Davidson put the Southern Conference back on the map when the Wildcats advanced to three consecutive NCAA tournaments, capped by a magical run to the Elite Eight in 2008 behind the marvelous play of Stephen Curry.

Wofford University, Pitt's opponent tonight at the Petersen Events Center in the season opener, is also a member of the Southern Conference, but the Spartanburg, S.C., school has no name recognition. Mike Young, Wofford's eight-year head coach, is looking to change that.

After Wofford made school history last season by posting a winning record for the first time in 15 seasons as a member of Division I, Young is looking to take his team to the NCAA tournament for the first time.

With five starters returning, some of whom are among the best players in the Southern Conference, Young believes his team can be one of the 65 teams in the NCAA tournament field at season's end.

"It's as good a shot as we've had," said Young, whose team was picked to finish second behind the College of Charleston in the Southern Conference's South Division.

"There is not one team, or should we say one player, who will win the league this year. Davidson lost Boy Wonder [Curry]. I'm sure there are six or seven other teams out there like us who feel like they have a crack at it this year. We return a bunch of kids who have had some success. This season could turn out to be something special."

While Young hopes for a breakthrough, his expectations for his early non-conference schedule are not as high. In addition to Pitt, the Terriers play Georgia, Michigan State, Illinois and South Carolina this month and next.

Young has tested his teams similarly in the past. Last season, the Terriers lost to Dayton by three points and to Georgia by one in overtime. The Terriers also lost to Clemson by 53 points and to South Carolina by 17. In 2007, the Terriers won at Purdue. And in 2006, they won at Cincinnati.

"This year's schedule might be a little too ambitious on paper, but we've always held the belief that nothing will prepare us better for conference play," Young said. "It might seem insane to some, including my wife, but we think playing these games in November and December will help us going into our league schedule. We're going to see a number of great defensive schemes and offensive alignments."

After watching Wofford games from last season the past few days, Pitt players have come away impressed with the Terriers' level of play.

"They're a very good team," sophomore guard Ashton Gibbs said. "They have some shooters, some attackers, some good big men. They're very versatile. It will be a tough game for us. It's a different type of game. We have a lot of young players, and they're experienced."

This game materialized when Pitt associate head coach Tom Herrion contacted Young last spring about the Terriers playing the Panthers. Young and Herrion were rival coaches when Herrion was at Charleston from 2002-06.

While Pitt will be breaking in five new starters in the opener, Wofford will have five players who started a total of 113 games last season, led by Noah Dahlman and Junior Salters, who were named to the preseason all-conference team.

Dahlman, a 6-foot-6 forward, topped the Terriers in scoring last season with 17.8 points per game and was second on the team in rebounds with 6.4 per game.

"Dahlman is a throwback," Young said. "He's blue-collar. He won't wow you with his athleticism, but no one works harder. He has great hands. He has put together two very good years for us."

Salters, a 6-2-guard, was second on the team in scoring with 15 points per game and made a team-high 76 3-pointers.

"Salters is just a scorer," Young said. "He can score in bunches and he's a great shooter. He's more complete than he's ever been. He's a good basketball player."

This is the 16th consecutive season that Wofford has opened on the road. The Terriers have won only one of those previous 15 openers.

Pitt has won 12 consecutive season openers and 18 of 20 overall.

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