Matt Freed, Post-Gazette photos Pitt's Aaron Gray blocks a shot by South Florida's Melvin Buckley yesterday in the second half. Click photo for larger image. More Coverage: Ron Cook: Gray has been coming up short for Panthers

Pitt opened its game against South Florida yesterday by missing 16 of its first 21 shots from the field.

The Panthers committed four turnovers in that span and played in the kind of malaise that normally would get them into trouble.

Two things prevented that. South Florida, to put it politely, is not a very good team and Pitt played the type of defense that one has come to expect from the Panthers.

In a game that had few offensive highlights for Pitt, the Panthers earned a 69-48 victory against South Florida (9-7, 0-2 Big East) at the Petersen Events Center with some of its best defense of the season.

"That's what this team is all about," junior Mike Cook said. "We weren't shooting it well. We weren't passing it well. We really weren't doing anything well. But our defense was clicking."

No. 10 Pitt (14-2, 2-0) gave up its fewest points of the season. The Panthers held South Florida guard Melvin Buckley, one of the Big East Conference's top scorers, to 10 points, and forced 15 turnovers.

After giving up 89 and 95 points against Wisconsin and Oklahoma State three weeks ago, the Panthers have given up an average of 55 points the past four games.

"I really like the makeup of their team," South Florida coach Robert McCullum said. "They don't try to come out and trick you. They're rock solid defensively in the half court. When you throw in their ability to rebound the basketball it makes them one of the best teams in the country. Maybe not the prettiest. But who cares?

Pitt's Antonio Graves drives to the basket around South Florida's Kentrell Gransberry in the second half yesterday at the Petersen Events Center. Click photo for larger image.

"I don't think we're into that talk about style points. It's the bottom-line. They have one of the best teams in the country. If they do the things with the consistency they are now, they're going to be tough to beat."

It was the second consecutive game Pitt held down one of the Big East's top scorers. In Thursday's 74-66 victory at Syracuse, Pitt held Demetris Nichols, the league's leading scorer, to 11 points.

Buckley came into the game averaging 16.9 points per game and had scored fewer than 15 points only five times going into yesterday's game. Pitt held him to three field goals in nine attempts.

"I thought we did a pretty good job," coach Jamie Dixon said. "We really compared him to Nichols. We wanted to guard him the same way. To do it two games in a row against two of the highest scorers in the Big East, it says something about the guys."

The offense eventually came around in the second half. Senior center Aaron Gray did not score in double figures for the fourth consecutive game, but the guards made their 3-pointers.

Pitt was 10 for 16 from behind the 3-point arc. The Panthers shot almost twice as well from behind the arc (62.5 percent) than they did inside the arc (35.5 percent). The guards were open because the Bulls concentrated on not letting Gray beat them.

Pitt's Keith Benjamin knocks the ball away from South Florida's Melvin Buckley yesterday. Click photo for larger image.

Gray was held to seven points, but six of his teammates scored seven points or more to offset the lack of inside scoring production. Sophomore point guard Levance Fields was Pitt's leading scorer with 11 points, his seventh consecutive game in double figures.

"When arguably your best player can have an off night and you can win convincingly you have to feel good about your team," McCullum said. "Their perimeter shooting is one of the areas they have improved greatly. Offensively, it gives them so much more balance. It sort of makes you pick your poison. You can drop off and help on Gray and make him kick it out. They do a great job of knocking down jumpers. They have good chemistry."

Fields was 3 for 4 from 3-point range and Ronald Ramon was 3 for 5. Levon Kendall, Keith Benjamin, Antonio Graves and Tyrell Biggs made one apiece.

"Everyone is shooting well," Ramon said. "It's something we have this year that we struggled with in years past. The guys are stepping up and shooting the 3-point shot well. I think we just have guys who are going to step up and hit shots."

Pitt led by 10 at halftime despite shooting 34 percent from the field. Much of that had to do with South Florida committing nine turnovers in the first 20 minutes and its own struggles on offense.

Pitt broke open the game early in the second half with an 18-3 run in which South Florida did not make a field goal. Ramon and Biggs made 3-pointers 50 seconds apart to put the Panthers 51-29 with 9:43 remaining.

South Florida did not threaten to get back in the game after that.

NOTES -- Dixon reached 90 victories faster than any other Pitt coach in history. He reached 90 victories in 114 games. H.D. Carlson needed 129 games to reach 90 wins. ... Pitt is 2-0 in Big East play for the fifth time in the past six years. ... Pitt beat South Florida for the first time. The Panthers had been 0-2 against the Bulls. ... Pitt beat a Big East opponent by 20 points for the 19th time in the regular season.