CINCINNATI -- According to Pitt coach Jamie Dixon, the Panthers are still a work in progress, a basketball team on the rise and a team that is improving with each passing week.

If that is true and the Panthers are indeed still improving, they could be special by the time the NCAA tournament rolls around in March.

Last night was the latest evidence that Pitt is much closer to becoming the kind of team Dixon expects as the 23rd-ranked Panthers beat Cincinnati, 74-71, at Fifth Third Arena to improve to 13-2 (3-0 Big East).

It was the Panthers' sixth win in a row and their ninth in 10 games and perhaps most impressive, their second consecutive conference road victory. Both of those wins came against teams many regarded as among the top teams in the league.

And while the staple of Pitt's program has been defense, the victory against the Bearcats came courtesy of the Panthers' offense, which was efficient, productive and answered the call every time Cincinnati tried to make a run.

Pitt shot 49 percent from the field (25 for 51), including 57 percent from 3-point range (4 for 7) and got 36 points from Ashton Gibbs (19) and Gilbert Brown (17). Pitt also turned the ball over only seven times and made 20 of 27 free-throw attempts.

"I thought nobody lost this game, someone had to win it," Dixon said. "This was a well played game and both teams had to make plays and both did throughout. The numbers would indicate it, high shooting percentages, good rebounding numbers, few turnovers.

"They are a good team and we are becoming a good team. We're certainly improving."

As Dixon said, the Panthers needed to be as good as they were on offense because the Bearcats were equally as good -- they shot 49.2 percent from the field (30 for 61) and had only eight turnovers.

If there is one area where there was a noticeable difference it was free-throw shooting as the Panthers scored 20 points from the line to the Bearcats' eight.

Cincinnati coach Mick Cronin echoed Dixon's sentiments about the high level the game was played at but said the difference between the Panthers and the Bearcats was Pitt's ability to score and at times almost at will.

"It came down to our inability to get stops against Pittsburgh's offense," Cronin said.

"I thought Gilbert Brown had five second-half field goals which broke our back.

"We played well enough to win on offense, but not on defense and we also didn't offensive rebound and you are not going to win a lot of games against anybody, particularly a good basketball team like Pitt, doing that."

Brown certainly was the star of the show in the second half as he scored nine consecutive points -- including a spectacular dunk on the head of Bearcats forward Steve Toyloy which gave Pitt a 57-54 lead with seven minutes to play.

The game remained close from that point to the end but that dunk seemed to give the Panthers a lot of momentum and they did not trail again.

Still, the Bearcats stayed close and pulled within 73-71 on a layup by Deonta Vaughn with 2.9 seconds to play.

Then Gibbs, who was the star of the first half and had made 46 free throws in a row this season and to this point in the game, was fouled but left the door open for Cincinnati when he missed the first of two free throws (he made the second) and thus the Bearcats trailed by only three points.

Larry Davis's 3-pointer at the buzzer, however, was off the mark and the Panthers held on for the win.

NOTES -- Gibbs was named the Big East player of the week after averaging 23.5 points, 7.5 rebounds and 3 assists per game in the Panthers' victories against Syracuse and DePaul. ... Pitt entered the rankings this week for the first time this season. The Panthers were No. 23 in The Associated Press Poll. ... Pitt now has a nine day break before it plays at Connecticut Jan. 13.

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