NEWARK, N.J. — It was like the start of a bad rerun for the Pittsburgh Panthers.

Four days after losing to Providence just 24 hours after they moved back into the top spot in The Associated Press' poll, the Panthers were having trouble shaking Seton Hall.

This time, they were able to take control in the second half and pulled away to an 89-78 victory last night.

"In a way, that loss prepared us for this game, another senior night, all the emotions and they had a good start," Pittsburgh guard Levance Fields said. "We did a great job of pulling together. We tried to play too hard (against Providence) but this time we were able to pull away after halftime."

Sam Young had 29 points and 10 rebounds for the Panthers (26-3, 13-3 Big East), who moved back into the top spot in Top 25 on Monday and lost 81-73 at Providence the next day.

"Losses bother us, that's why our record is what it is," Pittsburgh coach Jamie Dixon said. "We did things better but the last game was one of those things, something got away from us. This was about us and not about that game."

The Panthers took a 36-31 halftime lead against Seton Hall and had it at 10 points for the first time on a move down low by Young that made it 49-39 with 15:42 to play.

With Young handling the bulk of the scoring and the Panthers dominating the boards at both ends, Seton Hall was never able to make any kind of run and Pittsburgh improved to 3-2 this season when ranked No. 1.

"I thought we played with a lot of intensity and heart," Dixon said. "Outrebounding them was something we talked about doing and we're proud of that."

Jeremy Hazell had 25 points for the Pirates (15-13, 6-10), who have lost four of their last five.

Seton Hall dropped to 0-12 all-time against top-ranked teams including a 62-54 loss to Connecticut earlier this season.

Pittsburgh's DeJuan Blair entered the game third in the nation in rebounding, averaging 13.0 per game. The 6-foot-7, 265-pound sophomore banged knees with a Seton Hall player in the game's first 3 minutes and left for the locker room. He returned to the game with 13:23 left in the half and had no points on 0-for-2 shooting and two rebounds in the opening 20 minutes.

He finished with nine points and 10 rebounds and Pittsburgh had a 44-21 advantage on the boards for the game.

"DeJuan getting hurt changed things," Dixon said. "He wasn't moving as well but he gutted it out with a lot of character and heart. We'll wait until tomorrow to see how bad it is. He wanted to go and that says a lot about him."

NO. 2 CONNECTICUT 72, NOTRE DAME 65

STORRS, Conn. — Jeff Adrien had 25 points and nine rebounds, Hasheem Thabeet added 16 points, 11 rebounds and eight blocked shots, and the Huskies (27-2, 15-2 Big East) made 6 of 8 free throws in the final 40 seconds to hold off the Irish (16-12, 7-9) for their 15th straight home win.

Tory Jackson had 17 points, while Kyle McAlarney and Luke Harangody each added 14 for Notre Dame, which hasn't beaten a top-five team since a 99-85 win over Alabama in December 2006.

NO. 3 OKLAHOMA 78, TEXAS TECH 63

LUBBOCK, Texas — Blake Griffin scored 20 points and grabbed 19 rebounds in his first game back from a concussion, and the Sooners (26-3, 12-2 Big 12) never trailed in beating the Red Raiders (12-16, 2-12), who got within 50-49 midway through the second half before falling back.

Griffin did not play in the Sooners' loss to No. 15 Kansas on Monday night, and was injured in the first half of their loss to Texas last week.

NO. 4 N. CAROLINA 104, GEORGIA TECH 74

CHAPEL HILL, N.C. — Tyler Hansbrough scored 28 points and set the NCAA's career free-throw shooting record as the Tar Heels (25-3, 11-3 Atlantic Coast Conference) routed the Yellow Jackets (10-17, 1-13) to reach the 25-win mark for the third straight year.

Hansbrough entered having made 899 free throws — six shy of Dickie Hemric's mark of 905. He tied Hemric with 6:43 left in the first half and broke the record by swishing a foul shot with 14:54 to play. He hit all eight of his foul shots, giving him a career total of 907.

NO. 5 MEMPHIS 58, SOUTHERN MISSISSIPPI 42

MEMPHIS, Tenn. — Robert Dozier had 18 points and seven rebounds, and the Tigers (26-3, 14-0 Conference USA) raced to a 23-7 lead and were never threatened in beating the Golden Eagles (14-14, 4-10) to extend the nation's longest winning streak to 20 games.

NO. 7 DUKE 72, VIRGINIA TECH 65

BLACKSBURG, Va. — Kyle Singler scored 19 of his 21 points in the second half and threw a long pass for a breakaway layup on an inbounds play in the final minute, helping the Blue Devils (24-5, 10-4 Atlantic Coast Conference) hold off the Hokies (17-11, 7-7) for their fourth straight victory.

GEORGETOWN 56, NO. 10 VILLANOVA 54

PHILADELPHIA — DaJuan Summers scored 16 points and Chris Wright had 13, including a driving layup with 47 seconds left, as the Hoyas (15-12, 6-10 Big East) ended a two-game losing streak, while beating the Wildcats (23-7, 11-6) for the fifth straight time.

NO. 13 WAKE FOREST 70, VIRGINIA 60.

CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. — Jeff Teague scored 12 points, including a 3-pointer for a 59-53 lead with just over two minutes left, and the Demon Deacons (22-5, 9-5 Atlantic Coast Conference) went 9-of-9 in free throws in the final minute to beat the Cavaliers (9-16, 3-11).

WASHINGTON STATE 51, NO. 14 ARIZONA STATE 49

PULLMAN, Wash. — Taylor Rochestie's 3-pointer from the top of the key with 2.3 seconds left in overtime lifted the Cougars (16-13, 8-9 Pac-10) to an upset of the Sun Devils (21-7, 10-6), who lost their second straight after Ty Abbott's 40-foot desperation shot at the buzzer bounced off the rim.

NO. 16 PURDUE 75, OHIO STATE 50

WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. — Robbie Hummel scored 17 points, E'Twaun Moore had 11 points, 10 rebounds and six assists, and the Boilermakers (22-7, 11-5 Big Ten) made seven of nine 3-pointers after the break to pull away from the Buckeyes (18-9, 8-8).

NO. 17 GONZAGA 58, SAN DIEGO 47

SAN DIEGO — Matt Bouldin scored 15 points to lead four teammates in double figures and the visiting Bulldogs (23-5, 14-0) beat the Toreros (15-15, 6-8) to become the first team in conference history to go undefeated in three seasons as it won its 21st straight West Coast Conference game.

NO. 18 LSU 73, KENTUCKY 70

LEXINGTON, Ky. — Tasmin Mitchell scored 21 — including the game-winning 3-pointer with 9.8 seconds remaining — as the Tigers (25-4, 13-1) rallied from a 10-point deficit in the second half to beat the Wildcats (19-10, 8-6) for the first time in 20 years at Rupp Arena and clinch the Southeastern Conference regular season title.

NO. 21 WASHINGTON 83, ARIZONA 78

SEATTLE — Jon Brockman scored 14 of his 19 points in the second half and the Huskies (22-7, 13-4) rallied from a 10-point deficit midway through the second half to beat the Wildcats (18-11, 8-8) and clinch at least a tie for the Pac-10 regular season championship.

NO. 22 UCLA 72, CALIFORNIA 68

BERKELEY, Calif. — Darren Collison scored 16 of his 22 points in the second half as the Bruins (22-7, 11-5) rallied from a 53-49 deficit with a 13-0 run to beat the Golden Bears (21-8, 10-6) and take sole possession of second place in the Pac-10.

NO. 23 FLORIDA STATE 73, CLEMSON 66

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. — Toney Douglas scored 23 points and the Seminoles (22-7, 9-5 Atlantic Coast Conference) saw their 51-33 lead cut to 63-60 with 3:29 left before pulling away to beat the Tigers (22-6, 8-6) and move closer to their first NCAA tournament bid in 11 years.

NO. 24 BUTLER 58, CLEVELAND STATE 56

INDIANAPOLIS — Willie Veasley scored 16 points and the Bulldogs (25-4, 15-3) rallied in the final four minutes to turn back the preseason conference favorite Vikings (21-10, 12-6) and clinch their third straight Horizon League regular-season title.

OKLAHOMA STATE 68, NO. 25 TEXAS 59

STILLWATER, Okla. — James Anderson scored 16 points and Kelton Paige made 6 of 6 free throws in the final 1:01 to help Cowboys (19-9, 8-6 Big 12) hold off a second-half charge by the Longhorns (19-9, 8-6 Big 12), who cut a 17-point deficit to 56-55 with 4:35 left, but got no closer.

WAC

NEVADA 84, UTAH STATE 71

RENO, Nev. — Armon Johnson scored 28 points, Luke Babbitt added 21, and the Wolf Pack (17-11, 9-5 Western Athletic Conference) opened a 47-32 lead at the half, then hung on to beat the Aggies (26-4, 13-2), who have already clinched the conference's regular season title.

Babbitt hit 10 of 11 free throws while pulling down nine rebounds for the Wolf Pack. Gary Wilkinson had a team-high 16 points and Tai Wesley 10 points and 10 rebounds for Utah State.

LOUISIANA TECH 76, BOISE STATE 62

RUSTON, La. — James Loe scored 23 points, Kyle Gibson added 21 and Olu Ashaolu had 15 as the Bulldogs (14-16, 6-9 Western Athletic Conference) led 29-27 at intermission and pulled away in the second half to beat the Broncos (17-10, 7-6).

The Bulldogs went 8-for-14 from beyond the arc, while the Broncos hit just 5-of-17 from behind the 3-point line. The Bulldogs made 22 free throws, while the Broncos sank just 13 foul shots in the game.

IDAHO 71, FRESNO STATE 68

FRESNO, Calif. — Trevor Morris scored 14 points, Mac Hopson had 13, including two free throws with 18 seconds left for a 71-65 lead as the Vandals (14-14, 7-7) held on to beat the Bulldogs (12-18, 3-11), who got 23 points from Sylvester Seay, including a 3-pointer at the buzzer.

The Vandals shot 52.9 percent from the floor and outrebounded Fresno State 40-31 to overcome 15 turnovers.