For those new to the site, this is our fifth week of “The Student Section Supports”, where CHJ takes a look at one specific matchup that has the potential to either be a surprising upset or an extremely tight game between two evenly matched teams. Generally speaking, this segment will steer clear of the top, marquee matchups due to the fact that there will be plenty of press about those games anyway. So this week CHJ is breaking down a critical game between a hobbled Pitt team and a formerly hot/recently beaten Villanova squad.

When: Sunday, Noon ET.

PITTSBURGH (12-1): Will they smell blood in the water? Pittsburgh’s mission is to get through the Big East on the good side of a single-digit seed line now that starters Mike Cook and Levance Fields are likely done for the year (Cook definitely is). Some could argue the Panthers’ legitimacy as the 13th best team, according to AP voters, after Fields went down on Saturday night’s game in Dayton. Nevertheless, they get a road test against a Villanova team that will have had less than 48 hours to travel from Chicago to Philly and regroup off of the DePaul loss.

Could win because…They are out to prove they can win without Fields. That may not be the direct theme that they’re campaigning, but it’s essentially what they’re doing. Ronald Ramon is now handling the ball for Jamie Dixon’s squad (and that may make some Pitt fans wince), so his shot selection may be under greater scrutiny than it ever has been. Also, at their core, and at this point in the season, they are still the better team. Dixon’s had the ability to put his team in position to win seemingly crucial/critical conference games almost every team since he started coaching there.

Could lose because…They take Villanova for granted. Figure that this is a team that might not be all that good and really get sideswiped. And just consider how practice is going right now for Pitt: They are running sets with a different guy than they normally do, so perhaps things are still working themselves out.

VILLANOVA (10-2): They slipped up against DePaul on Thursday night, a road game that they apparently didn’t see coming on the schedule. Now, with a win, they could potentially knock out the Panthers from the Top 25, while saving their own stake amongst the nation’s best themselves. And yes, Jay Wright is the best-dressed coach in college basketball. We all know. Memo to announcers: The man-crush has been going on for too long.

Could win because…They can run and run well. Will Pitt have the bodies to keep up with Villanova? Scottie Reynolds is a fine player, but Dante Cunningham is their most valuable one. Though he only averages just over 11/game, he also grabs seven boards per contest and does a pretty good job of keeping opposing offenses honest in the paint. I don’t think a lot of people realize how critical Cunningham is to this team’s success. A big game for him on Saturday could very easily translate to a W.

Could lose because…Fatigue could come into play. For all of the talk I just mentioned about their running ability, will they have the fresh legs after such a short layoff? Jay Wright fluxes in a lot of guys, but there’s not a lot of quality to the fluxes; their bench isn’t as deep as he thinks it is. So ‘Nova has to watch themselves and make sure they don’t allow the DePaul loss to domino into something bigger.

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