The most indelible memory of last year’s Pitt basketball team came when DeJuan Blair flipped… The most indelible memory of last year’s Pitt basketball team came when DeJuan Blair flipped the Huskies’ Hasheem Thabeet over his shoulder as the Panthers knocked off then-No. 1 Connecticut 76-68.

Though both players have since moved on to the pros, Pitt coach Jamie Dixon knows that the rivalry won’t be any less intense when No. 16 Pitt travels to Hartford to take on No. 15 Connecticut tonight.

“Every game [between Connecticut and Pitt] comes with a huge amount of hype,” Dixon said. “You can’t pick a best game. You can go through every one and point to any one of them.”

Pitt guard Brad Wanamaker said the Huskies will try to bounce back from last season’s losses against the Panthers, as Pitt also knocked off Connecticut once more later in the season.

“They’re going to try to get after us because we got them two times last year,” Wanamaker said. “That’s what[is] on their mind — get revenge on us.”

Wanamaker and fellow guards Ashton Gibbs and Jermaine Dixon have guided Pitt (13-2, 3-0 Big East) to its stellar record thus far this season. The trio combined for 57 of the Panthers’ 82 points against then-No. 5 Syracuse. Gibbs leads all Panthers with 17.5 points per game.

Jamie Dixon noted Jermaine Dixon’s leadership on the court. Dixon recently recovered from a broken foot, and Pitt is 5-0 with him as a starter.

“His value is not represented by the numbers,” Jamie Dixon said. “He is our toughest guy, and he makes other guys tougher.”

Connecticut (11-4, 2-2 Big East) also relies on its guards for scoring and likes to run and gun against its opponents.

“[Against Seton Hall], they got 10 straight transition points,” Dixon said. “Five straight baskets. Not one basket off a half-court set.”

According to Dixon, the game tonight might come down to Pitt’s ability to stifle Connecticut’s transition scoring with its half-court defense. Pitt senior forward Gilbert Brown agreed.

“If we can put them in a half-court set then we can just bring our defense that we bring in every night, and we’ll be fine,” Brown said.

Pitt’s defense gives up a Big East-low of 58 points per game.

Jerome Dyson leads the Huskies’ sprint up the court, averaging 19.3 points per game. The senior guard, who missed last season’s showdowns with a knee injury, has eight games this year with at least 20 points.

“He just gets guys on their heels,” Dixon said. “I think he is the fastest guy we’ve seen.”

Forward Stanley Robinson and guard Kemba Walker run the floor with Dyson. The sophomore Walker, whose speed Jamie Dixon praised, averages 12.7 points per contest.

The 6-foot-9 Robinson, along with 6-foot-9 Alex Oriakhi and 6-foot-9 Gavin Edwards, gives Connecticut a size advantage over Pitt. Robinson grabs nearly eight rebounds per game.

“They have a bunch of big guys,” Brown said. “We have to be prepared to box out and hit the boards really hard.”

Connecticut enters tonight coming off a 72-69 loss to No. 12 Georgetown on Saturday afternoon. Pitt, on the other hand, hasn’t played since a 74-71 victory over Cincinnati Jan. 4.

Brown said the break was welcome.

“If anything, we should be well-rested,” Brown said. “We went through a tough road stretch against Syracuse and Cincinnati, so I think it was a good thing we had a nine-day layoff.”

As with Jermaine Dixon, Brown reiterated that the practice time during the break allowed him to get back into the swing of things.

“We have a lot to do,” he said after the Cincinnati victory in which he scored 17 points. “Coach pushes us every day. We don’t settle.”

In the four games since Brown returned from last semester’s academic suspension, Pitt’s offensive output is up eight points while holding opponents to 61 points against.

Thanks to those statistics, Pitt moved up in both major polls this week. The Panthers climbed to No. 16 in the AP Top 25 rankings, and they made their first appearance of the season in the coaches’ poll, checking in at No. 20.

While Connecticut isn’t the highest-ranked team Pitt has faced this year, Dixon said they might be the toughest to defend.

“Syracuse, I told them, was the best transition team we’ll play all year long,” Dixon said. “Now I voided that statement. After watching Connecticut, I think they are the best.”