Pitt’s road to Big East title packed with talented foes

Two games into the Big East basketball season, Pitt (11-2 overall, 1-1 Big East) split games… Two games into the Big East basketball season, Pitt (11-2 overall, 1-1 Big East) split games with Georgetown and Rutgers. Looking to capture their fourth straight regular-season championship and advance to the Big East Tournament final for the fifth straight season, the Panthers’ remaining schedule will consist solely of conference games.

Here is a look at Pitt’s next five opponents.

Seton Hall (Saturday, noon at Pitt) — The Pirates dropped their two opening conference games this past week, with one being a close contest and the other a blowout.

A 3-pointer by Notre Dame’s Colin Falls with 3.8 seconds remaining gave the Irish a 66-65 road win over the Pirates Wednesday night. John Allen led the way with 19 points and nine rebounds in a game that featured 16 lead changes and nine ties.

On Saturday, Seton Hall ventured to the Carrier Dome, but was blown out by No. 6 Syracuse. The Orange jumped out to a 36-22 lead by holding the Pirates to 38.5 percent shooting. Only one Pirate made it into double figures, as all starters were held to single-digits.

Seton Hall (8-5, 0-2) is off until Saturday when they visit Pitt for a noon contest.

St. John’s (Jan. 18, 7:30 p.m. at St. John’s) — After a blowout upset win over then-No. 15 North Carolina State, St. John’s dropped a pair of Big East contests to ranked opponents last week.

Despite staying close much of the game, the Red Storm fell to No. 6 Syracuse, 79-65, Wednesday at Madison Square Garden. Daryll Hill scored a game-high 23 points for the Red Storm, while Lamont Hamilton added 20 for St. John’s, which had a three-game winning streak snapped.

Facing its second ranked team of the week, the Red Storm fell to No. 21 West Virginia, 64-60 Saturday night in Morgantown, W.Va. Despite a career-high 29 points from Hill, the Mountaineers went inside to center D’or Fischer, whose 18 points led West Virginia to its first Big East win of the season.

St. John’s (6-6, 0-2) will look for its first conference win of the season Saturday when it visits Notre Dame

Connecticut (Jan. 22, 9 p.m. at UConn) — The defending national and Big East Tournament champion Huskies split their opening conference games last week.

Led by sophomore forward Charlie Villanueva’s 19 points, UConn opened an early 20-point lead over host Georgetown before holding on for a 66-59 road win Saturday afternoon. No. 9 UConn also got 19 from junior forward Denham Brown in avoiding a two-game losing streak.

Earlier in the week, undefeated Boston College came into Storrs and upset the Huskies, blowing open a tight game late and edging Connecticut 75-70 before a sellout crowd.

UConn (9-2 overall, 1-1 Big East) will step out of conference tonight when they visit Oklahoma. The Huskies’ next Big East contest will be Jan. 15 when they host Rutgers.

Syracuse (Jan. 29, 7 p.m. at Pitt) — Led by senior Hakim Warrick and junior guard Gerry McNamara. the Orange opened conference play with two victories last week.

McNamara had a game-high 23 points in pushing Syracuse to its eighth straight win with a 75-50 victory over Seton Hall Saturday night. The No. 6-ranked Orange (15-1, 2-0) led by as many as 22 as Syracuse stayed unbeaten at home.

Earlier in the week, the Orange slowly pulled away from host St John’s in its Big East opener. Warrick and McNamara combined for 41 points, and senior Josh Pace chipped in 12 as Syracuse won its 36th consecutive game against teams from its home state of New York.

The Orange (15-1, 2-0) will next visit Notre Dame tonight before visiting Providence Saturday.

Providence (Jan 31, 9 p.m. at Pitt) — A season-high 26 points by Big East Pre-Season Player of the Year Ryan Gomes wasn’t enough for the Friars, as they dropped their conference opener Saturday.

Undefeated Boston College pulled away late from visiting Providence for a 69-60 Saturday night. The Friars held a 50-38 lead with 16:07 remaining, but the Eagles (13-0, 2-0) went on a 15-2 run to reclaim the lead before blowing open the contest. It was the first time a team in the series had won at home in the past four years.

This week, the Friars (9-5, 0-1) will host Villanova Tuesday night before Syracuse comes to town on Saturday.