DAVE: Has Pitt's loss got you down?

JIM: Nah. I've always said that one of the most important things for colleges, and especially college athletics, is tradition. So I feel all warm and fuzzy today.

You see, Mark Nordenberg and Steve Pedersen completely destroyed every single tradition associated with Pitt football. But if there is one tradition still going strong, it's Pitt basketball, always and forever, losing to clearly inferior teams during the NCAA tournament. Doesn't matter whether it's Vanderbilt or Ball State or Utah or Pacific or Oklahoma State or Xavier or...you get the idea. I take comfort in the fact that there is still one long-standing tradition left in Pitt athletics that I can count on.

Except for last year, when they lost to Villanova.

DAVE: Good to hear. Good to hear.

JIM: What's so damn good about it?

DAVE: I can clearly see that you are handling the loss well.

At least Pitt always plays these games close, right down to the buzzer. Or, is that bad, because it breaks your heart?

JIM: Good, bad. Doesn't matter. You just have to accept it. It's tradition.