Matt Freed, Post-Gazette Antonio Graves is averaging 10.3 points per game this season. Click photo for larger image. Related coverage Pitt women cruise to another Big East victory, rout Villanova, 66-53 Ron Cook: Graves grows up before our eyes Scouting Report Matchup: No. 7 Pitt (20-3, 8-1) vs. West Virginia (18-4, 7-3), 7:30 p.m. today, WVU Coliseum, Morgantown, W.Va. TV, radio, Internet: FSN Pittsburgh, WWSW-FM (94.5), WBGG-AM (970), www.pittsburghpanthers.com. Pitt: Playing first game after an eight-day layoff. ... Has won three consecutive games. ... Led by senior C Aaron Gray (14.7 ppg, 10.2 rpg), junior G Mike Cook (10.7 ppg, 3.2 rpg) and senior G Antonio Graves (10.3 ppg, 2.1 rpg). ... Won two of three meetings against West Virginia last season, including a 68-57 win in the quarterfinals of Big East tournament. West Virginia: Coming off 81-70 victory at Seton Hall. ... Has won four in a row after losing three of four. ... Led by senior G/F Frank Young (14.5 ppg, 4.2 rpg), sophomore F Joe Alexander (12.7 ppg, 4.6 rpg), junior G Darris Nichols (10.2 ppg, 2.8 rpg) and freshman F Da'Sean Butler (10.0 ppg, 3.7 rpg). Hidden stat: This is the 172nd meeting between Pitt and West Virginia. West Virginia leads the series, 92-79. The Panthers are 11-8 against the Mountaineers since West Virginia joined the Big East (1995-96).

As conscientious teammates and leaders, the Pitt seniors do almost everything they can to get their freshman teammates acclimated to life in college basketball. They teach them how to practice, how to prepare for the opponent and how to act on and off the court.

But there are some things freshmen have to experience on their own. One of those is playing at the West Virginia Coliseum, specifically what transpires shortly after the national anthem.

That's when the West Virginia Mountaineer, the musket-wielding mascot who has spooked everyone from Connecticut coach Jim Calhoun to unsuspecting players across the Big East and beyond, fires his gun, a sonorous boom that can frighten the most-hardened athletes if they don't know it's coming.

"We like getting the freshmen," Pitt senior Levon Kendall said mischievously the other day. "We try to keep that hush-hush until we get down there. Then, we like to see the reaction of the faces of the freshmen when they shoot off that musket or whatever it is. It's part of the tradition. You have to get everyone used to that."

Playing West Virginia at the Coliseum is one of the most daunting experiences for any Big East team. And it's more than dealing with the mascot.

It's the lighting, or lack thereof, in the 36-year old building. "It's so dark in there for some reason," Pitt junior Keith Benjamin said. "I would call it a dull yellow [light]. It's hard to shoot in that gym."

It's the rowdy fans who spew venomous words from their courtside seats. "Their fans, almost always, are the most ruthless," Kendall said. "They have a really big student section. Everyone is right on top of you."

And there are other reasons, some harder to believe than others. Benjamin swears the Coliseum does not have a regulation size court. He claimed the court was "crooked" Monday. "There's something about that gym that just doesn't work for me," Benjamin said.

It works for West Virginia, though. Pitt has gained a large amount of publicity for its home-court advantage at the Petersen Events Center the past few years, but West Virginia has fewer losses at home than the Panthers since the beginning of the 2004-05 season.

The Mountaineers are 35-5 at the Coliseum since 2004 heading into the Backyard Brawl tonight against the No. 7 Panthers. In that same period, Pitt is 42-6 at the Petersen Events Center.

"If it's not the toughest place to play in the Big East, it's one of the toughest," Kendall said.

When in Morgantown, W.Va., the West Virginia Mountaineer spooks many across the Big East. Click photo for larger image.

West Virginia is 11-0 at home this season and is attempting to go undefeated at the Coliseum for the second time in school history. The Mountaineers were 15-0 at the Coliseum in 1981-82.

West Virginia has four home games remaining. After Pitt, they play host to UCLA, Seton Hall and Cincinnati.

History suggests Pitt will have its work cut out to earn a victory tonight. Pitt is 6-22 at the Coliseum since the building opened in 1970.

Only one Pitt coach has won more than once at the Coliseum. That was Ben Howland, who won twice in three attempts. Jamie Dixon is 1-2 there, the same record as Ralph Willard. Paul Evans was 1-3, Roy Chipman 0-4, Tim Grgurich 1-4 and Buzz Ridl 0-6.

Dixon didn't cite a crooked court or poor lighting for West Virginia's home-court success against the Panthers. He said the reason for the success is simple.

"They've been good," Dixon said. "The bottom line is they're good. The better teams have better home records. That's the most important thing."