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Pittsburgh aims to even Big East record against USF

Jan 9, 2008 - 2:22 PM No. 18 Pittsburgh (12-2) at South Florida (10-5) 7:30 pm EST

TAMPA, Florida (Ticker) - Pittsburgh looks to rebound from a one-point loss in its Big East opener when the Panthers face South Florida on Wednesday.

For the first time since the 1995-96 season, 18th-ranked Pittsburgh is opening its conference schedule with a pair of road games. The Panthers (12-2, 0-1 Big East) are coming off a 64-63 loss to Villanova on Sunday when Dante Cunningham made two free throws with 10 seconds to play.

Junior forward Sam Young leads Pittsburgh at 17.5 points per game and is averaging 7.1 rebounds. DeJuan Blair, a 6-foot-7 center, averages 11.6 points.

Junior guard Levance Fields (11.9 ppg) is out 8-12 weeks with a fractured left foot suffered against Dayton on December 29 and senior forward Mike Cook (10.4 ppg) is out for the season after suffering a torn ACL against Duke on December 20.

The Bulls (10-5, 1-1), who have won six consecutive games at home, are coming off an 89-77 loss at Syracuse on Saturday that snapped a three-game winning streak under first-year Stan Heath.

Freshman guard Dominique Jones averages a team-high 16.7 points for South Florida. Senior center Kentrell Gransberry is averaging 15.1 points and 11.6 rebounds. Sophomore guard Chris Howard is averaging 11.7 points and 5.5 assists.

The Bulls lead the series, 2-1, but are 0-1 in the Big East after last year's 69-48 loss to the Panthers. Pittsburgh hasn't played in Tampa since the 1975-76 season.