WASHINGTON -- Pitt sophomore center DeJuan Blair dismissed questions about his 2-point, 2-rebound, 8-minutes-of-agony at Rutgers the other day the way he tossed aside prized freshman Greg Monroe and the rest of the Georgetown Hoyas here yesterday.

With a big smile and ridiculous ease.

"That was last year," Blair said of his and Pitt's struggles in a 78-72 win at Rutgers New Year's Eve day.

"Let's talk about today."

Sounds like a plan to me.

Blair faced a number of tough questions when he stepped on the Verizon Center hard wood. Would he bounce back after the worst performance of his Pitt career? Would he hold his own against the 6-foot-11 Monroe, maybe the top freshman in the college game? Would he give soon-to-be No. 2 Pitt enough to beat a Georgetown team that thrashed then-No. 2 Connecticut Monday night in Hartford and had won 28 games in a row at the Verizon Center, including 15 against Big East Conference opponents?

Yes, yes and definitely yes.

It was hard to say which answer was more impressive in Pitt's convincing 70-54 win.

A lesser kid might have sulked after what happened at Rutgers. "I can't say it's the worst game I ever played because I didn't play," said Blair, who was in foul trouble from the start. "It was the worst game I've ever been involved in." Pitt coach Jamie Dixon kept Blair on the bench for the final 11 minutes, 45 seconds of the close game, choosing not to send him back in with four fouls.

Not exactly typical treatment of a star player.

"Just one of those days that happens to big guys," Dixon said, shrugging.

"I wasn't worried [about how Blair would respond]. I was anxious to get him back out there."

Blair acknowledged he didn't feel much like celebrating the New Year after Pitt bussed down from Rutgers Wednesday night. "Stayed in and chilled and started prepping for this game," he said.

Monroe never had a chance.

Talk about being schooled.

Blair and Monroe are "cool friends" -- Blair's description -- after playing together at NBA star Amare Stoudemire's camp in Phoenix in June. "But on the court," Blair said, menacingly, "I don't know you."

It's no secret that Blair always is especially inspired to play against Georgetown. Last season, he got the better of 7-foot-2 Roy Hibbert -- the No. 17 pick in the June NBA draft and a starter for the Indiana Pacers -- in two Pitt wins. This time, it was the sight of Monroe that turned him on.

"They hype those guys up so much," Blair said. "[Monroe] is supposed to be the next big thing. They were picking this young cat against me. I'm not going to take that. Why not go right at him? ...

"I guess I got the better of him today."

Ya think?

Blair had 20 points and 17 rebounds, Monroe 15 and 8. But there was so much more to the domination. Blair fairly danced on the court early in the second half when he rejected Monroe's power layup attempt.

"That was 6-foot-11 against 6-foot-7, 6-foot-6 if I don't have my shoes on. What can I say?" Blair said, with another huge grin.

Dixon might not have been concerned about Blair's ego being bruised, but he sure made it a point to get the big fella involved in the game early, calling a set play for him on Pitt's first possession. Blair powered in a layup over Monroe, then, before the Hoyas could get the ball up the court, he swiped a pass and roared in for another hoop and a quick 4-0 lead.

So much for that New Year's Eve hangover.

It went that way all day for Blair. He scored Pitt's first 7 points of the second half when the game still was close. He also found time for three assists, two on fabulous passes to teammate Tyrell Biggs for layups.

But, as always, it was those 17 rebounds that excited Blair. He helped Pitt to a silly, 48-23 edge on the boards. Not coincidentally, Pitt whipped Hibbert and the Hoyas on the glass in both wins last year, the second coming in the Big East tournament championship game at Madison Square Garden.

"That's our goal every game, to be plus-10 or plus-15 in rebounds," Blair said. "We're trying to be the best frontcourt in the whole nation. I think we showed a lot of people today that we can be that."

If nothing else, Pitt showed that it's worthy of replacing UConn in the national polls. Pitt surely will be No. 2 behind North Carolina when the polls come out tomorrow.

"This was a statement game for us," Blair said.

Not so much for Pitt, actually. There are no statement games in early January. The statement games happen at the Big East and NCAA tournaments in March and even April.

But for Blair? You bet it was a statement game.

That Rutgers performance really does seem so 2008ish.