Keith Srakocic / AP

Pittsburgh's DeJuan Blair, bottom, looks to shoot in front of St. John's D.J. Kennedy during the top-ranked Panthers' 90-67 victory Sunday.

With center Justin Burrell’s back bothering him, St. John’s had no answer for Blair, known to his teammates as “Big Fella.” Roberts joked that he has finally figured out a way to stop Pitt’s big man.

“A Mack Truck,” he said. “DeJuan Blair is an absolute beast. It seems like his mindset is, ’I’m going to get the ball.’ We got physically worn down.”

Before this week, Pittsburgh had never been ranked first in hoops and the school hadn’t held down the top spot in football since 1982, when quarterback Dan Marino was slinging touchdown passes for the Panthers.

It was a proud day for Pitt and a big day for the sports-crazed city as the Steelers were hosting the San Diego Chargers in an AFC playoff game across town. There were more than a few Ben Roethlisberger, Hines Ward and Jack Lambert jerseys mixed in among the 12,508 fans, which included several Pittsburgh football recruits.

Despite a starting lineup of four sophomores and a freshman, St. John’s wasn’t intimidated by Pitt’s ranking or its rowdy student “Zoo” section.

With Kennedy and Quincy Roberts driving to the basket, the Red Storm got several easy layups inside and their aggressive man-to-man defense had the Panthers frustrated for much of the first half. Pitt’s best offense seemed to be throwing the ball near the vicinity of the rim and hoping Blair could get it.

He scored 12 points with seven rebounds in the first half, but spent the final 3:50 on the bench after picking up his second foul.

Blair sat with the game tied 32-all, but while he was out the Panthers closed the first half with a 9-4 run, highlighted by dunks from Gilbert Brown and Young. Once Pitt hit its stride early in the second half, this Red Storm was no longer a threat.

“Their heads were down,” Fields said. “They were out of it after a while. Even when it was close, I don’t think they thought they had a chance.”

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