There's a certain nastiness that comes with the job when you play basketball at Pittsburgh.
Coach Jamie Dixon has built the Panthers into a Big East power on the backs of blue-collar players who aren't afraid to get their hands dirty.
So far this season, those hands have been much too clean.
Normally dominant in November and December, No. 22 Pitt (11-3, 0-1 Big East) has looked vulnerable instead, losing home games against Long Beach State and Wagner before opening conference play Tuesday night with a 72-59 loss at Notre Dame.
The Panthers have dropped three games before New Year's Day for the first time since the 2000-01 season, when they went 19-14 and missed the NCAA tournament.
That's the last time the madness went on without Pitt. While it's certainly way too early to panic, the Panthers know they haven't looked like themselves and can't afford another slip at home Sunday against resilient Cincinnati (10-3).
''You know the Big East is so deep and so good you don't want to come out 0-2 and get the other teams trying to come at you, `Oh, they're not that good,''' center Dante Taylor said.
To be fair, the Panthers haven't been much more than average.
Never one to play a daunting nonconference schedule because of the brutal nature of the Big East, Pitt's best victories this season have been so-so triumphs over rebuilding Tennessee and inconsistent Oklahoma State.
Both of those came away from the Petersen Events Center, a place where the Panthers have been virtually unbeatable in nonconference games since it opened 2002.
Long Beach State became just the second non-Big East school to win there, racing to an 86-76 victory Nov. 16. The loss was Pitt's first at home against a nonconference team in more than five years. The second one came barely five weeks later, when Wagner left with a 59-54 victory two days before Christmas.
Uh-oh.
While lingering abdominal and groin injuries to point guard Trayvon Woodall and the sudden departure of freshman center Khem Birch - who opted to transfer after playing just 10 games - have hurt, the Panthers aren't big on making excuses.
Typically one of the best defensive teams in the country, Pitt is allowing opponents to shoot 44 percent from the field, up from 39 percent a season ago when it went 28-6 and won the Big East regular-season title.
''It's definitely frustrating because we're known as a defensive, aggressive team,'' Taylor said. ''The past few games I don't think that we played defense aggressively or hard enough and I think teams came out early with more aggression. We wait until the end of the game and we're doing it when it's too late. If we start off in the beginning I think we'll be good.''
After Notre Dame lit Pitt up in the second half Tuesday, making 11 of its first 13 shots to pull away, Taylor believes the Panthers have turned up the intensity in practice.
''We're going back to the old-style Pitt, getting after it, being physical and I think it will carry it over to the next game,'' Taylor said.
The Panthers don't really have a choice if they want to live up to their preseason billing. Pitt was picked to finish fourth in the crowded Big East, thanks in large part to the presence of senior guard Ashton Gibbs.
Woodall's injury has forced Gibbs to do the majority of the ballhandling, and the responsibility combined with a balky left ankle has limited his effectiveness. All of his shooting numbers are down from a year ago while his turnovers are up.
Lamar Patterson doesn't think the ankle, which kept Gibbs out of practice on Friday, is an issue.
''He must be a good actor because I don't really see it,'' Patterson said. ''He looks good. He's just one of those guys that won't show it. He's going to go hard and go after it.''
It is very much the Pitt way.
Dixon allows he's probably played Gibbs too much at the point, and points out his star is hardly the only player struggling to make shots. Pitt, sixth in the country in 3-point percentage two weeks ago, has made just 10 of its 63 3-point attempts over the last four games.
''You can't focus on one thing but we've got to shoot the ball better,'' Dixon said. ''There's no question about that. We've had quite dramatic changes from what we were shooting to what we have shot the last four games. You can't hide from that fact.''
And Pitt can't hide from what could be a very bumpy ride if it can't turn things around. The start of conference season is relatively soft by Big East standards, with games against the Bearcats, DePaul and Rutgers.
The schedule turns ugly in mid-January when the Panthers travel to Marquette and No. 1 Syracuse before hosting Louisville and Georgetown in a two-week stretch.
There is time to fix things. For inspiration, they only need to look across the court on Sunday.
Cincinnati's season has been marred by an ugly fight against Xavier that ended with a handful of suspensions. The Bearcats have responded by winning five straight despite playing without senior forward Yancy Gates.
Pitt's issues aren't nearly as deep. The Panthers know they just have to get back to being their nasty old selves.
''(Cincinnati) had its adversity, they're showing that they're fighting through it,'' Patterson said. ''That's something that we've got to do ... even those two losses those past two games are going to make us a better team in the long run.''
