NEWARK, N.J. -- With sophomore center DeJuan Blair hobbled by a knee injury and his teammates meandering through another Big East Conference road game, Pitt senior Sam Young stepped to the forefront and ensured that the Panthers wouldn't suffer the embarrassment of losing two games in the week they regained the No. 1 ranking.

Young scored 29 points and grabbed 10 rebounds to lead No. 1 Pitt past Seton Hall, 89-78, last night at the Prudential Center. The victory came five days after the Panthers lost in an uninspiring effort at Providence, one day after regaining the No. 1 ranking.

"Sam is a great scorer," junior guard Jermaine Dixon said. "When he rebounds like that he's going to get a lot of points. He saw we were struggling a little bit there, and he stepped up."

Pitt (26-3, 13-3) moved into sole possession of third place in the Big East, 1Â 1/2 games behind first-place Connecticut and a half-game behind Louisville for second place.

The Panthers remain in contention for the Big East regular-season championship, but they have to hope Louisville loses one its final three games while sweeping their final two.

Their victory last night, coupled with Villanova's loss earlier yesterday, means that the Panthers need to win one of their remaining two games against Marquette or Connecticut to place among the top four teams in the Big East standings and receive a double bye at the conference tournament March 10-14 at Madison Square Garden.

Blair went down after banging his knee with a Seton Hall player 2Â 1/2 minutes into the game. He remained on the floor for a few moments before limping back to the locker room.

Blair, who had two knee surgeries in high school, came back into the game a few minutes later, but he was noticeably off the rest of the game. He finished with nine points and 10 rebounds in 26 minutes. In the second half, Blair asked out of the game, something he almost never does.

Coach Jamie Dixon did not want to speculate on the type of injury Blair has, but his first inclination is that it is not serious.

"I don't want to be guessing," Dixon said. "I don't want to speculate. I haven't even talked to the trainer yet. We'll see how it is [today]. It seemed like they just hit [knees]. It didn't seem like it was something serious. It was different than when Mike Cook and Levance [Fields] were injured last year. We knew with them. This one looked different. I thought he really gutted it out. I thought he performed with character and heart."

Fields reported after the game that Blair originally believed he hyperextended the knee, but he thinks it is merely a bruise and that Blair will be able to play Wednesday against Marquette.

"We were all definitely nervous," Fields said. "He had two ACL injuries in high school. It was a scary sight. You hope for the best, but your first thought is 'Oh my God.' But we knew he'd tough it out."

With Blair at less than 100 percent and Pitt committing a season-high 23 turnovers, the Panthers needed a stellar effort from Young to get through this one. Young was 10 for 15 from the field and 9 for 10 from the free-throw line.

"Sam was terrific," Dixon said.

Other than Young, it was not the type of game the Panthers will feel great about. In addition to the 23 turnovers, Seton Hall shot 47.6 percent from the field and led late in the first half after capitalizing on 14 miscues by the Panthers.

The Panthers did do a better job executing their half-court offense. They shot 52 percent from the field and attacked the zone much more efficiently than they did against Providence.

"We were hitting Sam in the high post a lot," Fields said. "It was reminiscent of Sam in the Big East championship game last year. He hit a lot of open shots."

Blair and Young led an early second-half surge that helped the Panthers build upon their lead. Blair made his first field goal with 17:05 remaining. That basket ignited an 11-2 Pitt run that opened up a 50-39 lead with 15:21 left. Blair and Young accounted for all but one point in the spurt.

NOTES -- Pitt improved to 29-9 all time under Jamie Dixon after a loss. The Panthers have not lost consecutive games since February 2008. ... The Panthers improved to 4-0 in games played in New Jersey this season. ... They have won 12 of their past 13 against games played in New Jersey or New York.