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Tuesday, 17 March 2009 02:00

There will be no shortage of rooting interest around here as the men's college basketball tournaments get under way this week.

The region has a bumper crop of competitors, beginning with the University of Pittsburgh, which earned its first No. 1 seed in the NCAA tournament (in the East Region) after what was a 28-3 regular season of great expectations. Not to be outdone, backyard rival West Virginia University, which eliminated Pitt in last week's Big East Conference tournament after the Panthers beat the Mountaineers twice this season, will be the No. 6 seed in the Midwest Region.

It's possible that WVU could face the Colonials of Robert Morris University, who had their own outstanding season on the way to becoming champions of the Northeast Conference. They're seeded No. 15 in the NCAA's Midwest bracket.

Even the fans of Duquesne and Penn State have something to cheer about since their teams have berths in the National Invitational Tournament.

It will be maddening this March if at least one of the local squads, particularly Pitt, doesn't advance to the elite stage of competition. A month after the Steelers won the Super Bowl, Pittsburgh fans again have a big stake in the final run toward sports excellence. That's good for the universities, good for the region and good for chasing -- at least for a time -- the recession blues.

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