Brad Wanamaker could help Pittsburgh sweep Big East rivalVillanova this season and hell still hold a grudge against the Wildcats. All because of 2009. Thats when the Wildcats kept the Panthers from playing in their first FinalFour under Jamie Dixon with perhaps the greatest postseason basket in teamhistory. The thing I remember is just Scottie Reynolds hitting that shot,Wanamaker said. Reynolds won the biggest game between the intrastate rivals on a half-courtdash for a basket with 0.5 seconds left that lifted them to a 78-76 victory andtheir first Final Four since 1985. For the Panthers, it was another stingingpostseason downer for the Big Easts most consistent regular-season team overthe last 10 years. Its a loss the Panthers unlucky enough to play in that game cant shake. Thats something thats always going to be inside of me, Wanamaker said.Its something I dont think Ill ever forget, unless I get the chance to playthem again in the Elite Eight for another chance to go the Final Four and wecome out with the win. For this week, Wanamaker will have to settle for crushing Villanovas fadingBig East title chase. The No. 4 Panthers (22-2, 10-1) and the Wildcats were picked to finish 1-2in the conference preseason poll. Only the Panthers have played up to their billing. Pittsburgh is rolling toward its 10th straight NCAA tournament and a winSaturday night on the road at the Pavilion would give them the best start to aBig East season in team history. They hold a 1 1/2 -game lead over Notre Dame andhave the No. 9 Wildcats (19-5, 7-4) needing a season sweep, they play again inPittsburgh on March 5, and some help to jump back into the championship picture. Winners of 12 of 13, the Panthers hardly seem poised to fold. They won atNo. 25 West Virginia on Monday without leading scorer Ashton Gibbs, who issidelined with a left knee injury. Gibbs will sit out Saturdays primetime gamethe first time ESPNsGameDay visits Villanovas campus. Wildcats coach Jay Wright, while enthusiastic for the exposure, has tried todownplay the hoopla surrounding the all-day event: Randy Foye, who helped leadVillanova to the round of 16 and a regional final in his final two seasons as aWildcat, will have his No. 2 jersey retired Saturday morning as part of thefestivities. Otherwise, its been hard to feel festive around Villanova lately. They had their second inexcusable loss of the season at Rutgers onWednesday, a stunning defeat that came when Jonathan Mitchells four-point playwith less than a second remaining gave Rutgers a 77-76 victory. Everybody in this conference is used to losing a close game, Dixon saidat the Peterson Events Center. Yes, but losses at Rutgers and Providence have all but squashed any chanceat a Big East championship for the Wildcats. Guard Corey Stokes, who started theseason as their star shooter, has been hampered by turf toe. He sat outThursdays practice and is listed as day to day. The Wildcats have beat Pitt six straight times at the Pavilion and are 9-1against the Panthers in the last 10 games at the on-campus gym. Wright, who grew up outside Philadelphia, is a Big East guy. He loves thepassion and the tradition of the conferenceand two top-10 teams playing thislate in the season only adds to the belief the Big East is tops this season. Where we finish in the regular season speaks to how good of a team weare, Wright said. Not how we do in the (Big East) tournament, not how we doin the NCAA tournament. Dixon hasnt dangled a conference championship as a carrot for the Panthers.He just wants to survive the week after a nasty battle against the Mountaineersin the Backyard Brawl. Its not too often you go from a rivalry game to a rivalry game, Dixonsaid. But we have like six rivalry games. Youre supposed to have one rivalrygame. You talk to teams in our conference and ask them who their rival is, morethan two or three will say Pitt is their rival. I guess thats a sign ofrespect. Inside the game, theres a friendly rivalry between Wanamaker and Villanovaguard Maalik Wayns. They played on the same high school team and formed a tightbond. Theyll talk about everythingexcept that night in 2009. We feel like they stole something from us, Wanamaker said. Any time weplay against, them its always going to be personal.