SEATTLE — Pitt and Montana will meet for the first time tonight in the first round of the Women's NCAA Tournament.
They've done their research and watched film, but the Big Sky-champion Grizzlies have never faced the third-best regular-season team in the Big East.
Yet the lack of familiarity shouldn't matter, both coaches said Friday, because at this point in the season, there's nothing a team can throw at an opponent that hasn't been already seen.
"Any time you get two teams from across the country and two different conferences going at each other, it's about who can better adjust to the style of play," said Pitt coach Agnus Berenato, who's Panthers face Montana at 8 tonight at Bank of America Arena in Seattle.
"We feel we're extremely prepared because in the Big East, there are 16 teams, and we have everything from a five-man motion, i.e. Villanova, to a really up-tempo, NBA-style team in Connecticut. And the 14 teams in between have a little bit of everything."
Robin Selvig, in his 31st year coaching Montana, agreed.
"I don't think either of us is probably going to face anything new," Selvig said. "You play 30 games; you pretty much run into every type of defense.
"We're not trying to do anything special or change. We won 28 games because we have a good basketball team, and I think we just want to do what we do well in this game."
For No. 4 seed Pitt (23-7), anything less than a return to the Sweet Sixteen will be considered a disappointment.
This is the Panthers' third trip to the Women's NCAA Tournament, and the goal all season has been to advance past the third round. As a No. 6 seed, they lost to No. 2 Stanford in the round of 16 in 2008.
No. 13 seed Montana (28-4) hopes to use the experience of a tournament trip last year to turn in a better performance than it did in a 75-47 first-round loss to No. 4 Vanderbilt.
This is Montana's 18th appearance in the Women's NCAA Tournament and its second consecutive. The Grizzlies knocked off No. 5 San Diego State as a No. 12 seed in 1995 but since have lost seven consecutive first-round games.
Montana has a reputation of playing zone defense, but Selvig said the school has played more man-to-man this season.
The Grizzlies will have to cope with Pitt's size -- The Panthers' starting lineup ranges from 5-foot-10 to 6-6, while Montana's ranges from 5-7 to 6-1.
"I think they're going to be the best rebounding team we've played this year," Selvig said. "That's been a focus for us in practice. They're athletic with really good size.
"They don't really have a weakness. They do everything pretty well. They're probably underrated defensively. But if I had to single out one thing, (rebounding) would be it."
Pitt is ranked seventh nationally in rebounding margin (plus-8.7 per game).
Montana ranks fifth in the nation in field-goal percentage defense at .344, and Selvig said the Grizzlies weren't too far off from that number after a tough nonconference schedule that included Big Ten, Pac-10 and ACC teams.
Montana's mentality heading into today, he said, is not to give up easy baskets.
"We've watched video, and there are teams that get after them and teams that don't," Selvig said. "It's just going to be: Can we physically match up and go."
