FanHouse Levance Fields

BOSTON -- If you felt a shiver or tingle Saturday night, a quaking in your solar plexus, it's because you witnessed an epic basketball game, one of the virtuoso classics of March or any month. I mean, did Bill Raftery need oxygen afterward? This was destined to finish with the boldest, loudest exclamation point possible, given the 15 lead changes, palpable tension and Big East-style physicality in the building.

It was just a matter of who, what and when.

And then, in a magnificent flash, it happened. That the moment would belong to Scottie Reynolds, the embattled Villanova guard, made it grander. In enemy gyms, jerky kids with no lives actually chant, "Scottie doesn't know," which might be intended as a Euro Trip reference but almost certainly is meant as a savage reference to how Reynolds was put up for adoption as a baby by an 18-year-old single mother. He never has met the woman, although, with the urging of his adoptive parents, he has done investigative work and figured out who she is. He's waiting for a good time to call her.

BOSTON -- He looks like a chew toy, or something out of a puppet show. His dreads flop over a headband that would stand out more prominently if not for a midsection best described as doughy. His name is Levance Fields, and sometimes, he'll drive you to exasperation with reckless dribbling into traffic and corkscrew jumpshots heaved for no apparent purpose or reason.

BOSTON -- He looks like a chew toy, or something out of a puppet show. His dreads flop over a headband that would stand out more prominently if not for a midsection best described as doughy. His name is Levance Fields, and sometimes, he'll drive you to exasperation with reckless dribbling into traffic and corkscrew jumpshots heaved for no apparent purpose or reason.

This is a little bit of history, with even more possibly on the way.

For the first time since the NCAA tournament expanded to allow multiple bids from one conference in 1975, Pitt has a chance to play itself into the Final Four. And for the first time ever, the Panthers have won more than two games in the NCAA tournament. But Pitt, which last appeared in the Elite Eight with two wins in 1974, didn't make it easy.

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DeJuan Blair made this possible, of course. After a quiet, four-rebound first half, Pitt's monster in the middle went off and hauled in 13 boards in the second half as the Panthers stormed back from an eight-point deficit to advance to the Elite Eight.

But while it wouldn't and couldn't have happened without Blair, Levance Fields won this game in the final minute. There was the Bill Raftery "ONIONS!!" 3-pointer with a hand in his face that broke the tie with 50 seconds left. And then there was the steal-and-layup on the next possession that sealed it. That's a big-time player making big-time plays in a big-time game.

DAYTON, Ohio -- DeJuan Blair's arms are so humongous, he wears bicep bands, tiny strips of cloth stretched to the brink of snapping. At 6-foot-7 and 265 pounds, he could play tight end in the NFL or enter the Octagon, proving it Sunday when he shook off a furious collision that left Oklahoma State's Byron Eaton literally crying in pain on the bench. Levance Fields, too, could put on the big pads as a safety, absorbing a blindside pop in the chops and bouncing right back up. Sam Young? A 6-6, 220-pound wideout, no doubt, when he isn't listening to Go-Go music.

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DAYTON, Ohio -- DeJuan Blair's arms are so humongous, he wears bicep bands, tiny strips of cloth stretched to the brink of snapping. At 6-foot-7 and 265 pounds, he could play tight end in the NFL or enter the Octagon, proving it Sunday when he shook off a furious collision that left Oklahoma State's Byron Eaton literally crying in pain on the bench. Levance Fields, too, could put on the big pads as a safety, absorbing a blindside pop in the chops and bouncing right back up. Sam Young? A 6-6, 220-pound wideout, no doubt, when he isn't listening to Go-Go music.

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There were a few reasons why Pitt could feel confident going into the second half of Sunday's second-round game with Oklahoma State knotted at 49. DeJuan Blair only had three rebounds, one foul and one point. Sam Young was on fire with 23 first half points. Unlike the previous game, Pitt only had six turnovers. Finally, Oklahoma State had shot 63 percent for the first half (17-of-27, and nearly that on threes with 10-of-16), but were not in the lead.

While Sam Young was hot for Pitt, it was Levance Fields draining a three just before halftime to tie the game that killed Oklahoma State. The Cowboys had played a nearly perfect offensive half. They had completely limited DeJuan Blair from getting a chance at the ball -- even if they did not get him in foul trouble. Yet, they were only in a tie game.

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Unless you cheer when your boss gets a raise, growl "box out!" every time N.C. State's Derrick Whittenburg's slow arcing shot in N.C. State's mammoth 1983 upset lands in the hands of history, or still get angry wondering why Goliath's coaching staff didn't think to defend against the slingshot, then the last two years have been a rotten time for fans of the upset in college hoops.

Sure, there were a few dandies, like Virginia Commonwealth knocking off a Duke team so delicate you'd think it was made by Swarovski in 2007, Western Kentucky running to the Sweet 16 in 2008, and Davidson one-upping the Hilltoppers that same year. But for the most part, the last two tournaments have been like a comic book without the pictures.

Something has clearly been missing.

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The most beautiful thing about college basketball, the "madness" aside, is the collection of mini-runs that occur in a game as momentum shifts throughout. And the Pittsburgh-Louisville game had plenty of them, including a crucial late second-half 10-point stretch from the Cardinals that saw them pull ahead for the final time en route to beating the Panthers, 69-63.

It was a statement game for everyone involved from the Cardinal side, too: Earl Clark came out swinging in the second half, scoring 16 points and grabbing 11 boards on an evening that happened to be his 21st birthday; Terrence Williams solidified his status as team leader with a 20/7/4 line; Rick Pitino's press is suddenly very, very relevant again (at least until I bracket them into the Final Four in a few months).