Keith Benjamin had been a shooting guard in name only before this season. Benjamin had made plenty of shots for the Panthers in the first three years of his career, but most of them came on layups, dunks or any other shot inside the 3-point line.

Any shot beyond the 3-point arc likely clanked off the rim. Benjamin entered his senior season a career 30 percent shooter from 3-point range. Last season, he shot a career-low 25.5 percent from 3-point range.

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Scouting report

• Matchup: No. 13 Pitt (15-3, 3-2) vs. St. John's (7-9, 1-4), 7 p.m. today, Madison Square Garden, New York,
• TV, Radio, Internet: FSN, WWSW-FM (94.5), WBGG-AM (970), www.pittsburghpanthers.com.
• Pitt: Coming off a 62-59 loss at Cincinnati. ... Led by junior F Sam Young (18.2 ppg, 7.1 rpg), freshman C DeJuan Blair (11.9 ppg, 9.4 rpg) and senior G Keith Benjamin (9.3 ppg, 2.2 rpg). ... Coach Jamie Dixon is 21-14 in Big East road games.
• St. John's: Coming off 73-64 loss at West Virginia. ... Has lost five of past six games. ... Only win in that span came at home against Cincinnati. ... Led by Justin Burrell (12.4 ppg, 7.3 rpg), Anthony Mason Jr. (12.1 ppg, 3.5 rpg) and Larry Wright (10.3 ppg, 1.3 rpg).
• Hidden stat: Pitt's last victory at St. John's came in January 1995. The Panthers have lost their past six road games against the Red Storm.

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Since Benjamin was inserted into the starting lineup Jan. 2, however, he has been one of the top long-range shooters in the Big East Conference.

Through five games, Benjamin is third in the league in 3-point shooting percentage, making 14 of 30 attempts (46.7 percent). His 29 3-point field goals this season are one shy of his career total coming into the season.

"I'm taking good shots and picking my shots smartly," said Benjamin, a 6-foot-2, 190-pound senior from Mount Vernon, N.Y., who will play in front of friends and family tonight when the Panthers play St. John's at Madison Square Garden.

"Coach keeps stressing not to settle for bad shots. I'm looking for good shots. I'm taking them and, right now, I'm making them. I'm just looking to keep that going."

Benjamin's hot streak has coincided with increased playing time. When point guard Levance Fields was injured Dec. 29 at Dayton, Ronald Ramon moved from starting shooting guard to point guard, and Benjamin came off the bench to join the starting lineup at shooting guard.

In his first six starts (including the final non-conference game against Lafayette), Benjamin has made three 3-pointers in all but one game. In the one game he did not, against Georgetown, he made two.

"The biggest thing has been his shot selection," Pitt coach Jamie Dixon said. "In this stretch, he's really taking good shots. His balance has improved, his shot preparation has improved. When you take good shots, that really carries over and gets underestimated. He had a great summer in our workouts. He had a great summer academically. [The light goes on] for kids at different times. He's done what a senior should do. I'm happy for him because he led in our workouts and did things right. It's good to see."

Benjamin had three career starts before this season, but he has stepped up in a big way in the wake of the injuries to Fields and small forward Mike Cook.

Benjamin is averaging 16 points per game since entering the starting lineup, has scored in double figures in each of them and scored 18 or more three times.

In 86 career games entering this season, he had reached double figures seven times.

"We talked about him deserving more minutes before the injuries," Dixon said. "We knew his production would go up because of the dramatic increase in minutes. He's played really well. He's played within himself. I think that's been the biggest thing. It's not too much of a surprise."

Benjamin made all three of Pitt's 3-pointers in a 62-59 loss Saturday at Cincinnati. He did this despite having to get stitches in his right (shooting) hand in the first half after being cut by a Cincinnati player going after a loose ball.

Benjamin came back after halftime with his hand wrapped and made two of his 3-pointers, including one with 22 seconds remaining that drew the Panthers within two points.

"I put in a lot of hours shooting the basketball," Benjamin said. "I used to take a lot of off-balance shots, but now I have better balance. I'm following through. The technique is down pat for me. It's much easier for me to shoot."

When Fields returns to the lineup next month, Dixon will face a quandary. He must decide whether to return Benjamin to the bench or keep him as a starter.

For the time being, Benjamin said he is content to make the most of his opportunity and help the Panthers remain in contention for a Big East championship.

"As of right now, I'm out there having fun and playing the game," he said. "If there's an opening, I'm going to try to take it and just be aggressive with my situation. Everybody always says the senior season at Pitt always comes up short. I'm not looking to have that. We want to make every season better than the next.

"As a senior, you always want to leave your program better than it was when you came here. That's what me, Ron and Mike are trying to do. We want to make Pitt a better program."