By Jim O'Connell
The Associated Press

When Connecticut beat Pittsburgh 74-65 in double overtime in March, Madison Square Garden was rocking for the league's tournament championship game just as it did in the years the Big East was always among the country's top conferences.

Pittsburgh has all five starters back from last season, and Connecticut has three starters back as both try to repeat as division winners, and the Big East has enough quality teams that another six bids to the NCAA tournament is a possibility.

"People have to understand this started with a great closing run to the season two years ago," Panthers coach Ben Howland said. "Last season was a continuation of that, and hopefully it will go on."

Brandin Knight is back at point guard, and Julius Page is one of the most exciting off guards in the nation. All of the frontcourt players improved last season, when the Panthers won a school-record 29 games.

Pittsburgh, ranked No. 5 in The Associated Press preseason poll, has one other factor in its favor this season: a new building. The 12,500-seat Petersen Events Center opens on campus; the last available ticket was sold Aug. 31.

"With all that has happened and is right around the corner," Howland said, "things are going pretty well around Pittsburgh basketball."

It isn't too shabby around the Connecticut program, either.

The Huskies went on an impressive NCAA tournament run, losing to eventual champion Maryland in the East Regional final. Sophomore star Caron Butler left for the NBA, but the three-guard rotation of sophomore Ben Gordon, junior Taliek Brown and senior Tony Robertson and the inside presence of sophomore Emeka Okafor (third in the nation in blocked shots last season), is a pretty good starting point. Coach Jim Calhoun also has four freshmen with a chance for quality minutes.

"We're young, but we're pretty talented," Calhoun said.

Boston College has one of the nation's best backcourts in Troy Bell and Ryan Sidney. Georgetown's experienced frontcourt is led by junior Mike Sweetney, who was fifth in the league last season in scoring (19.0), third in rebounding (10.0) and first in field-goal percentage (56.7).

Miami has starters Darius Rice and James Jones back as it looks for a fifth NCAA berth in six years. Notre Dame has one of the nation's best point guards in sophomore Chris Thomas. St. John's got some backcourt help for leading scorer Marcus Hatten in freshman point guard Elijah Ingram. Syracuse has the league's most heralded freshman, forward Carmelo Anthony.

Xavier was the Atlantic 10's only team in the NCAA tournament last season. With two-time conference player of the year David West deciding to return, the Musketeers - 10th in the preseason AP poll - are a safe bet to make the field of 64 for a third straight season.

The 6-foot-10 West averaged 18.3 points, 9.8 rebounds and 2.3 blocks last season.

"Hands down, Xavier is the team to beat," La Salle coach Billy Hahn said. "It's not even close. There is a wide margin between them and everybody else."

Xavier coach Thad Matta said it isn't an open-and-shut case.

"I don't see us in that light right now," he said. "I don't want to say we have a long way to go, but I think that we've got things we have to do better."

Temple's streak of 12 straight NCAA appearances ended last season with a berth in the NIT. Leading scorer Lynn Greer is gone, as are big men Kevin Lyde and Ron Rollerson and the non-conference schedule is as brutal as ever. But coach John Chaney always seems to find ways to get young teams ready for March.

Dayton, which has won 21 or more games four of the last five seasons, has four starters back. So does Richmond, which will play under new coach Jerry Wainwright, whose North Carolina-Wilmington stunned Southern Cal in the NCAA tournament last season.

Penn, Yale and Princeton finished tied atop the Ivy League last season, and a repeat isn't out of the question. All three could reach the postseason again.

Penn has five starters back, including forwards Ugonna Onyekwe and Koko Archibong. Yale, which won 21 games last season, returns all five players from its balanced offense. Princeton, which like Yale played in the NIT, lost two starters but welcomes UCLA transfer Spencer Gloger.

Manhattan, featuring preseason player of the year Luis Flores, was picked by the league's coaches to win the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference. Iona's chances got a big boost Nov. 4, when freshman guard Ricky Soliver was ruled eligible by the NCAA.

Boston University will look to repeat in the America East, and coach Dennis Wolff has five starters back plus Matt Turner, a former starter who missed last season with a shoulder injury.

Central Connecticut State lost NBA draft pick Corsley Edwards, but the Blue Devils have everyone else back from last season's NCAA team.

Holy Cross, which gave Kansas a scare in the first round of the NCAA tournament last season, welcomes Neil Fingleton, a 7-5 transfer from North Carolina.