Lately for Pittsburgh sports teams the road to a championship goes through the city of Detroit. The Steelers won Super Bowl XL there in 2006 and the Penguins quest for the Stanley Cup ended against the Red Wings in the spring.

Now the Pitt Panthers have their sights set on the Motor City -- site of next year's Final Four.

"I have a picture of Detroit in my room," sophomore center DeJuan Blair said. "That's all I think about. We won the Big East last year. Now I want to win a national championship."

Pitt has plenty of motivation after the way last season ended. The Panthers won the Big East tournament championship with a stunning four-game run but were upset by Michigan State in the second round of the NCAA tournament, an all too familiar ending for a program that has been dominant in the Big East but disappointing in NCAA play.

The Panthers, with three starters returning from the squad that won 27 games, are fueled by that loss to the Spartans. For senior forward Sam Young it was all the motivation he needed to return for his final season instead of leaving early for the NBA.

"To be honest, I definitely didn't think that was going to be the end of the road for us," Young said of the loss to Michigan State. "I'm sure a lot of people didn't. For an upset like that to happen to us after we won the Big East championship ... I feel like we could have done so much more.

"For us to have basically the same team back for this season, it definitely was an inspiration for me to come back and to show people that we're one of the teams to beat, that we're the team we thought we were before we lost to Michigan State."

The Panthers begin the drive for Detroit on Friday when the first day of practice commences at the Petersen Events Center. Expectations have been high before for coach Jamie Dixon and his teams, but these Panthers might have the highest set of expectations of any team in school history.

Pitt is ranked No. 2 in the country by three preseason publications (ESPN.com, Slam Magazine and Blue Ribbon). The Panthers are No. 3 according to Lindy's and Rivals.com. Every major publication or Web site ranks them in the top 10.

The Associated Press and ESPN/USA Today coaches' poll won't come out until later this month, but Pitt could challenge its highest ever ranking in those polls. The Panthers were ranked No. 4 in the AP preseason poll in 1987 and again before the 2006-07 season. They were No. 4 in the coaches' poll before the 2003-04 season.

"We want to enjoy it," Blair said. "I'm taking it all in. You have to have fun with it. You have to live up to it and learn from it. We'll play a lot of tough games. But with the team we have, we can get everything done."

Blair and Young form one of the most fearsome frontcourts in the country. Young was named first-team all-Big East after leading the Panthers with 18.1 points per game, and he burst onto the national stage with some scintillating performances in the Big East tournament that earned him the tournament's Most Outstanding Player award.

Blair averaged 11.6 points and 9.1 rebounds per game and shared the Big East freshman of the year award with Syracuse's Jonny Flynn. He set the Pitt freshman record for games started (36), rebounds (337) and field goals (168).

The other returning starter is senior point guard Levance Fields, who sparked Pitt's late-season run last season after missing seven weeks with a foot injury. Fields is entering his fourth season as Pitt's starting point guard and is among the top at his position in the country.

"We can't get too caught up in the expectations," Fields said. "Since I've been here and before this program has been ranked high, been in the top 10 and has had some preseason hype. To be honest, this team is really focused on being at our best in March.

"Last year we were playing our best in March. We had a slugfest with Michigan State and couldn't get through it. But we found cohesiveness. Hopefully we can build on that and have a long stay in the NCAA tournament."

Over the last seven seasons Pitt has a Big East-best 81-33 record in conference play and has advanced to seven conference championship games in the last eight years.

But being Beast of the East has not translated into NCAA tournament success. The Panthers have not made it past the Sweet 16 since 1974. That is something this group of players would like to change.

"I think this team is really focused on what we have to do in the NCAA tournament," Fields said. "We've won a Big East regular-season title. Last year we won a Big East tournament championship. Everyone is back and a year older. We have everything in place we need. Now it's up to us to get it done."