The Big East Conference might be the most competitive league in the history of college basketball this season. Yesterday the preseason hype surrounding the number of upper-echelon teams got another stamp of approval.

A record seven Big East teams are ranked in the ESPN\USA Today top 25 and four are among the top 10. It's the first time in the history of the conference that four teams are in the top 10 of a national preseason poll.

Pitt begins the season ranked No. 6, the school's fourth-highest preseason ranking in that poll. The Panthers were No. 3 in the coaches' poll in 1987, No. 4 in 2003 and No. 5 in 2007.

"This goes back to five years ago when the new teams came in," Pitt coach Jamie Dixon said. "Everyone knew it was heading in this direction. The league was going to get better and better. This was predictable. When you put all of these good teams together it was going to happen. This is great for fans and everyone else except for the coaches."

North Carolina is the preseason No. 1 team. The Tar Heels received all 31 first-place votes.

The other Big East teams ranked in the poll are as follows: Connecticut is No. 2, Louisville No. 3, Notre Dame No. 9, Marquette No. 17, Georgetown No. 18 and Villanova No. 25.

NOTE -- Dixon said senior point guard Levance Fields will be held out of the exhibition game Sunday against Seton Hill. Fields is going to have an MRI Monday and will learn how soon he can return.