CINCINNATI -- The Pitt men's basketball team spent the first month floundering a bit on offense and struggling in games against teams the Panthers should have beaten easily.

But that was the old the Panthers. The team didn't have two important, experienced players in Jermaine Dixon (injury) and Gilbert Brown (ineligible) and had a lot of fresh faces trying to find their way.

Monday night, however, Pitt beat Cincinnati, 74-71, in the fourth game the Panthers have played with Brown and Dixon back in the lineup. It was arguably their most impressive and complete performance. The game was played at a very high level, and the Panthers' execution, particularly on offense, was efficient and effective.

"I think if you try to evaluate Pitt it is clear you have to look at the season the last four games because they are a different team, now that they have all their players," said Cincinnati coach Mike Cronin. "Gilbert Brown is a great addition for them. He does a lot of different things for them, and with those guys back they are a really good team because it puts two good players with experience back into the mix."

It was only the fourth game of the season for Brown, who saved his best for the Bearcats with 17 points and three rebounds. At one point in the second half, he scored nine consecutive points.

He said that the toughest part of getting back into the lineup at midseason is that the team must develop chemistry and cohesion quickly.

"It was big for me to come back and jell with the team because sometimes it is hard for a player to come back and still have the feel and the awareness and the ability to fit in and be cohesive," Brown said. "I thought that it was important to start at practices to make sure we made a lot of strides to make it all work together."

The 6-foot-6, 210-pound Brown will play both forward positions and, according to Pitt coach Jamie Dixon, will have a role carved out for him that is similar to the one Sam Young, now departed, had last season.

Dixon also said that having Brown back -- Jermaine Dixon has been back for seven games -- is the last piece of the puzzle in terms of personnel.

While the addition of his two veterans has been a big part of the team's improvement the rest of the players deserve a lot of credit, as well, the coach said. For one thing, some players lost some minutes they were getting early in the season to make room in the lineup for Jermaine Dixon and Brown; for another, the other players have all improved and most because they have responded to the challenges given to them by the coaching staff.

"We've challenged these guys to improve. They're taking the responsibility," Jamie Dixon said. "And I think they're enjoying improving. Some guys don't want to change, they want to stay the same. But these guys want to get better and they are. I think there's a real understanding our mentality was we're not going to be the same team in January as we were in November.

"[Brown] is getting better defensively and he's getting more comfortable, especially on defense. Even though he's been here three years, it really is like starting over for him, but he is continuing to improve -- as they all are."

Check out Ray Fittipaldo's Pitt B-Ball blog and Paul Zeise's Pitt Stop videos about football exclusively on PG+, a members-only web site from the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Our introduction to PG+ gives you all the details.