WASHINGTON — DeJuan Blair knew that he was not the main focus of the two dozen or so NBA scouts or the national television audience. The featured attraction was supposed to be college basketball's latest flavor-of-the-month, Georgetown freshman Greg Monroe.

In the second half, however, it was Blair who was thumping his chest while chants of "Let's Go, Pitt!" came from the thousands of upper-deck fans who made the trip to the nation's capital. Blair and the No. 3 Panthers were muscling their way to a 70-54 win yesterday over the No. 11 Hoyas, ending Georgetown's 29-game home winning streak.

"I played with something on my back saying, 'They're picking this young cat against me, and I'm not going to take it,' " Blair said. "I was always an underdog throughout my whole life. I think I showed a lot of people."

Blair had 20 points and 17 rebounds, and the Panthers (14-0, 2-0 Big East) never trailed as they dominated the Hoyas on the boards, in the paint and with their depth.

Rebounds: 46-21. Points in the paint: 48-22. Bench scoring: 14-2. Needless to say, those questions about the Panthers' early schedule — this was their first game against a ranked team — are now firmly put to rest.

"They were saying, 'Who did Pitt play?' " Blair said. "We came into Georgetown and showed them what we can do. They can't say nothing now."

Tyrell Biggs and Sam Young added 14 points apiece for the Panthers, who shot 53 percent in the second half in a rematch of the last two Big East tournament championship games. Levance Fields had eight assists and no turnovers, raising his ratio to 91-to-19 on the season.

DaJuan Summers finished with 22 points for the Hoyas, who stayed close until a 17-4 Pittsburgh run midway through the second half.

Monroe added 15 points for the Hoyas (10-2, 1-1), who were dealt a sobering reality check five days after their road upset of No. 2 Connecticut. Monroe's 4-inch height advantage meant little against Blair's grit and determination.

"He's real strong," Monroe said. "He's definitely knows how to use his strength, his width."

Predictably, Georgetown coach John Thompson III downplayed the magnitude of the loss in much the same manner in which he refused to buy into the euphoria over the UConn win. After all, there's a road game at No. 7 Notre Dame tomorrow.

"We have no turnaround," Thompson said. "We leave tomorrow morning for South Bend. You can't dwell on that too long. We're a very good team, but we just had a very difficult stretch from that 14-minute mark where they did a good job of executing and we didn't."

NO. 2 CONNECTICUT 80, RUTGERS 49

STORRS, Conn. — Hasheem Thabeet had 15 points and eight rebounds, and the Huskies (12-1, 1-1 Big East) closed the first half with a 17-7 run for a 29-18 lead and the Scarlet Knights (9-6, 0-2) never threatened thereafter.

"We as a team came out and said, 'We're going to play defense,' " said Thabeet, UConn's 7-foot-3 center. "We got a lot of defensive rebounds and just kept them from making shots."

It was the third consecutive loss to a highly ranked team for Rutgers, which was beaten last Sunday by No. 1 North Carolina and lost on Wednesday to No. 3 Pittsburgh.

NO. 4 OKLAHOMA 93, COPPIN STATE 62

NORMAN, Okla. — Tony Crocker hit five 3-pointers, including four to blow it open in the first half, and scored 20 points to lead the Sooners (13-1) to a rout of the Eagles (2-11).

Blake Griffin added 14 points and 12 rebounds for his 11th double-double this season as the Sooners raced to a 45-23 lead at intermission.

NO. 6 WAKE FOREST 94, BYU 87

PROVO, Utah — Jeff Teague scored 30 points and James Johnson had 22 points and 15 rebounds as the Demon Deacons (13-0) ended the nation's longest home winning streak by beating the Cougars (11-2).

Wake Forest broke an 85-all tie with eight straight points in the final two minutes to stop the Cougars, who had won 53 straight at home since a loss to Loyola-Marymount to open the 2005-06 season.

ST. JOHN'S 71, NO. 7 NOTRE DAME 65

NEW YORK — D. J. Kennedy scored 20 points, including four free throws in the final 15 seconds, and had 10 rebounds to help the Red Storm (10-4, 1-1 Big East) end a three-game losing streak with an upset of the Fighting Irish (10-3, 1-1).

Luke Harangody had 28 points and 14 rebounds for the Fighting Irish, who went 4-for-17 from 3-point range.

NO. 10 MICHIGAN ST. 77, NORTHWESTERN 66

EVANSTON, Ill. — Raymar Morgan had 22 points and 13 rebounds, and the Spartans (11-2, 2-0 Big Ten) scored the first 12 points of the second half to turn a one-point halftime deficit into a 44-33 lead they never lost in beating the Wildcats for the 12th straight time.

