Long winning streaks for Notre Dame at home are nothing new. It's just that most of them have come on the grass inside Notre Dame Stadium, not on the hardwood inside the nearby Joyce Center.

Home winning streaks have been few for the Notre Dame men's basketball team over the years, but the Fighting Irish carry a 34-game streak into tonight's game against Pitt. It is the third-longest home winning streak in the country.

The previous time Notre Dame lost at the Joyce Center was February 2006. The past 15 Big East foes to have played at Notre Dame have lost, including Connecticut, West Virginia, Cincinnati and DePaul this season.

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Scouting report

• TV, Radio, Internet: ESPN, WWSW-FM (94.5), WBGG-AM (970), www.pittsburghpanthers.com.
• Pitt: Dropped out of the national polls for the first time in more than two years after 72-54 loss to Marquette. ... Has won the past five games against Notre Dame, including two games at the Joyce Center (2004-05). ... Led by junior F Sam Young (17.9 ppg, 6.7 rpg), freshman C DeJuan Blair (11.6 ppg, 9.4 rpg) and junior G Levance Fields (11.3 ppg, 3.8 rpg).
• Notre Dame: Has won six of its past seven after 71-68 victory at Rutgers. ... Has a 34-game home winning streak. ... Led by sophomore F Luke Harangody (20.4 ppg, 10.3 rpg), junior G Kyle McAlarney (15.1 ppg, 1.9 rpg) and senior F Rob Kurz (12.3 ppg, 8.0 rpg).
• Hidden stat: Pitt is 26-25 all time against Notre Dame, including a 9-14 record at Notre Dame.

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"Frame of mind is the biggest thing," Notre Dame coach Mike Brey said. "Confidence is a key word. It sort of becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy after a while. There's a strong belief of finding a way to get it done. It's been a confidence giver to our team. It's been something to always help us believe we can win a game. We just have a feeling that we play well in this building."

The luck of the Irish might have something to do with the streak as well. Notre Dame has not had to play many elite teams at home during the streak. The Irish have only beaten two ranked teams during the streak, with the best win coming Feb. 9 against then-No. 16 Marquette. When Notre Dame played Connecticut in early January, the Huskies were unranked.

Brey said he is most proud of the 15-game home winning streak against Big East foes, which is among the best home streaks in the history of the conference.

"I believe the record in the league is 20," Brey said. "To do something like that in this league is something we're proud of."

As much as the winning streak is something the Irish take pride in, it was not the streak Brey was talking about to his players this week. Brey was preaching about a losing streak to get his players focused for the Pitt game.

Pitt has beaten Notre Dame in five consecutive meetings, including the past two games at the Joyce Center (2004, '05).

Going back to the days of the old Western Division when the Big East had two divisions, Pitt and Notre Dame always seemed to play classic contests. Four of the past six games have been decided by four points or fewer. The last time Pitt played Notre Dame in January 2006, the Panthers beat the Fighting Irish, 100-97, in double overtime.

"They've owned us," Brey said. "We've had some great games with them. The last time we played it was one of the better games in the Big East in the last five years."

Pitt certainly knows how a home-court advantage can help a team. The Panthers won 40 consecutive home games from January 2001-February 2004, including 34 in a row at the Petersen Events Center (the first six wins came at Fitzgerald Field House).

Pitt has won 100 of its past 110 home games and lost for the first time at home this season last month to Rutgers.

Pitt had been one of the better road teams in the league before this season, but the Panthers are just 2-4 on the road in the Big East this year after going 6-2 on the road in conference play in 2007.

"They haven't lost at home in a long time," freshman center DeJuan Blair said. "That will be on our minds. We're going to try to stop that. We need to have more energy than them. That's what we have to start doing on road trips. We have to go in there and focus. We have to play defense. The offense will come."

Pitt likely will need to have one of its best offensive games of the season to upset the Irish. Notre Dame has the highest scoring offense in the Big East. The Irish are averaging 80.2 points per game and have scored 80 or more in each of their past four home games.

That might be a tall order for the Panthers, who have scored in the 50s in three of their past four games.