In one month the selection committee will choose the 65-team field for the NCAA tournament. The committee will differentiate among the teams using several criteria.

The biggest factor selecting the 34 at-large teams is the Ratings Percentage Index, a complicated mathematical formula that measures a team's strength. Pitt, as of yesterday, was in good shape with an RPI of 16. Only Georgetown and Connecticut have better RPI numbers in the Big East.

One of the other factors the committee reviews is how a team finishes. The committee likes to look at a team's final 10 games at the end of the regular season to gauge what type of seed they will award in the tournament.

During its current six-year run of consecutive NCAA tournament appearances, Pitt has almost always had a good finishing stretch. If the Panthers hope to do the same this season they will have to negotiate a difficult remaining schedule that includes road games at Marquette, Notre Dame and Syracuse and a home game against Louisville.

The Panthers were 6-4 in their final 10 games last season and still received a favorable No. 3 seed. That was because Pitt finished No. 5 in the RPI and made a run to the Big East championship game.

Pitt's seed in 2006 was a little more controversial. The Panthers were 6-4 in their final 10 and received a No. 5 seed despite a respectable No. 10 ranking in the RPI.

In 2005, Pitt was 5-5 in the final 10 games and earned a No. 9 seed. The Panthers had an RPI rating of 54 that year.

The Panthers need to get on a hot streak if they want to impress the selection committee this season. They have eight regular-season games remaining and could play anywhere from one to four games at the Big East tournament.

Pitt has been mired in a win-lose, win-lose pattern the past three weeks. The Panthers would like to get some positive momentum going as they get closer to the postseason.

"We have to get better," Pitt coach Jamie Dixon said. "We don't feel as if we're playing as well as we could be. It's about who gets better in the last 10 games. I think we can be a team that continues to improve."

One thing the Panthers have going for them is the return of Levance Fields. The selection committee should be impressed by the fact Pitt played six week's worth of Big East games without two starters and won more games than it lost. The committee most certainly will take into account Fields' return and view that as a positive for the Panthers in the seeding process. But it won't be an automatic spike. The Panthers must play well when he returns.

Pitt players are more concerned with their seeding for the Big East tournament than the NCAAs. Senior guard Ronald Ramon said the players have not yet conceded the Big East regular-season championship.

Pitt is two and a half games behind first-place Georgetown and owns the tiebreaker over the Hoyas. The Panthers also play games against second-place Notre Dame and third-place Louisville in the coming weeks.

"[The remaining games] are big for us from the Big East point of view," Ramon said. "Four losses are not going to put you at the bottom of the Big East. A lot of teams are losing now. Every game is tough. These last few games, hopefully, will put us right on top where we can compete for the Big East regular-season championship."

Pitt can move to within a half game of fourth place with a victory against Providence tomorrow night. The top four teams in the conference receive first-round byes at the Big East tournament next month.

"These last games are real important," freshman guard Brad Wanamaker said. "We're trying to get a good spot in the Big East. We're really trying to get two wins in a row first of all. The rest will come."