Pittsburgh ? It’s the game UCLA always seems to win, the game Cincinnati always seems to lose. It’s the game Pitt almost never plays  and it’s in the place Cal almost certainly didn’t want to be.

Cincinnati, seeded No. 1 in the NCAA West Regional, tries to put aside its history of second-round failures today against UCLA  the team synonymous with March Madness  in an intriguing matchup of tradition and trends.

Pitt’s basketball tradition predates these Panthers, with the school more than a quarter-century removed from its last trip to an NCAA regional. But the Panthers finally can return to the round of 16 without leaving town, a home-court disadvantage for California in a cross-country South Regional second-round game.

“Nobody wants to play a host school; it’s certainly not your No. 1 pick,” Cal coach Ben Braun said Saturday. “I know Pittsburgh’s pretty happy about playing here.”

Not as happy as Cincinnati coach Bob Huggins will be, however, if Mellon Arena proves to be another venue where the Bearcats (31-3) get past their second-round stumbling block.

Cincinnati has been seeded at least third all but once since 1997, yet advanced to the regional semifinals only once: last season. In 1997, ’98, ’99 and ’00, the Bearcats were eliminated in the second round.

Getting past UCLA (20-11) will be a significant challenge, however, especially with the Bruins on another of their March upswings. After losing four of six, the Bruins blew out Mississippi 80-58 Friday, putting them into position to advance to the regionals for the fifth time in six years under coach Steve Lavin.

“I think they’re the most talented team we’ve faced all year,” said Cincinnati All-American Steve Logan, who had 27 points Friday in a 90-52 rout of out-of-its-league Boston University.

Or are the Bruins the two best teams Cincy has faced?

Lavin successfully deployed two five-man units against Mississippi, one a freshman-dominated squad that outscored the starters 42-38. Freshman Dijon Thompson’s 16 points complemented Billy Knight’s 21.

“In practice, that group beats up on the first team a lot and has real good chemistry, and that’s why coach wants them to play as a group,” Knight said.