The Pitt women's basketball team will find out tonight where its journey in the NCAA tournament will begin as the brackets are unveiled on ESPN at 7 p.m.

And the trip certainly will be a journey, because the Panthers are likely headed somewhere out of the region for their first- and second-round games.

Simply put, there just doesn't seem to be a logical venue close by -- say, within a reasonable drive of six hours.

The reason the Panthers' options are limited is that the NCAA women's tournament has returned to the 16-site first-round format, with four teams per site, after four seasons of having eight teams at eight sites. And that means there are a lot more teams playing host to the event -- and all of the host teams are guaranteed by NCAA rules to play at home if they make the tournament.

So for instance, Pitt can cross off the list any of the sites at Big East teams (Notre Dame, Connecticut, Rutgers) because they can't play teams from their conference until the Sweet 16. The Panthers can also forget about a trip to Maryland, because the Terps will be a No. 1 seed and Pitt will not fall to a No. 8 or No. 9.

The same can probably be said about Columbus, Ohio, as Ohio State is likely to be a No. 3 seed and Pitt is not likely to fall to a No. 6 seed. East Lansing, Mich., is also out because the Spartans will likely be a No. 9 or a No. 10 seed, meaning the other game at that site would have to involve a No. 1 or No. 2 seed.

So where does that leave the Panthers?

If they are going to stay on the East Coast, Duluth, Ga., is a wide open spot as there is no host team in the field, as is Bowling Green, Ky., though it seems as if Louisville or Tennessee might be shipped there. Unless the Vols are a No. 4 or No. 5 seed, neither could be a second-round opponent for the Panthers.

Pitt coach Agnus Berenato said she is resigned to the fact that the Panthers will likely be heading to the Midwest or even the West, but she's not concerned about anything other than getting her team ready to play their best basketball of the season.

"I'm almost positive we'll have to travel and that is fine, but I think it is a shame for our fans," Berenato said. "I'm not so much concerned with where we play, but how we play. ... We want a good seed and a good bracket with teams we match up well with.

"I mean, we could be hosting at the Petersen and if our first-round game is against Connecticut, well, I'm not sure we'd be jumping for joy about that."

The Panthers (23-7) are projected to be either a No. 4 or a No. 5 seed, which means they should have a relatively easy first-round game but will have to beat a quality team in the second round to repeat their feat from a year ago and make it to the Sweet 16.