DENVER -- So much for the RPI conference ratings and Billy Packer's Selection Sunday rants.
The Big East, for at least one round, was the Beast of the 2008 NCAA Tournament. The conference, which matched its own record by sending eight teams to the tournament, set a new standard when seven teams survived the first round.
Joining Pitt as first-round winners, of course, were West Virginia, Georgetown, Louisville, Notre Dame, Marquette and Villanova.
Only a last-second shot by San Diego to beat Connecticut prevented the Big East from going a perfect 8-0.
"We were excited to get eight teams, and certainly, the first-round performance of our teams showed the overall strength of our league," Big East associate commissioner John Paquette said.
Four other conferences - the Big East in 1991, the Big Ten in 1994, the SEC in 1999 and the ACC in 2004 - have produced six first-round winners.
The Big East was the fifth-ranked conference in the final regular-season RPI ratings. It also sent eight teams to the tournament in 2006, going 5-3 in the first round and sending four teams to the Sweet Sixteen.
West Virginia, which upset second-seeded Duke on Saturday, already has secured the Big East at least one Sweet Sixteen bid.
Mile-high coverage
Denver can relate to Pittsburgh as far as being a football town. Just take a look at the news coverage. The lead story on the Friday night news was Broncos veteran kicker Jason Elam signing with the Atlanta Falcons. Yesterday's edition of the Rocky Mountain News had a nice feature on Pitt forward Sam Young on the sports front, but a huge Elam cutout dominated the section.
Mazzulla motors
Nobody on the Pitt men's basketball team - or anyone who spent a couple of evenings at the Greentree Sportsplex this summer - should be surprised with what West Virginia guard Joe Mazzulla did to Duke yesterday.
You will remember it was Mazzulla who won the MVP award at the Pro-Am Summer League in Greentree, playing brilliantly at times against Pitt, WVU and Robert Morris players, among others.
He had an up-and-down regular season - scoring 15 points and then no points in his two meetings against Pitt.
Yesterday, Mazzulla had 13 points, 11 rebounds and eight assists, prompting Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski to compare him to NBA star Jason Kidd
Repeat history?
Pitt was trying to accomplish the rare feat of reaching the Sweet Sixteen after winning four games in four days at a conference tournament. Since 1997, it has happened only once, Xavier in 2004. The Musketeers won the Atlantic 10 Tournament without a first-round bye and then beat Louisville, Mississippi State and Texas to reach the Elite Eight.
