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Pittsburgh seeks fifth straight win

Feb 10, 2007 - 4:06 PM Providence (15-7) at No. 6 Pittsburgh (21-3) 6:00 pm EST

PITTSBURGH (Ticker) -- Pittsburgh appears to be the class of the Big East.

Notching their best conference start in school history, the sixth-ranked Panthers will look for their fifth straight victory when they take on Providence Saturday.

Surpassing its 8-2 mark set in 2003-04, Pittsburgh (21-3, 9-1 Big East) picked up its ninth league victory this season in its last contest, a 60-47 win over West Virginia on Wednesday. It was a big win for the Panthers, who have won 11 of their last 12 games to take a one-game lead over second-place Marquette.

Sam Young scored 21 points on 10-of-14 shooting for Pittsburgh, which is 13-1 at home this season and a remarkable 61-7 at the Petersen Events Center over the past four seasons.

The Panthers should be able to keep rolling against the Friars, who have lost their last six meetings in the series. Providence's last win in the series was January 23, 2001 and its last victory at the Petersen Events Center was on December 30, 1998.

However, the Friars are coming off a dramatic 71-70 win over Cincinnati on Tuesday. Sharaud Curry, who had 24 points, drained the decisive foul shot with 14.2 seconds left and Herbert Hill added 16 points and 11 rebounds.

Providence (15-7, 5-4) has bounced back after a poor season in 2005-06 to match its Big East win total from last campaign. The Friars also erased a 17-game losing streak against ranked opponents this season, splitting four games against Top 25 squads in 2006-07.