ROSEMONT, Ill. -- The nation's top offensive rebounder is starting to get the reputation of being one of the nation's top scorers. And the team that heretofore had been known for its defense is starting to get a reputation for being a bona fide offensive juggernaut.

Sophomore center DeJuan Blair tallied a career-high 32 points and led No. 6 Pitt to a 92-69 victory against DePaul yesterday at Allstate Arena.

It was the third consecutive game the Panthers have scored 90 points or more, which previously happened in December 1990, when Pitt scored 105, 96 and 98 points in victories against Marshall, West Virginia and Robert Morris.

It was the third win in a row for Pitt (21-2, 8-2 Big East Conference) and the fifth in the past six games as the Panthers get ready to play host to West Virginia tomorrow night at the Petersen Events Center.

Blair, 6 feet 7 and 265 pounds of unmovable mass in the middle, was 14 for 23 from the field and pulled down 14 rebounds for his 15th double-double of the season. He had plenty of help from his teammates, including senior point guard Levance Fields, who tied a school record with 16 assists. He equaled the mark of Bob Shrewsbury, who had 16 against South Carolina in 1976.

If you're looking for a reason why the Panthers have been changing their stripes from a defensive outfit to an offensive machine look no further than Fields and Blair, who have been playing in an otherworldly manner.

Fields has 36 assists and two turnovers in the past three games while Blair is averaging 24.3 points and 14.6 rebounds per game in that span.

"If DeJuan is playing like this, we're going to be tough to beat," Fields said.

The book on the Panthers is that they are susceptible when Blair is in foul trouble. The flip side of that, of course, is that they are literally unbeatable when he is not. Pitt has two losses this season, and both happened when Blair spent large portions of the game on the bench because of fouls.

Playing undeterred with only one foul on his conscience yesterday, Blair was his usual dominating presence inside. He had nine offensive rebounds and raised his NCAA-leading total to 136 offensive rebounds.

"There's an amazing statistic from this game," DePaul coach Jerry Wainwright said. "They missed 30 shots and they rebounded [more than] half of them. That's an amazing statistic. [Blair] is an exceptional offensive rebounder. He reminds me of Moses Malone. He almost gets the ball to get it on the glass and then he goes after it again. He has an exceptional combination of long arms and big hands. He really doesn't even jump that much."

Pitt was 38 for 68 from the field and had 17 offensive rebounds. On two occasions, Blair had three offensive rebounds in one possession and eventually scored, which has a tendency to deflate opponents more than simply making a shot.

"This is the best I've played and I'm trying to keep it going," Blair said. "This isn't like it was when I was a freshman and hitting the wall or whatever it was you guys were saying last year."

Blair isn't hitting a wall this season; he is running through it with little resistance. With his sublime performance yesterday, Blair replaced Sam Young as the team's leading scorer in Big East play. Blair, who once deferred to the older players around him, now asserts himself and averages 16.5 points in conference games. Young, who had a double-double with 10 points and 10 rebounds yesterday, is averaging 14.5 per game.

"He's getting better," Pitt coach Jamie Dixon said. "Our guys are getting him the ball in the right spots. He's getting the ball underneath the basket. He knows it's going to be coming to him if he works and gets in the right position. We're a team that gets the ball inside."

The Panthers also have a nice complement of outside shooters who helped to erase a surprising early deficit against the Blue Demons (8-16, 0-11). They were 11 for 22 from behind the 3-point arc yesterday.

The Panthers made four 3-pointers in the final 4:15 of the first half and turned a six-point deficit into a nine-point lead at halftime (42-33).

In the second half, Blair boosted Pitt's lead to 53-38 with seven consecutive points. As soon as the Blue Demons started paying more attention to him, the outside shooters put the finishing touches on the victory.

Reserve Brad Wanamaker scored 11 points, including three 3-pointers, in a 20-8 run that put the game out of reach.

NOTES -- Jermaine Dixon has made 16 of his past 32 3-point attempts since his brother, Juan, gave him an impromptu shooting lesson after the Georgetown game. He made only 7 of his first 43 such attempts in the first 14 games. ...Wanamaker finished with 13 points and has scored in double figures in three of the past four games.