Jeff Green and Roy Hibbert might want to inquire as to what Wisconsin senior forwards Alando Tucker and Brian Butch had for breakfast the morning of Dec. 16. Whatever the Badger big men ate, it worked. Tucker and Butch scorched Pittsburgh pre-season Big East Player of the Year candidate Aaron Gray and scored season-high point tallies as the Badgers trounced then-No. 2 Panthers 89-75.

While the Georgetown frontcourt tandem may not add Wisconsin cheddar or Milwaukee’s Best to the pre-game spread menu, it couldn’t hurt to try and emulate everything else Tucker and Butch did in the early-season showdown.

The mishap in Madison has been one of only two pitfalls for a Pitt (15-2, 3-0 Big East) squad that entered the season as the favorite to take the conference prize and are still, in the eyes of Georgetown (11-4, 1-1) Head Coach John Thompson III, a virtually flawless team.

“They do everything well – they are extremely talented, they are deep and they are experienced,” Thompson said of the seventh-ranked Panthers. “They are playing at a very high level right now. I don’t see how they can be exploited.”

While senior center Gray and the Panthers have so far proved the prognosticators correct and sit atop the league standings, the unranked Hoyas have failed to live up to their pre-season billing on the cover of Sports Illustrated.

Come Saturday night, Thompson will lead his team into Petersen Events Center, where Dick Vitale and the rest of the ESPN Game Day crew will be on hand for the marquee matchup between two of the Big East’s finest. The college basketball world is eager to see which of Georgetown’s two conference contests – an emphatic 66-48 victory over Notre Dame or a deflating 56-52 defeat to Villanova – is the true indicator of how the Hoyas will weather the tempestuous Big East storm.

Gray and the Panthers return to the Steel City fresh off a 59-49 road win over DePaul Wednesday night, their fifth consecutive triumph since falling to Oklahoma State four days before Christmas. Gray, who shed 30 pounds from his seven-foot frame this past offseason, is averaging just under 15 points a game and took advantage of DePaul’s man-to-man defense for an 18-point outburst. Gray also cleans the glass efficiently, notching 10 rebounds per contest.

The bout between Gray and Hibbert is one reason that the stands are sure to be packed for the 11 a.m. Gameday broadcast and remain filled until the opening tip 10 hours later. Gray, the Big East’s 2006 Most Improved Player, bypassed the fame and fortune of the NBA for one more go around with players like Hibbert.

“He’s someone I always look forward to playing against,” Gray said of his fellow seven-footer at Big East edia Day last October. “We both like to play with our backs to the basket, and we are both big, physical players who like to get down there and bang with other big men.”

The under card pits Green against Panther junior swingman Mike Cook, who has emerged as a potent scoring threat in his first year under Dixon following his transfer from East Carolina.

“I look at him, and he’s just a really good basketball player,” Thompson III said of Cook, who the coach thinks often gets lost in Gray’s tall shadow. “He’s fun to watch.”

While it may not take career numbers from Hibbert and Green for the Hoyas to have a shot at knocking off the Panthers, the junior duo must fare better than their lackluster performance in onday’s loss to Villanova, when they combined for a feeble nine points and seven rebounds. It was an especially disappointing outing for Hibbert, who did not attempt a field goal despite holding a four-inch height advantage over the tallest Wildcat.

“I have to work a lot harder to get open in the post,” Hibbert said, adding that he has attempted at least 50 free throws a day since his ugly 2-6 night from the charity stripe on Monday. “It is my responsibility to get open so the guards can get me the ball. I need to adjust quicker and make the shots during crunch time.”

Georgetown should expect Pitt Head Coach Jamie Dixon too watch the tapes from Monday’s Villanova and implement a similar press defense on Saturday night, a scheme that has disrupted Georgetown junior point guard Jonathan Wallace all season and rendered the Hoyas’ Princeton offense ineffective. Villanova’s relentless full-court trap forced Georgetown to commit 22 turnovers, a statistic that has undoubtedly led Thompson and the team to toss and turn all week.

“We can’t have all those turnovers that we did,” said Green, adding that he and his teammates have remained “laid back” despite Monday’s stumble. “We can’t give them the ball like that in Big East play. We have to execute better than we did in the Villanova game.”

Should the Hoyas’ heavy artillery be hindered by the Panther’s pressure or drowned out by a hostile crowd, Thompson may look to his young guns to even the score.

Freshmen forwards DaJuan Summers and Vernon Macklin have come of age since conference play started. Summers led the Hoyas with 16 points Monday night and Macklin provided valuable defensive minutes off the bench.

“He defended screens as well as anyone out there,” Thompson III said of Macklin’s performance in the losing effort. “He’s not just a good defender – he’s a very good basketball player.”

Saturday’s trip to Pittsburgh will be the truest test of the newcomers’ resolve, in what could be an arduous initiation into the ruthless world of Big East basketball. As effective as Summers and Macklin may be, it is no secret that Hibbert and Green must play an active role if Georgetown hopes to prove to a national TV audience that they are worth the return-to-glory hype.

“[A win] would mean a lot, going into Pitt, you know, in that tough environment and such a great team,” Green said, who hopes his 22-point effort in last year’s 61-58 win over Pitt is a sign of things to come. “Going to their place and getting a victory would be a huge boost to get us back on track.”

Hibbert, standing nearby, expressed his excitement in a mumble barely audible over the uneven pounding rhythm of balls meeting hardwood.

“I have been looking forward to this game the whole season.” Hibbert said.

Tip off is slated for 9:30 p.m. on Saturday.