There have been two games for the No. 2 Panthers in their first nine that were possible upsets—the Massachusetts Minute Men and Florida State Seminoles, who beat then No. 4 Florida. The Pitt men’s basekbatll team handled each with ease, beating UMass, 85-68, and leading by 30 points for most of the game against the Seminoles before winning, 88-66. That bodes well for the Panthers as they face their toughest two games of the season so far at Wisconsin and at Oklahoma State

It’s been the cupcakes, not the better teams, that have given Pitt trouble lately and the Panthers will need to refocus in order to keep their undefeated record (9-0) intact.

It wasn’t until the final six minutes of its game against Robert Morris that Pitt woke up and put the Colonials away, 67-53. And in the Dec. 6, 73-56 win against Atlantic 10 conference doormat Duquesne, the Panthers played sloppy, especially early in the second half. They allowed the Dukes to hang around until once again pulling away late in the game.

That sluggish and sloppy play may come back to haunt the Panthers as they play their toughest games of the season so far, over the winter break. On Dec. 16, Pitt travels to No. 11 Wisconsin (8-1) and then goes to Oklahoma City to play No. 22 Oklahoma State (10-0). Wisconsin has an outstanding senior forward, Alando Tucker, who leads the Badgers in scoring, averaging over 19 points per game.

Oklahoma State has been on a roll as of late, defeating No. 21 Syracuse 72-68 in its most recent game. Syracuse was the Cowboys’ biggest test so far, but they have won at Auburn and at Missouri State— who beat Wisconsin.

Pitt has not handled quick and athletic teams well. Auburn used quickness to its advantage and was able to score points in the paint by blowing by Pitt center Aaron Gray and forward Levon Kendall. They will get another taste of that, especially against Tucker. And Wisconsin is a much better team than Auburn, so Pitt will have to play very well to beat the Badgers or Oklahoma State.

These games will provide an insight into what kind of team Pitt really is. Are they worthy of their No. 2 ranking, in both polls, or are the just a product of preseason hype. Judging by how they rose to the occasion and demolished Florida State, believe the hype.

But just a few words of advice —f eed Gray the ball.