Northwestern's Craig Moore (16 points) hit back-to-back 3-pointers midway through the half to make it 51-46. But a put-back by Morgan and jumper by Travis Walton made it 64-52 and ended any lingering suspense.

KANSAS 92, NO. 14 TENNESSEE 85

LAWRENCE, Kan. — Sherron Collins had 26 points and nine assists, and Cole Aldrich had 22 points and 10 rebounds to help the Jayhawks (10-3) beat the Vols (9-3) for their 32nd straight victory at Allen Fieldhouse.

NO. 20 CLEMSON 79, EAST CAROLINA 66

CLEMSON, S.C. — K.C. Rivers scored 18 points, Jerai Grant added 14 and the Tigers used a 17-4 run in the second half to go up 68-48 and never looked back to improve to 14-0 for the second time in three years. The Pirates (8-5) lost their fourth straight.

NO. 21 MINNESOTA 68, NO. 24 OHIO STATE 59

MINNEAPOLIS — Lawrence Westbrook scored 15 points, and the Gophers (13-1, 1-1 Big Ten), trailing 22-15, got a layup and a 3-pointer from freshman Devoe Joseph during a 14-0 run, and never trailed again in beating the Buckeyes (10-2, 1-1) at The Barn.

NO. 22 XAVIER 84, VIRGINIA 70

CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. — B.J. Raymond scored 24 points and hit four of his team's nine 3-pointers, and the Musketeers (11-2) went on a 23-2 run, including 19 in a row as they built a 42-26 halftime lead before hanging on to beat the Cavaliers (6-5). Sylven Landesberg scored 25 points for Virginia.

NO. 25 BUTLER 75, VALPARAISO 62

VALPARAISO, Ind. — Matt Howard scored 14 of his 16 points in the second half and the Bulldogs (12-1, 3-0 Horizon League) opened the second half with a 13-2 run for a 44-33 lead. The Crusaders (4-10, 1-2) got no closer than six thereafter.

WAC

IDAHO 78, NEVADA 73

RENO, Nev. — Mac Hopson and Luciano de Souza each scored 16 points and Kashif Watson added 13, including the go-ahead jumper with 1:53 to play, as the Vandals (7-7) beat the Wolf Pack (7-7) in the Western Athletic Conference opener for both.

Idaho trailed 65-62 with 2:48 to play after a three-point play by Malik Cooke. Hopson then drove the lane for a bucket and Watson hit a pair of free throws and a short jumper in the lane for a 66-65 Idaho lead with 1:53 to go.

Brandon Fields scored 19 points and Cooke 13 for the Wolf Pack.

LOUISIANA TECH 66, SAN JOSE STATE 61

SAN JOSE, Calif. — Kenneth Cooper hit a jumper with 1:20 remaining to break a 61-all tie and then added a free throw with 23 seconds left for a 64-61 lead, lifting the Bulldogs (7-7) over the Spartans (6-5) in the WAC opener for both.

Cooper finished with 17 points, Jamel Guyton had 14 and Kyle Gibson 12 for Louisiana Tech. Adrian Cooper scored 18 points for the Spartans, who lost their 10th straight conference opener.

NEW MEXICO STATE 79, FRESNO STATE 66

FRESNO, Calif. — Jahmar Young scored 25 points, Wendell McKines added 18 and the Aggies (7-7) used two double-digit scoring runs to defeat the Bulldogs (7-8) for their first victory in seven road game in the WAC opener for both teams.

New Mexico State led by as many as 19 points in the first half after going on an early 14-0 scoring run. In the second half, the Aggies used a 13-0 run after Fresno State trimmed an 18-point halftime deficit to 42-35.

DIVISION II

DIXIE STATE 66, CHAMINADE 64

ST. GEORGE, Utah — Tom Whitehead scored 18 points, including the go-ahead 3-pointer with 8:18 to play, as the Rebels held off the Silverswords in a Pacific West Conference opener at St. George, Utah.

Ryan Sanchez added 13 points and Nick Howard 12 for the Rebels (6-6, 1-0). Joel Smith scored 26 points, Mohamed Tangara 11 and Jamar Berry 10 for the Silverswords (3-6, 0-1).

HAWAI'I PACIFIC 81, HAWAI'I-HILO 79

HILO — Mike Helton scored 17 points, Jason Curtis added 16, and the Sea Warriors (6-4) never trailed in overtime in beating the Vulcans (7-3) in a non-conference game at Hilo.

Jacob Briggs made two free throws with 31 seconds left in regulation to tie it at 65-65 and force overtime. Jay DeMaestri scored 15 points, and Perry Baggett added 14 points and 17 rebounds for UH-Hilo.