The Pitt-Penn State basketball series could be going the way of the Pitt-Penn State football series: on hiatus.

	Pitt vs. PSU At a Glance Matchup: Pitt (6-0) vs. Penn State (4-2), 2 p.m. today, Petersen Events Center. TV/radio, Internet: FSN, WBGG-AM (970), WPGB-FM (104.5), www.pittsburghpanthers.com. Pitt: Coming off a 71-60 victory against Duquesne. ... Led by senior G Carl Krauser (16.7 ppg, 4.7 rpg, 3.2 apg), junior C Aaron Gray (13.7 ppg, 10.5 rpg) and sophomore G Ronald Ramon (7 ppg, 3 apg). ... Trying to go 7-0 for fourth consecutive season. ... Has held the past five opponents to 60 points or fewer. ... Has won the past four games in the series against Penn State by an average margin of 24.5 points per game. Penn State: Coming off a 75-71 victory against UMKC. ... Losses came against Clemson and Texas A&M. ... Led by Geary Claxton (15.7 ppg, 8.3 rpg), Jamelle Cornley (13 ppg, 4.2 rpg) and Travis Parker (10 ppg, 4.8 rpg). ... Reserve G Mike Walker made 5 of 8 3-point attempts against UMKC and is 10 for 23 from 3-point range. But the rest of the team is not very good from the perimeter. The Lions have made 25 of 85 3-point attempts (29.4 percent). ... G Ben Luber (8 ppg) is questionable with a shoulder injury. Hidden Stat: The first game in the Pitt-Penn State series took place March 5, 1906. Penn State won, 30-4.

Today's game at the Petersen Events Center is the final scheduled game in the century-old series. And although the two schools are talking about future games, scheduling conflicts could prevent the continuation of the game.

"We've talked about [playing again]," Penn State coach Ed DeChellis said. "One of the things has been a date. As I remember, they needed another home game next year and so do we. I'm not sure if we can do it. It's not that we don't want to. It's just a matter of both teams needing [home] games."

Penn State is Pitt's second-oldest rival on the basketball court. Today's game will be the 145th meeting. Only Pitt and West Virginia have played more times over the years.

Pitt coach Jamie Dixon said this week that he would like to continue the series.

"I think it's great," Dixon said of the rivalry. "I think it's the right thing for us. Other people bring up things, reasons not to play them, but I think we're doing the right thing by [trying to continue] it. If you do the right thing, over the long run it bodes well for your program and the university.

"You can't do it every year. There might be some breaks. But there have to be reasons not to do it. I think we've made our decisions based on the right reasons. We're going to continue to do things for the right reasons."

If there is not a game next season, it won't be the first time there was a break in the series. There were no games from 1983 through '91 and from '93 through '99. A six-game contract was signed in 2000. Penn State won that season, but the Panthers have won the past four by an average of 24.5 points per game.

"We would like to play local teams as well, but at the same time we have to do what's best for our situation," DeChellis said. "We're so centrally located in the state that all of the Division I schools have called us about playing. We have to do what makes sense for us.

"It's important for us to play as many home games as we can. You have to schedule games and win games at home."

DeChellis is the second coach of a local team in the past few weeks who is lukewarm at best when it comes to his desire to continue playing a series with Pitt. Before Pitt's game with Robert Morris last month, Colonials coach Mark Schmidt and athletic director Craig Coleman said they didn't know if it was best for their team to continue playing Pitt.

Which naturally brings up the question: Why is Pitt so intent on playing them if they're not all that interested anymore?

It's no secret that Robert Morris and recently Penn State drag down Pitt's Ratings Percentage Index, the overriding statistic the NCAA tournament committee looks at when choosing its at-large field for the NCAA tournament.

Dixon maintains there are a few reasons for continuing the series. He is a firm believer in playing local teams because it helps basketball state-wide and it cuts down on Pitt's travel during this fall semester, when players are preparing for final exams.

Dixon did not site this, but if you're Pitt, why take automatic wins off the schedule? The Panthers are 25-0 against Robert Morris and have won 14 of the past 20 meetings against the Nittany Lions.

"We're not traveling, not missing classes," Dixon said. "We like to have home games this time of year. No one misses more days in the spring semester than we do because of when our school sessions start. Most schools don't start as early in January as we do. We've had years when our kids have missed literally half of their classes. That does [factor into] our non-conference schedule.

"There's a right way and wrong way to do things. In the end if you continue to do things the right way, it's the best thing for your program and the university."

What that has meant for Pitt is an unchallenging schedule that is annually ripped by the national media and pointed to by the NCAA selection committee as reason not to seed Pitt higher.

To be fair, Pitt did attempt to upgrade its schedule some this season, but it turns out that the three high major teams they scheduled -- Auburn, South Carolina and Wisconsin -- are not ranked and are average or below average teams within their conferences.

So Pitt likely won't play a ranked team until mid-January, when the Panthers travel to Louisville.

"I think everybody on this team would love to play against ranked teams before the Big East," freshman Levance Fields said. "It's a situation that was dealt to us. I guess it was the situation after last year.

"We were going to be young, and they weren't sure what the deal was with Carl coming back. I think our schedule got set up a little differently. It's good for this team right now. When the time comes, we're going to be real good. We're going to be ready for [a harder schedule]."