Pitt sophomore forward, DeJuan Blair was at the very least going to test the NBA draft waters. Most mock drafts have Blair being drafted mid-way in the first round despite being a 6-7 power forward.
Blair has decided that he will not even pretend that there is a chance that he will come back to Pitt. He has retained an attorney to help him, though he has not hired an NBA-certified agent as of yet. The hiring of an attorney, though, means that Blair has surrendered his remaining eligibility. He has a press conference scheduled for later this afternoon to make an official statement.
Scottie Reynolds has hit a lot of shots for Villanova, but never, ever, ever one quite like this.
Ladies and gentlemen, we may have just witnessed the last Big East game of the 2008-09 season. If Louisville wins Sunday and Villanova wins again next Saturday, we get two more, but there's no guarantee. It's possible that this down-to-the-last-half-second classic, in which Villanova beat top-seeded Pitt to reach the Final Four, was the last game of the year between Big East teams.
Update: Blair is wearing the bands during the Panthers' Elite Eight game against Villanova. The earlier report from the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review said the bands would be banned if there wasn't a medical reason for their use. So we can only assume Blair has some ailment solved by the medical treatment of looking like a bad ass.
In the first half of Pitt's win over Xavier, DeJuan Blair had been held to only two points and four rebounds in the first half. When Pitt came out for the second half against Xavier, Blair was lacking the bands that he has had around each bicep all year long. Blair subsequently had a big second half, grabbing 13 more rebounds and adding eight more points, meaning yet another double-double.
He did not shed the arm bands to change his luck, though. The NCAA made him shed them.
Well, you don't have to look too hard to get the point of this night in NCAA Tournament history. The Big East won three of the four Sweet 16 games played tonight -- two of them easily. At this very moment, it's pretty hard to like Oklahoma's or Arizona's chances on Friday night, or Missouri's on Saturday. The Big East is flexing muscles, baring fangs, dropping its collective shoulder and knocking down all of college basketball on its way to history's hoop. The conference is guaranteed one Final Four entrant (either Villanova or Pitt will make it) and still has a chance to grab all four spots. Only one conference has ever had as many as three in the Final Four and that was...yeah. The Big East. In 1985.
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.
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.
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.
"I love money, so I act like the basketball is money when I'm rebounding. I pretend that every rebound is a million dollars. And I'm going to go out and get my millions."
The oft repeated weakness of Pitt is Blair getting in early foul trouble. If Blair can't play for major minutes, Pitt becomes a sub par rebounding team and loses a major weapon. Blair has apparently found that once more his mind holds the key to this.
It was the 99th loss in 99 tries by No. 16 seeds, but a least it was memorable.
East region top seed Pitt looked like a team that did not expect a game when their opening-round tilt with East Tennessee State started. By the time it finished, relief was visible from the players through coach Jamie Dixon. Pitt was sloppy with the ball the entire game and could not match the energy that came from the Buccaneers.
Ultimately, Pitt's superior talent and the best player on the court, DeJuan Blair, won out. Pitt survives a scare and does get to move to the second round.
The NCAA tournament is just days away, so FanHouse writers and editors got together to talk over each region. The Midwest Region got the ball rolling. Now it's the East's turn.
Pitt sophomore forward, DeJuan Blair was at the very least going to test the NBA draft waters. Most mock drafts have Blair being drafted mid-way in the first round despite being a 6-7 power forward. 
Update: Blair is wearing the bands during the Panthers' Elite Eight game against Villanova. The 
Well, you don't have to look too hard to get the point of this night in NCAA Tournament history. The Big East won three of the four Sweet 16 games played tonight -- two of them easily. At this very moment, it's pretty hard to like Oklahoma's or Arizona's chances on Friday night, or Missouri's on Saturday. The Big East is flexing muscles, baring fangs, dropping its collective shoulder and knocking down all of college basketball on its way to history's hoop. The conference is guaranteed one Final Four entrant (either Villanova or Pitt will make it) and still has a chance to grab all four spots. Only one conference has ever had as many as three in the Final Four and that was...yeah. The Big East. In 1985.
This is a little bit of history, with even more possibly on the way.
DeJuan Blair
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. 
Everyone is aware that Pitt power forward 
