Ten weeks after bone graft surgery to repair a fracture in his left foot and only two weeks after he started to practice on a limited basis, Pitt senior point guard Levance Fields made a surprise return to the starting lineup for the Panthers' season opener against Fairleigh Dickinson last night. And much to the delight of the sellout crowd at the Petersen Events Center, Fields is back and apparently better than ever.

Fields showed no ill effects from his long layoff and appeared in midseason form in the Panthers' 86-63 victory. Fields played a near flawless game, scoring 15 points while dishing out eight assists with no turnovers in 25 minutes.

"Obviously being out for 11 months and not being able to do what I really wanted ... it's been a long time," Fields said. "The more I played the better I feel. I don't have any soreness. I can pretty much play like I did before I was hurt, so that's a good thing."

Fields first fractured the fifth metatarsal bone in his left foot late in December in a game at the University of Dayton. It was fractured again in August and he had to have a second surgery to repair the damage.

Fields began shooting and doing some light running about a month ago, but he has only been doing full contact work for the past two weeks.

"We had an idea yesterday that he was going to start," Pitt coach Jamie Dixon said. "We felt good about it, that he was ready to go. It's been 11 months of limited activity. It's not an ideal situation. Eleven months of not doing what you've done your whole life ... there's going to be some adjustments. It was good, but I feel he can get in better condition and better shape."

Fields had plenty of help from his teammates in helping the No. 5 Panthers win a school-record 29th consecutive game against a non-conference opponent at the Petersen Events Center. Sophomore center DeJuan Blair had 17 points and 13 rebounds and senior Sam Young added 15 points.

Everyone who played scored as Dixon liberally substituted throughout the game. The Panthers scored 16 of the first 18 points of the game and were never threatened by the Knights, who had a tough time getting into a flow on offense.

"I've been the head coach at Fairleigh Dickinson for 25 years," Knights coach Tom Green said. "We play three or four big-time teams every year and we've been to the NCAA tournament four times. I've never seen a team play man-to-man defense the way Pittsburgh does it. Jamie's defense is the best defense I've ever coached against. Ever. It's incredible."

The building was rocking after the Big East Conference tournament championship banner was raised to the rafters in a pregame ceremony that was accompanied by a video tribute to last year's team.

When the game started it was obvious that the Panthers were going to pick up where they left off. Blair scored eight points in the first six minutes of the game and came one rebound shy of posting his 15th career double-double in the first half.

"He dominated like he always does," Fields said of Blair. "Even when we don't run plays for him or don't get him a touch, he crashes the boards and gets his own shots. When he does get his opportunities he always makes the most of them. He's done a great job in the offseason working on his game. It's a great start for him."

Pitt shot 55.4 percent (36 for 65) from the field and had 27 assists. When their outside shots were not falling early the Panthers turned to their pinpoint passing to solve the Knights' zone defense.

And when those shots did not fall, Blair and power forward Tyrell Biggs were there to crash the boards for second opportunities. Blair had seven of Pitt's 14 offensive rebounds as the Panthers dominated the lane, outscoring the Knights, 50-14, on the inside.

"That's a team looked like it was in midseason form," Green said. "I have a vote in the coaches' poll. I voted them No. 2 behind North Carolina. I'm going to keep voting them No. 2 until I see someone better."

The Panthers were not nearly as impressed with themselves. Dixon harped on how his team's defense could get much better, and the players admitted to not yet being in great game shape.

Blair has a message for future opponents once Fields and the rest of the team get into tip-top condition.

"When we get in shape it's going to get ugly for a lot of teams," Blair said.

Fairleigh Dickinson would have something to say about that.

Next up

• Game: No. 5 Pitt (1-0) vs. Miami of Ohio (0-1).

• When: 7 p.m. Monday.

• Where: Petersen Events Center.