When ESPN decided to feature Pitt and Binghamton as part of its 24 consecutive hours of college basketball coverage, the network believed it had scheduled a marquee non-conference game pitting an upstart mid-major against a national power.

But that was before Binghamton dismissed half of its team, placed its head coach on administrative leave and saw its athletic director leave.

The Binghamton team that will play Pitt at 5:30 p.m. today at the Petersen Events Center will resemble little of the team that won a school-record 23 games, earned an NCAA tournament berth for the first time and put an early scare into Duke in a first-round game last season.

The team that will play the Panthers in a nationally televised game on ESPN2 has only seven scholarship players and only three players who played on the team last season. The Bearcats have five freshmen and six walk-ons filling out their roster.

It's been a difficult couple of months for the Bearcats.

In September, star guard Emmanuel "Tiki" Mayben was arrested for possessing and selling cocaine. That started a domino effect inside the athletic department.

Five other players were dismissed from the squad for "not living up to the expectations of a student-athlete." Athletic director Joel Thirer resigned and head coach Kevin Broadus was placed on administrative leave for violating NCAA recruiting rules.

On Oct. 14, Mark Macon, a former star player at Temple, was named the interim coach. He must somehow patch together a competitive team knowing that his top returning scorer only averaged 4.4 points per game as a reserve last season.

Among the other players dismissed was D.J. Rivera, last year's leading scorer who averaged 20 points per game. Another dismissed player, Malik Alvins, averaged 11.5 points per game. Mayben also averaged 11.5 points and a team-leading 4.6 assists per game.

"You deal with the cards you're dealt," Macon said last night upon arriving in Pittsburgh for the game. "I just keep focused on the guys that I do have."

In their season opener Saturday, the Bearcats defeated Division II Bloomsburg, 54-49. Bloomsburg, which competes in the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference with teams such as Slippery Rock, Indiana and Edinboro, won only four games last season.

Macon expects his team to take some lumps, especially against teams such as Pitt. But he believes something positive will come from the circumstances the players were thrust into.

"There is always opportunity in adversity," Macon said. "There are always good things that come from facing adversity. If you press coal long enough you get a diamond. We'll go through our ups and downs. We'll try to get better. But we're always going to play hard and play to win."

Macon, 40, had no previous head coaching experience, but he has leaned on his mentor, former Temple coach John Chaney, as well as Broadus and others.

"It's great to have someone like Coach," Macon said of Chaney. "He always gave me great advice. The one thing he said was to have one voice on the team. The players need just one voice to listen to and that's the head coach. But I don't call him to talk basketball. I like to talk life with him even though it always turns to basketball."

NOTES -- Pitt was asked to take part in the inaugural ESPN event last year and declined. Coach Jamie Dixon said they agreed this season because the start time was better than what was offered last year. Still, there could be some empty seats because of the unusual starting time. "It's unique," Dixon said. "I think it's a good opportunity. It's something we're excited about. Once in a while, given the right time, it's a good thing. It will be interesting to see how it works with our crowd. I have no idea what will happen with our crowd." ... Senior guard Jermaine Dixon, who is rehabilitating from foot surgery in September, will miss the game today as well as the game Thursday against Eastern Kentucky. He will have another X-ray Friday to determine whether the damaged bone is sufficiently healed. ... The Mount Saint Mary's game will tip off at 4 p.m. Dec. 19.

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