After a seventh consecutive perfect November, Pitt is making its annual climb up the polls. The Panthers are No. 3 in The Associated Press and ESPN/USA Today coaches' polls after Louisville was upset Sunday by Western Kentucky.

The No. 3 ranking is Pitt's highest in almost two years. The Panthers were ranked No. 2 for three consecutive weeks in November and December in 2006. The Panthers have never been ranked No. 1.

It's a long shot, but the Panthers could ascend to the top spot in a couple of weeks. No. 1 North Carolina plays No. 13 Michigan State tomorrow night at Ford Field in Detroit. No. 2 Connecticut plays No. 5 Gonzaga Dec. 20 in Seattle.

Pitt likely will not play a ranked team until Jan. 3 at Georgetown, although the contest Dec. 21 at Florida State could be a challenge.

"I can sit here and say it doesn't mean anything, but schools are big on rankings," Pitt coach Jamie Dixon said. "[Media are] big on rankings. They rank universities. It's nice to put on paper.

"But I understand it. We want to have the best medical school, the best business school, the best speech pathology school. And we want to have the No. 1 basketball school."

Sophomore center DeJuan Blair said rankings mean little to him at this time of the season.

"It's good we're third in the nation, but we could be just like Louisville and UCLA," Blair said. "We could lose tomorrow and be 25th or something. That's cool we're up there. It is good hype for the school, but it only counts if you keep it for a long time."

The Big East set a record yesterday when eight conference teams were ranked in The Associated Press poll. In addition to No. 2 Connecticut and No. 3 Pitt, Notre Dame is No. 7, Louisville is No. 11, Syracuse is No. 16, Villanova is No. 17, Georgetown is No. 20 and Marquette is No. 25.

The Big East had seven teams ranked in the preseason poll and at one other time, in January 2006.

Pitt has raced to a 7-0 record with an average margin of victory of almost 20 points per game. It makes one wonder what the margin would be if the Panthers were not clanking their free throws off the rim so often.

Once again it appears the Panthers will not be a premier free-throw shooting club. They are shooting 67.1 percent from the free-throw line, which is about on par with their percentages from the past several years.

Pitt shot 66.7 percent last season, 66.1 percent in 2006-07. The high-water mark of the Ben Howland-Jamie Dixon era came in 2005-06 when the Panthers shot 69.3 percent.

Not that free-throw shooting has mattered in the past for Pitt. The Panthers have made it to seven consecutive NCAA tournaments with an average free-throw percentage of 65.7 percent.

Still, it has to be disconcerting for Dixon that his two top scorers are the ones having the most trouble at the line.

Sam Young, a career 67 percent shooter from the line, is making 61.8 percent of his attempts through the first seven games. And Blair, who shot 62.4 percent last season as a freshman, is shooting 53.3 percent this season.

"I try not to think about it," Blair said. "I just shoot them. I work on them. I come in at nighttime and shoot some with my friends and brother. They'll eventually start falling. It's not all that stressful on me."

Pitt plays host to Duquesne tomorrow night in the annual game between the two schools. Blair was asked what the game meant to him because he grew up in the Hill District.

Blair's response?

"It's a big rivalry for the whole city," he said. "It's a fun rivalry. What do they call it? The Backyard Brawl or something like that?"

Nope. That would be the other rivalry with West Virginia. The Pitt-Duquesne game is called the City Game.