PHOENIX -- Xavier coach Sean Miller has been away from Pittsburgh almost his entire career, but he has never strayed too far from or lost touch with his alma mater, Pitt. That's why he has a much deeper appreciation for how good of a coach UCLA's Ben Howland is than most others in the profession.

Miller said he watched from afar as Howland rebuilt the Panthers into a perennial Big East Conference power during his time as head coach from 1999-03, and he admired not only the way he did it, but the way his teams bought into playing his team-first, defensive style.

"As a Pitt alum and someone who played basketball there, what he did at the University of Pittsburgh is nothing short of remarkable," Miller said yesterday in a news conference at the US Airways Center.

The Bruins (34-3) and Musketeers (30-6) will face each other at 6:40 p.m. today in the West Region final of the NCAA tournament with a trip to the Final Four on the line. The game certainly has a bit of Pittsburgh flavor as both coaches have ties to Pitt and their time there played an important role in getting them to their current situation.

Miller believes that Howland has done a remarkable job at UCLA -- he has led the Bruins to two consecutive Final Fours and is one game from a third -- but it pales in comparison to the job he did at Pitt because the program was reeling when he arrived.

"[Howland] put Pitt back on the map and took it to a level that, for me, is hard to believe," said Miller, who is from Blackhawk High School and is the son of legendary Cougars coach John Miller. "Make no mistake, when he left Northern Arizona and came to Pitt, that rebuilding job was immense and what he was able to do and how he did it, I think we're all very proud and respectful of it. That is how I got to know him and my respect for him is as big as it gets."

Howland was an unknown commodity when he was hired at Pitt in 1999. Ralph Willard had resigned late in the 1998-99 season and athletic director Steve Pederson picked Howland to be his successor.

At the time it was a choice that left many wondering because Howland was a West Coast guy who had very little ties to the Big East. Miller was one of those who didn't understand it, and he even questioned whether there was a genuine commitment by the school to be good in basketball again.

It turned out well, however, as Howland quickly turned around the program and took them to the Sweet 16 in 2002 and 2003 and also led them to the Big East tournament title in 2003, his final year at the school before he took over at UCLA.

"I thought the people at Pitt were confused," Miller said. "I wondered what they were thinking and how in the world that choice could be made. Not even from a negative standpoint as much as, you know, life in the Big East, you really have to be able to recruit the East Coast and have that familiarity. Obviously, that choice was one of the all-time great choices when you think about what that hire meant to Pitt and their basketball program."

Howland laughed about those humble beginnings and said that had it not been for Pederson and Pitt chancellor Mark Nordenberg taking a chance on him, he wouldn't be the head coach at what is considered one of the most prestigious coaching jobs in the country. He said he needed to spend those four years in the Big East because it prepared him to coach at the highest level.

"It was just an unbelievable blessing that [Pederson] hired me from Northern Arizona to come all the way to Pitt and the Big East," Howland said. "It is an incredible process how that happened, and it still amazes me. That's really how I had a chance to get this job because now I was in a major conference and we did really well. So I will always be thankful to [Pederson] along with Mark Nordenberg, who is also a good friend.