Pre-March Madness
Panthers dominating the elite at the Pete
By Tony DeFazio

While spring used to mean baseball in Pittsburgh, for the better part of this century it has meant Pitt basketball. Despite losing four starters to the professional ranks, Jamie Dixon's Panthers exited February closing in on their ninth consecutive NCAA Tournament berth. Only Kansas, Duke, Gonzaga, Michigan State, Texas and Wisconsin have kept pace. By now, Pitt fans are also aware of the half a dozen Sweet 16 appearances, the two Big East Tournament championships and the seven BET tourney finals.

But perhaps the most astounding accomplishment of the Pitt program is their 7-0 record against Top 5 teams in the Petersen Events Center. A top 5 team has never won in the Pete.

It's an impressive streak, to say the least, but one that won't have another chapter written until next season. Here's a look at Pitt's remarkable Giant-Killing Streak:

1 - Jan. 6, 2003

No. 6 Pitt 72 - No. 5 Notre Dame

Ontario Lett scored 10 straight points to key a 16-0 second half run and the sixth-ranked Panthers ran away from the No. 5 Irish in the first Big East game ever played in the Pete. Chevy Troutman added 12 points and 12 rebounds.

2 - Feb. 15, 2004

No.4 Pitt 75 - No. 5 Connecticut 68

With tickets being scalped on Oakland's streets for $600, four Pitt players scored in double figures, led by Jaron Brown's 17 and Mark McCarroll's 15, as the Panthers won their 40th consecutive home game.

3 - January 29,2005

No. 20 Pitt 76 - No. 4 Syracuse 69

The Panthers roared back from 17 down behind 19 second-half points from Carl Krauser and great efforts from Levon Kendall and Keith Benjamin to defeat the highest-ranked opponent-at the time-ever to visit the Petersen Events Center.

4 - January 14, 2008

No. 15 Pitt 69 - No. 5 Georgetown 60

Ronald Ramon and Keith Benjamin, starting in place of the injured Levance Fields and Mike Cooke, both scored 18 points and the 15th-ranked Panthers surprised No. 5 Georgetown 69-60 on ESPN's Big Monday.

5 - March 7, 2009

No. 3 Pitt 70 - No. 1 Connecticut 60

The Panthers became just the seventh school to beat a top-ranked team twice in the same season, toppling the No. 1 Huskies behind Sam Young's 31 points and 10 rebounds.

6 - Feb. 12, 2010

No. 25 Pitt 98 - No. 5 West Virginia 95 (3 OT)

Ashton Gibbs drained a game-tying 3-pointer from the corner to cap a stunning comeback from a seven-point deficit in the final minute of play, and Pitt weathered three exhausting overtimes to outlast the fifth-ranked Mountaineers.

7 - Feb. 21, 2010

No. 19 Pitt 70 - No. 3 Villanova 65

Gibbs scored 21 points as the 19th-ranked Panthers controlled the tempo and the offensive glass, turning away No. 3 Villanova and gaining a small measure of revenge from their heartbreaking loss to the Wildcats in the 2009 Elite 8.