Jonathan Lee    AccuScore Analyst
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Two of the best teams in the nation meet on Saturday something that will be a regular occurrence this year in the rugged Big East.  There are currently eight conference teams ranked in the top 25 of the ESPN/USA Today poll including six in the top 13.  The terrific competition means every conference game will hold great importance for seedings at the end of the year.

Georgetown still seems to be flying a bit under the radar even after an 11-point win over UCONN on Monday.  At the moment they would be my clear choice for number two in the nation behind North Carolina.  My choice for third however would be Pittsburgh which makes this game on Saturday so intriguing.  AccuScore projects the Hoyas, playing at home, to come away with a win 64 percent of the time by three points on average.

The biggest factor in the simulations appears to be homecourt.  The rebounding and turnover numbers for both teams are virtually even.  Georgetown does have more perimeter firepower making 2.2 more 3-pointers than Pitt.  Overall the Hoyas are shooting 45 percent from the field compared to 42 for the Panthers in simulations.

The biggest weakness for Georgetown is their thin bench.  John Thompson III has a terrific set of starters with Austin Freeman and Chris Wright in the backcourt and Greg Monroe and DaJuan Summers providing two athletic big bodies up front.  The final starting spot is between either veteran Jessie Sapp or Omar Wattad.  Sapp has been much more efficient, and has spent four years in the system.  He should be getting the lion’s share of the minutes, but Thompson seems torn between the two. 

The other two players in the rotation are freshman guard Jonathan Clark who has been fairly impressive in limited minutes, and Florida State transfer Julian Vaughn.  While Georgetown is not terribly deep, the starting is so good that it shouldn’t be a concern this early in the year.

Pitt looks to have its best team in its recent run of success under Ben Howland and now Jamie Dixon.  The Panthers are strong favorites to finally get over the Sweet Sixteen hump and have a team capable of making a Final Four run.  They are similar to Georgetown in that the starting group is extremely talented, but it backed up by a questionable reserve crew.

Swingman Sam Young is playing like the Big East POY favorite currently, and his match-up with Summers should be highly entertaining.  Conversely, DaJuan Blair has been a monster on the boards, and him battling the super-frosh Monroe inside will be must-see TV.  If Blair can get a few buckets early inside and perhaps draw early fouls on Monroe, it would change the outlook for this game drastically.  The leader for Pitt however is once again Levance Fields.  While not terribly big or athletic, the senior just knows how to lead a team making big shots again and again over the course of his career.  He is also terrific at getting to the line, and getting his teammates in position to score.

The Big East truly is the best conference in the nation this year with more high-quality teams than anymore.  Probably the two best meet early on in the regular season on Saturday, and the outcome could swing the conference race and tournament seedings in March.