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Pittsburgh opens Big East play against Villanova

Jan 6, 2008 - 3:05 PM No. 13 Pittsburgh (12-1) at No. 16 Villanova (10-2) 12:00 pm EST

VILLANOVA, Pennsylvania (Ticker) - No. 13 Pittsburgh looks to start Big East conference play with a win on Sunday when it visits No. 16 Villanova.

After suffering its first loss of the season against Dayton on December 29, Pittsburgh bounced back with a 96-75 victory over Lafayette on Wednesday.

Keith Benjamin scored 20 points and Tyrell Biggs added 19 in the victory as the Panthers (12-1, 0-0 Big East) closed their non-conference schedule with more than 10 wins for the seventh consecutive season.

Benjamin and Biggs have seen their playing time increase lately with injuries to Levance Fields and Mike Cook. Fields fractured his left foot and will miss the next eight to 12 weeks while Cook will miss the rest of the season after tearing his ACL.

Without Fields and Cook, Pittsburgh could have a hard time winning at Villanova, where it has lost its last five games at the Pavilion.

Villanova (10-2, 0-1) has also won five of the last seven meetings overall against Pittsburgh but enters the game with one loss in the Big East conference after falling to DePaul, 84-76, during its last game on Thursday.

Scottie Reynolds, the Wildcats' leading scorer, managed just 11 points against DePaul, well below his season average of 16.5 points per game. The sophomore Reynolds also leads the team with 4.7 assists a contest.