HARTFORD, Conn – It was another taxing Big East contest, the third in a week for Pitt…. HARTFORD, Conn – It was another taxing Big East contest, the third in a week for Pitt. And the fatigue may be starting to rear its ugly head.

“If you played Big East basketball every day, you’d be tired,” Pitt center DeJuan Blair said after the game.

“It’s frustrating [being tired],” Young said.

In a punishing 60-53 loss, four Panthers starters played 30-plus minutes, and Ronald Ramon, the starting point guard, played 25 minutes, 18 of which came in the second half. It was the seventh game in a row that three or more starters played 30-plus minutes. Pitt coach Jamie Dixon dismissed any worries about fatigue.

“We had plenty of timeouts,” Dixon said. “We were fresh in the final minutes.”

But the Panthers missed all three of their final shot attempts, failing to make a basket in the final 2:50 of the game. Dixon accredited the late-game shooting woes to his team’s inability to make a big play.

“We had good shots,” Dixon said. “Sometimes the shots just don’t go.”

Pitt’s leading scorer, Sam Young, may feel the bite of Pitt’s lack of depth the most. Young averages 35.9 minutes per contest in the past seven games, and his shooting percentage in the same amount of games is just 40 percent. In the past three games, Young is 16 of 50 from the field and 2 for 13 from 3-point range.

The significant starter minutes also have caused foul trouble to emerge as the Panthers’ biggest obstacle. And that’s where Connecticut separated itself at the end of the game.

The Huskies made 5 of 6 from the free-throw line in the final 2:32 to seal the deal.

“Credit them, they made their free throws,” Dixon said. “That was a big plus for them.”

Ramon foul trouble

Ronald Ramon picked up two quick fouls seven minutes into the first half, forcing Pitt to play Keith Benjamin at point guard and freshman Brad Wanamaker at shooting guard. Connecticut, however, didn’t get much of a chance to pressure the ball with its full-court press.

For a few minutes in the first half, Pitt played three freshmen at the same time. Wanamaker, Gilbert Brown and Gary McGhee played alongside senior Benjamin and junior Tyrell Biggs. Wanamaker played 12 minutes off the bench.

Still, without their main ball handler for the final 13 minutes of the first half, Pitt failed to capitalize on numerous opportunities to pull away. Pitt led by as many as eight, but a 9-1 run at the end of the first half drew the score level at 22-22.

“Foul trouble was a huge problem for us,” Dixon said. “Playing without Ronald Ramon was a big problem.”

Old Rivals

During the past seven seasons, Pitt and Connecticut are the two winningest programs in the Big East. The two schools have appeared in three of the past six Big East championship games.

Connecticut owns the all-time series, 30-24.

“Pitt is a great team,” Connecticut coach Jim Calhoun said. “I know [Dixon] is playing them smaller than he’d like to, but they still gave us fits. It was a great, physical game.”

Diggs returns

Junior center Cassin Diggs, a transfer from Cloud County Community College, finally suited up again. The 6-10 Diggs is struggling with groin and hip problems but practiced prior to Saturday’s game.

Wiggins avoids suspension

Doug Wiggins played five minutes in the first half and 11 minutes total off the bench. Why is that significant? Wiggins, a Connecticut sophomore guard, passed a drug test and was permitted to play following a two-game suspension.

He had two points and a rebound.

Doing their thing

The Huskies blocked 10 shots, which, to them, is just another day at the office. During the past six seasons, no school in the nation has blocked more shots than Connecticut.

Windex, baby!

Pitt brought its offensive rebounding chops to Hartford on Saturday. The Panthers, grossly undersized against the lanky, tall Huskies, hauled in 16 rebounds on the offensive glass. The offensive boards generated 13 second-chance points, a key statistic in any game.