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PROVIDENCE, R.I. – No. 1 Pitt won’t stay atop the polls for very long this time. The Panthers lost at Providence, 81-73, on Tuesday night, one day after ascending to the top of the polls. Pitt (25-3, 12-3) trailed the entire game, and saw its seven-game winning streak snapped. It was Providence’s first victory over [...]

• Losses by No. 2 Oklahoma and No. 3 North Carolina on Saturday means Pitt (25-2, 12-2) is almost certain to be the top-ranked team when the Associated Press Top 25 poll comes out on Monday. North Carolina lost to Maryland and Oklahoma fell to Texas. Pitt, of course, beat No. 1 Connecticut on Monday. [...]

DeJuan Blair needed only 12 minutes to reach a double-double and finished with 20 points and 18 rebounds, as No. 4 Pitt bullied past DePaul, 80-61, tonight in a Big East Conference game. The Petersen Events Center crowd, which included Arizona Cardinals All-Pro receiver Larry Fitzgerald sitting courtside, watched Pitt (25-2, 12-2) withstand DePaul’s six [...]

· It’s about an hour before 7 p.m. tip-off against DePaul (8-18, 0-13) and for at least the next three hours or so, Pitt will be in fourth place in the Big East, while looking at a likely ascension to No. 2 in the nation after North Carolina’s loss to Maryland. The No. 4 Panthers (24-2, [...]

One day after Pitt coach Jamie Dixon attended Pirates practice in Bradenton, Fla., while on a recruiting visit, he is scheduled to appear on “Pardon the Interruption” on Thursday afternoon on ESPN. The show airs at 5:30 p.m.

Notes from downtown Hartford in the moments leading to tonight’s showdown between No. 4 Pittsburgh (23-2, 10-2) and No. 1 Connecticut (24-1, 12-1). · Scalpers outside the XL Center were asking as much as $350 per ticket. There are reporters from at least 24 newspapers, magazines and Web sites, as well as nearly 20 NBA [...]

Sam Young scored 18 points and DeJuan Blair added 17 to lead five Pitt players in double figures in a 85-69 victory over Cincinnati on Saturday afternoon at Petersen Events Center. The No. 4 Panthers improved to 23-2 overall and 10-2 in the Big East heading into Monday’s game at top-ranked Connecticut. Jermaine Dixon (14), [...]

Sam Young scored a game-high 20 points, as No. 4 Pitt overcame DeJuan Blair’s foul trouble to beat West Virginia, 70-59, on Monday night in front of a sold-out Petersen Events Center. Blair, coming off a career-high 32 points at DePaul, sat most of the first half in foul trouble and didn’t return after picking [...]

Pitt moved up two spots to No. 4 in the Associated Press Top 25 released Monday. The Panthers (21-2) trail No. 1 Connecticut (22-1), Oklahoma (23-1) and North Carolina (21-2). Connecticut received 67 of a possible 72 first-place votes. Other Big East teams in the poll are No. 5 Louisville, No. 10 Marquette, No. 13 [...]

DeJuan Blair averaged 25 points and 11 rebounds in victories over Robert Morris and DePaul, but it wasn’t enough to earn Big East Player of the Week honors for the first time in his career. Connecticut center Hasheem Thabeet won the award, the league announced Monday, after averaging 15.5 points, 11.5 rebounds and five blocked [...]