Matt Freed, Post-Gazette Pitt heads into the Big East Conference tournament tonight with lot of excess baggage from late in the regular season. The thorniest problem is Carl Krauser's shooting slump. Click photo for larger image. More Coverage: Big East Tournament Notebook: Gray is most improved in Big East Paul Zeise's College Basketball Notebook: Slam dunk

NEW YORK -- Pitt coach Jamie Dixon can recite a laundry list of things that have contributed to the downfall of the Panthers in their losses this season. Sometimes, it was poor defense. Sometimes, it was turnovers. Other times, it was missed free throws. Many times, it was a combination of those things.

Invariably, there was one other constant in Pitt's losses: Carl Krauser.

When Krauser, Pitt's senior guard and leading scorer, had an off game the results usually weren't positive for the Panthers. Krauser shot 30.6 percent and averaged a little more than 11 points per game in Pitt's losses. He was 5 for 17 from the field against St. John's, 4 for 11 against Connecticut, 3 for 8 against Georgetown, 3 for 16 against West Virginia and 2 for 10 against Seton Hall.

The only time Krauser played well in a loss was when he was 6 for 13 and scored 18 points in the two-point loss at Marquette.

In Pitt victories, Krauser shot 44 percent and averaged 16.3 points per game.

Most of Krauser's poor shooting games have come late in the season. He is shooting 33 percent from the field in his past 10 games and 19 percent in the past two games (losses to West Virginia and Seton Hall).

Krauser won't shy away from a shot, especially in a crucial situation, just because the shots haven't been falling lately.

"I have no problem with my confidence," he said. "I'm from New York and, if you don't have confidence, you won't survive. I believe my next shot is going in. If that shot doesn't go in, I know the next one will. That's just how it is."

	Scouting Report Matchup: No. 15 Pitt (21-6) vs. Louisville (18-11), 9 p.m. today, Madison Square Garden, New York. TV, radio, Internet: ESPN, WPGB-FM (104.7), WBGG-AM (970), www.pittsburghpanthers.com. Pitt: Coming off 65-61 loss to Seton Hall. ... Lost three of its final four regular-season games. ... Playing a first-round game at the Big East tournament for the first time in five years. ... Won at Louisville, 61-57, in mid-January. ... Led by senior G Carl Krauser (15.3 ppg, 4.1 rpg, 4.6 apg) and junior C Aaron Gray (14.0 ppg, 10.4 rpg). Louisville: Coming off 84-80 loss at No. 1 Connecticut in the regular-season finale. ... 1-7 away from home in Big East play this season. ... Led by senior G Taquan Dean (16.3 ppg, 5.4 rpg), sophomore F Juan Palacios (10.7 ppg, 5.6 rpg) and junior G Brandon Jenkins (10.6 ppg, 3.8 rpg). Hidden stat: Pitt has lost four of its past five games at Madison Square Garden. The Panthers used to call the Garden their home away from home. They won 11 of 14 games from 2001-04.

If Pitt has any hope of making a deep run in the Big East tournament this week, Krauser will need to return to his early season form. The Panthers play Louisville at 9 p.m. today in a first-round game.

Opponents have been doing a better job of forcing Krauser into bad shots and bad decisions lately. When he drives to the basket, he attracts at least one defender to challenge his shot. Opponents also are cutting off his driving lanes and forcing him out of the lane, where he must take an off-balance fade away or make a difficult pass.

"Teams are doing a good job of double-teaming Carl and taking him away," junior center Aaron Gray said. "We have to do a better job of helping him out."

Pitt coach Jamie Dixon maintains Krauser played one of his better games in the 65-61 loss Friday to Seton Hall. Krauser was 2 for 10 from the field, scored nine points and had five turnovers. But he had 11 assists, including eight in the first half.

If Dixon is concerned with Krauser's late-season scoring slump, he's not saying so.

"He played so good the other day," Dixon said. "It doesn't have to be scoring. I've said all along that one of the best games of his career was the Rutgers game [when he had six points and six assists in 35 minutes]. He made good decisions and found guys. We'll have games where he doesn't have to score as much.

"You'll get asked the same questions, whether it's Kevin Pittsnogle or J.J. Redick. Those guys come back and have good games. Guys don't shoot the same percentage every game. They don't have their best game every night. It's part of the game."

Krauser and his teammates are looking forward to putting the regular season behind them. The mantra since the loss to Seton Hall has been start anew.

"It's another season now," Gray said. "We know where we stand. It's going to be a great challenge, a great test for our team."

Said Krauser: "We have not played our best game yet. That's still to come. The season is not over. We're disappointed with the way we finished the regular season, but we have a lot of season left. We have no wins and no losses. That's how we're going to look at it going into the Big East tournament."