In the latest edition of Sports Illustrated, Big East Conference players voted Pitt's Petersen Events Center as the toughest place in the league to play.

What? You're surprised?

If you've been paying attention, you know they're rewriting the rules of sports at Pitt, at least the one that says you can't guarantee the fans a win. A victory tomorrow against Seton Hall on senior night would give Pitt a 17-0 home record, its second undefeated season in its four years at the Petersen Center and its fourth in the 100 years of Pitt basketball. It also would improve Pitt's record to 65-5 in the new building.

That's as close to a sporting guarantee as you're going to find in this town.

The Pirates haven't had a winning home record in their five seasons at PNC Park. The Penguins haven't had a winning home season at Mellon Arena since 2000-01. The Pitt football program hasn't capitalized on its move to Heinz Field, going 23-9 in home games with notable crushing defeats against Notre Dame, Nebraska, Miami, West Virginia and South Florida. Not even the Steelers have played lights-out at home. They won the Super Bowl, but they went just 5-3 last season at Heinz Field. They're 32-12-1, including playoffs, with just one perfect season -- 8-0 in 2004 -- at the new stadium.

That makes Pitt's home success more astounding. If you count Pitt's final year at Fitzgerald Field House, it is 80-6 in home games since the start of the 2001-02 season. Is that good value for your entertainment dollars or what?

This truly is the Golden Age of Pitt basketball.

The victories didn't all come against the cupcakes Pitt likes to play on its non-conference schedule, either. Yes, it is 37-1 in non-conference games at the Petersen Center, the loss coming early last season to Bucknell, a defeat that seemed bad at the time but doesn't look nearly so bad now that Bucknell beat Kansas in the NCAA tournament last season and spent a week in the Top 25 this season. But it also is 27-4 in Big East games at the Petersen Center. The losses were to Georgetown, West Virginia and Connecticut last season and to Syracuse in overtime in 2003-04. That Syracuse loss snapped Pitt's 34-game winning streak to open the new building.

"When you're playing at home, you expect to win," Pitt coach Jamie Dixon said. "But maybe we have taken it to another level ...

"It's been great for the university. That's the thing that makes me most proud. People see our games on national television and hear the talk about the Petersen Events Center. They see the excitement. It gives our university an image of school pride and professionalism. That's great exposure for us."

The home games have become a valuable recruiting tool for Pitt. Everybody loves a winner. Pitt has sold all season tickets it has made available since it moved to the Petersen Center, almost 11,000 this season, prompting Dixon to say, "It's almost like our games have become an event." The building, packed and throbbing, makes for an impressive picture in person or on television. And it doesn't hurt when Dick Vitale gets on the air and starts screaming about the energy in the Oakland Zoo, as Pitt's student section is affectionately known. In that Sports Illustrated poll, the Big East players mentioned the "creativity" of the Zoo's more animated creatures as an intimidating factor in Pitt's success.

"Recruits definitely talk about it," Dixon said. "You bring them to a game, and they see the environment. It's good. It helps us a lot."

It's a nice thing Pitt has going.

The more it wins, the more excitement there is.

The more excitement there is, the better players it attracts.

The better players it attracts, the more it wins.

If only the Pirates, Penguins and Pitt football team could figure out the secret ...