Junior point guard Levance Fields is expected to return to practice today when the Panthers begin preparations for the Providence game Tuesday night at the Petersen Events Center. • Fields was cleared by team doctors Thursday afternoon to resume basketball activities. Fields, who fractured the fifth metatarsal in his left foot in a game Dec. 29 at Dayton, is not expected to play against Providence, but he could be aiming for a return Friday at Marquette. That was the target date Fields gave when he last spoke with reporters last month. • Fields was at Pitt's walk-through before the West Virginia game Thursday afternoon and shot free SEE FIELDS, PAGE C-4

throws with his teammates. He also ran on the treadmill for the first time after doing his previous cardiovascular exercises on an elliptical machine and stationary bike in order to protect his foot.

Dixon said after Pitt's 55-54 victory against West Virginia that the plan was for Fields to be at practice today after giving the players the day off yesterday. Dixon said it is up to Fields when he will return. The only issues holding him back will be pain tolerance and conditioning.

Fields might have given a glimpse of how close he is to returning to game action when he made a beeline from the bench to mob Ronald Ramon after he made the winning 3-pointer at the buzzer to beat West Virginia.

"We keep saying it's only a matter of time before No. 2 suits back up," senior guard Keith Benjamin said. "He's doing everything he needs to do to get back on the court. He's one of our biggest leaders still. He's still in the huddle, still in the locker room. He's doing his workouts. He's moving extremely well at this rate. I don't know how long it's been, but I'm pretty sure he's ahead of schedule of whatever they predicted."

Pitt's original timetable was for Fields to return by early March.

"The plan is for him to be out there [in practice]," Dixon said. "We'll see how it goes."

A healthy Fields would give Pitt a much-needed boost. The Panthers had played well without Fields for the first few games of the Big East schedule. They were 3-1 in conference play after beating Georgetown Jan. 14 at the Petersen Events Center.

Since that game, the Panthers are 3-3 and have been struggling on offense. They have averaged 63.5 points per game during that stretch and failed to reach 60 in three of those games. They scored 55 and 53 in their past two games.

Dixon felt like his starting guards -- Ramon and Benjamin -- were playing too many minutes in previous games and played freshman Brad Wanamaker for 23 minutes against the Mountaineers.

Wanamaker, who had scored 11 points in the first nine Big East game, was 3 for 4 from the field and had seven points against the Mountaineers. On a night when everyone else seemed to struggle, Wanamaker provided some much-needed offensive punch.

"Brad gave us seven big points that we really needed because we couldn't get anything going tonight," Benjamin said.

"I really wanted to get our minutes down," Dixon said. "I just think our guards especially are playing too many minutes. With our [injury] situation, it's just something that's happened. We got the minutes down a little bit, and Bradley was the key because he played well.

"He's a tough kid. He's competitive. He's had to make some adjustments. I was really riding him [Thursday] in the walk-through and film room, making sure he was ready. He's kind of a quiet kid, so I was trying to pump him up. I guess I'll have to try that again."

Pitt's victory vaulted the Panthers into a tie with Marquette for fifth in the Big East standings. The Panthers could own fifth by themselves by tonight if Notre Dame beats Marquette, and they are one game behind Connecticut and Louisville for third. The top four teams in the Big East receive first-round byes in the conference tournament next month.

"We're still in it," Benjamin said. "Four losses are not enough to be out of the hunt in the Big East. Anything can happen in the next few weeks. There are a couple of things we have to fix, and then everything will start turning for us. We're stopping a lot of people and what they're doing on offense. Once our offense gets rolling again, we're going to be pretty tough to stop."

Of course, when the offense gets rolling again could depend upon when Fields says he can play.