TODAY in the TOURNAMENT PG Chat Live with Pitt basketball beat writer Ray Fittipaldo from the Big East tournament in New York. Chat starting at 1 p.m. today. Questions may be submitted as early as 6 a.m. HEAR & NOW Sports Listen in as Sports editor Jerry Micco talks about Pitt basketball and the Big East tournament, and Mark Roth examines the skill, science & psychology of foul shooting. Scouting report Matchup: No. 13 Pitt (25-6) vs. No. 18 Marquette (24-8), 9 p.m. today, Madison Square Garden, New York, N.Y. TV, radio, Internet: ESPN, WWSW-FM (94.5), WBGG-AM (970), www.pittsburghpanthers.com. Pitt: Has lost three of its past six games. ... Lost the regular-season finale at Marquette, 75-71. ... Attempting to reach the Big East title game for the sixth time in seven years. ... Led by senior C Aaron Gray (14.4 ppg, 10.1 rpg), junior G Mike Cook (10.4 ppg, 3.0 rpg) and sophomore G Levance Fields (9.6 ppg, 3.5 rpg). Marquette: Beat St. John's, 76-67, in a first-round game last night. ... Sophomore G Jerel McNeal did not play (thumb). ... Swept the season series from Pitt and has won three of four meetings dating to last season. ... Was the No. 4 seed last year and got knocked out in the quarterfinal round by Georgetown. ... Led by sophomore G Dominic James (14.9 ppg, 3.0 rpg) and sophomore G Wesley Matthews (12.5 ppg, 5.2 rpg). Hidden stat: Pitt did not win a game at the Big East tournament until 1987. The Panthers lost their opening-round games in 1983, '84, '85 and '86.

NEW YORK -- While DePaul and Villanova kicked off the Big East tournament yesterday afternoon, the Pitt basketball team went through a practice at Baruch College. Afterward, the Panthers had a team dinner and meetings before settling in to watch the final first-round game between Marquette and St. John's.

The Panthers have been preparing the past few days for both opponents. But above and beyond that, the Panthers spent plenty of time working on themselves in hopes that some introspection and attention to detail will help them get back to playing winning basketball.

For Pitt, winning basketball goes hand-in-hand with defense. But for much of its late-season slump, defense was a big part of the problem. After starting the regular season with 22 victories in the first 25 games, the Panthers finished 3-3 in the last six.

In each game, the opponent shot better than 40 percent from the field. In losses to Louisville, Georgetown and Marquette, the opponent made a combined 46.6 percent, which is not acceptable for a program that prides itself on defense.

"It's not that we're struggling for whole games," senior center Aaron Gray said. "We just have lapses. There are periods of time when we don't do what we should be doing. You have to do it every play."

Under Dixon, Pitt has played almost exclusively man-to-man defense. Only when the defense breaks down will Dixon switch to a zone defense. In the regular-season finale at Marquette, Pitt's man-to-man defense was being exploited, so Dixon switched to a 2-3 zone with his team trailing by 17 points in the second half.

After the switch, Marquette started missing outside shots and Pitt mounted a comeback. The Panthers trimmed their deficit to three with 20 seconds remaining before Marquette closed the game out at the free-throw line.

If things go as planned at the tournament this week, the Panthers would face the three opponents that beat them in the past month. Marquette and Louisville are in Pitt's bracket, and regular-season champion Georgetown awaits on the other side of the bracket.

Playing zone could be more of an option for Pitt, but Dixon did not sound overly enthused about going that route.

"We work on it every day," he said. "But we've been so successful winning the games we have with man-to-man defense. Our 3-point percentage defense, we're No. 1 in the conference. We played zone vs. Marquette the first time [in Pittsburgh] and they knocked down shots. It worked the other night. And we rebounded well out of it, too, which is a big key when you play zone.

"It's always there as something we can use."

While Pitt was the best in the conference at defending the 3-point shot, the Panthers were second in scoring defense (60.6 points per game) and sixth in field goal percentage defense (.414). Many of the problems in the final game at Marquette stemmed from giving up penetration, which led to easy baskets underneath or open shots on the perimeter.

"Our man-to-man defense has to get better," senior guard Antonio Graves said. "We have to tighten it up a little more. We have great defensive players who can stop them. We just have to do the little things."

Playing zone can take away penetration, but it leaves the Panthers susceptible to facing a hot-shooting team as well as giving up offensive rebounds.

"Coach Dixon will convene with us and ask what we think, but it's his decision," Gray said of the decision between man and zone. "I like the situation where I can stay close to the basket. Obviously, he's a great coach. Whatever decision he makes, we'll believe in him."

Traditionally, the team that plays the best defense in the tournament advances the furthest.

Last season, Pitt held its first three opponents to 35 percent or less before Syracuse shot 45 percent and beat the Panthers in the championship game.

"We've been to the Garden every year, to the championship game almost every year," Graves said.

"We definitely know that there is no turning back. We know what it takes. We have to take it one step at a time. We have to make the last game seem like our last. It's enough talk. We just have to go out there and do it."