The most competitive college basketball tournament fields were assembled in sunny locales such as Hawaii, Orlando, Fla., and the U.S. Virgin Islands -- all more desirable destinations than Newark, N.J., which is where Pitt won the Legends Classic over the weekend.

But spending Thanksgiving in the chilly Northeast, while beating their first two opponents from major conferences, turned out to be a fine way to spend the holiday for the Pitt Panthers.

Coach Jamie Dixon does not seek out tournaments such as the Maui Invitational, which annually pits ranked teams against other ranked teams. Dixon sought out the Legends Classic so that his players from New York and New Jersey could spend part of the holiday with friends and family.

The competition left something to be desired -- Pitt defeated Texas Tech and Washington State by double-digit margins -- but Dixon said the tournament was beneficial for his team.

"This was a good event for us," he said. "It was terrific for our guys to get home and play in front of their families. I'm glad we scheduled it."

Texas Tech was picked to finish in 10th place in the Big 12 Conference, and Washington State was picked to finish sixth in the Pacific-10. Pitt pulled away in the second half of each game after slow starts.

The Panthers defeated Texas Tech, 80-67, and Washington State, 57-43. While the players savored the championship, they all left the tournament knowing there was much work to be done before Big East play begins.

"To be honest, I don't even think we're half as good as we're going to be at the end of the season," senior forward Sam Young said. "Even though we got this great championship win, we still have a lot to work on as far as defense, transition defense, running plays, just a whole bunch of stuff."

The Panthers are still a work in progress as senior point guard Levance Fields and sophomore forward Gilbert Brown work their way back from injuries. Fields, who had bone graft surgery in August, has not missed a game, but he has struggled at times with his conditioning and movement on the court. Brown missed the first four games with a stress fracture in his left foot and saw his first extended action against Texas Tech and Washington State. He played well, scoring 16 points and grabbing 11 rebounds in the two games.

"In another month we'll be better," Fields said. "Once we all can practice we'll get better. We're doing a good job of managing to get through what has been a little bit of a tough stretch."

Dixon said the Legends Classic was especially positive for his freshmen, who continue to learn on the job. Dixon shortened his bench some over the weekend, but Travon Woodall and Ashton Gibbs got a better taste for what major-conference college basketball will be like.

"We got a better sense of ourselves this week, the things we wanted to do," Dixon said. "We are a relatively young team. We did a great job. Even in [the Washington State] game, it showed in how we wanted to guard and execute offensively. You could see us getting smarter and getting more comfortable and getting a better understanding as the game went on.

"We're better today than we were yesterday and the day before that. Our young guys really improved defensively. We need their defense and they're starting to understand that."

The Panthers have five more non-conference games remaining and likely won't play a ranked opponent until they travel to Georgetown Jan. 3. That's just as well for this team, which acknowledges there are many things to work on.

"We just have to get better all around," sophomore center DeJuan Blair said. "We're never too good for ourselves. We can get better all the time."