LEVANCE SAVES THE DAY

Stifling defense. Big plays. A player who steps up at the biggest moments. These were the key components of the Super Bowl Champion Pittsburgh Steelers. And coincidentally, these are also the key components of the 2008-09 Pitt Panthers.Defense, you ask? How about a grand total of 18 points surrendered in the second half? And big plays? They don't get any bigger than Levance Fields' ridiculous three-pointer, followed by a steal and layup, in the closing minute of last night's contest. If you're looking for the college basketball equivalent of Ben Roethlisberger, look no further than Fields. You can feel confident when the ball is in his hands at crunch time.And that's why, despite the close calls, this Pitt team is in great shape to continue to move on even further: they've proven that they can handle adversity. Sure, being down eight at the end of the first half was certainly disheartening. But the Panthers came out as a different team for the final 20 minute...