Jamie Dixon's goal is for Pitt to be in the top 10 of the NCAA in strength of schedule every season. The announcement Wednesday that Pitt and Tennessee will play in the DirecTV SEC/Big East Invitational Dec. 11 at the Consol Energy Center means a top 10 schedule is on the horizon again for the Panthers next season.

Pitt already had been scheduled to play in the Coaches Vs. Cancer Classic at Madison Square Garden in November with games against two of the following teams: Illinois, Maryland and Texas.

"Our strength of schedule has been in the top 10 in three of the last four years," Dixon said. "That's our goal. This game against Tennessee will help in that regard."

Tennessee has been one of the most consistent teams in the SEC the past decade. The Volunteers have made the NCAA tournament the past six years, including three Sweet 16s and an appearance in the Elite Eight in March.

Pitt is 1-3 all time against Tennessee, with the Volunteers winning the most recent game in 1998 in Knoxville, Tenn.

The Pitt-Tennessee game will be the second game of an SEC-Big East doubleheader. Rutgers will play Auburn in the first game. Former Robert Morris coach and Pittsburgh native Mike Rice is the head coach at Rutgers. ESPN will televise both games.

"The exciting thing for us was that the arena was able to line this up," Dixon said.

The first college basketball game at the Consol Energy Center is expected to be Pitt-Duquesne earlier in December.

In other Pitt scheduling news, the Coaches vs. Cancer Classic announced preliminary-round games for this year's event. Pitt will play host to two of the preliminary games at the Petersen Events Center. The first is Nov. 8 against Rhode Island and the second Nov. 10 against Illinois-Chicago.

The Rhode Island game will be Pitt's season opener. The Rams were 26-10 last season and played in the NIT.

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