The Pittsburgh Panthers enter the 2011 NCAA Tournament as the No. 1 seed in the Southeast Region.  This is the weakest region of them all in my opinion and in the minds of many other experts.  They should have a great chance to make a Final Four run.  Below, I will preview this team to give you a little more insight into the Panthers for your March Madness 2011 Bracket.

Looking at the NCAA tournament odds, Pittsburgh is listed at +800 to run the table and win the national title in 2011.

Schedule - Pittsburgh went 27-5 this season including a 15-3 mark in Big East play.  That was good enough for the Panthers to be crowned regular season champs in the toughest conference in the country.  Because of their tough schedule, the Panthers were able to accumulate nine wins against the RPI Top 50, including six against the Top 25. 

They went 12-2 in non-conference play which featured a nice win over Texas.  Pitt went 7-2 on the road and 3-2 at neutral sites, so they certainly know how to win away from home.  They must rebound quickly from an early exit in the Big East Tournament on a last-second shot from Kemba Walker as Connecticut upset the Panthers.

Offense/Defense - The Panthers came out of the gates hitting on all cylinders, offensively.  While they have slowed down, Pitt is still fully capable of scoring in bunches.

They have a similar look to the 2009 team where Landry Fields, Sam Young and DeJuan Blair were dominant.  Brad Wanamaker (11.9 ppg, 5.3 rpg, 5.2 apg) can score and distribute like Fields, Ashton Gibbs (16.4 ppg, 46.6% 3pt) is an excellent shooter like Young, and Nasir Robinson (9.0 ppg, 5.1 rpg) is a solid post scorer like Blair when given the touches.

The Panthers are scoring 74.0 points per game on 47.4 percent shooting this season.  They also shoot the three-pointer at an excellent 39 percent clip.  But, if Pitt is going to be a legitimate Final Four contender, then they must make their free throws.  The Panthers shoot a just 67.2 percent from the charity stripe this year. 

Another key is to get Robinson going.  In four regular season losses, he scored a combined 18 points and grabbed only 11 rebounds.  Robinson cannot be invisible inside.

Head coach Jamie Dixon’s bread and butter is his ability to coach up defense.  The Panthers play an intense, rotating, man-to-man style and did not allow a single opponent to score more than 66 points in a regular season game after January 8th.  Pitt allows just 61.0 points per game and limits opponents to 39.8 percent shooting, including 32.6 percent from three-point range.

Overall - As previously stated, Pitt has the easiest path to the Final Four of any No. 1 seed.  In fact, their toughest game may come in the Round of 32 when they have to face the winner of Old Dominion vs. Butler.  I certainly like their chances to get past either Kansas State, Belmont or Wisconsin in the Sweet 16. 

In the other half of the bracket, I don’t see No. 2 seed Florida or No. 3 seed BYU being able to knock off Pitt.  It would be a wise move to have the Panthers included in your Final Four predictions.

I want to take a chance to wish you good luck with your NCAA Tournament picks and hopefully you take down every pool you enter.