media head for the locker room, but I've resolved to hang out here and watch the bands and the cheerleaders. I mean, someone has to do it.

Round Two begins in Buffalo 3/17/07

Yesterday was the off day for the tournament games being played here at the HSBC Arena in Buffalo, N.Y., and it was bitter cold. Even though it was the Friday night of a St. Patrick's Day weekend, there weren't many people milling about outside. When you did see someone, he or she was invariably bundled up beyond recognition and walking quickly, head down, to someplace, any place shielded from the blowing snow.

The result was that almost any ticket transactions that took place between fans whose teams had been eliminated in the first-round games and those suddenly inspired to see the second round were conducted in hotel lobbies or taverns.

Today, however, was different. The sun is shining and the sidewalks around the arena are crowded with people scalping tickets. I didn't have the opportunity to find out what they were going for, but it was probably a buyers' market. It looked like there were plenty of tickets available.

Uh, that would be Duke fans, I'm thinking, trying to cut their losses at one.

The first game today features fourth-seeded Maryland and fifth-seeded Butler. Big East powerhouse Pitt, which is seeded third, and upstart Virginia Commonwealth, the 11th-seed school out of the Colonial Athletic Association follows.

At tipoff of Game 1, I find myself seated in the courtside press row directly in front of the section for the Butler fans, a boisterous bunch in blue and white. The Maryland faithful are across the way, bedecked in bright red. Seeing how worked up these fans get makes it clear to me why the NCAA, in its wisdom, has arranged for supporters of opposing schools to be grouped together at diagonal opposites away from each other. That way, most of the action will continue to occur on the court.

As the first half of the Maryland-Butler game progresses, as I see that the Pitt section of fans is still pretty sparsely populated. In fact, it's the only seating section that is only about half-filled. The other seating areas are packed with either fans of the first teams playing or true college hoops lovers who wouldn't miss this excitement for anything.

I have to acknowledge that the Virginia Commonwealth contingent -- resplendent in their school's black-and-gold -- is out in force early. Perhaps it's because they traveled all the way from Richmond, Va., and they've figured they might as well watch all the basketball they can get. Besides, the ticket they bought entitles them to see both games; they might as well get their money's worth.

A lot of the fans are wearing green. I figure that's because it's St. Patrick's Day. Wright State, the only college here whose team color was green, didn't have that many fans, and most of them are long gone.

I don't know if it's because the games today are more important -- the winners advance to the storied Sweet 16 -- or because the fans are more into their teams, but the atmosphere today is significantly more charged than it was Thursday. These Butler fans are really worked up. I can't figure out who they hate more, Maryland or the refs. (Early returns suggest that the guys in stripes are the target of most of their wrath.)

As the first half of the game winds down, I think I'll make a trip to the souvenir stand. Besides, this is shaping up as an interesting contest. I'll blog more when it's time for the start of the Pitt game.

Dan the Fan's earlier posts