Seemingly the norm in recent years, Pittsburgh entered its season with high expectations and a lofty ranking.
So far, it has yet to justify those honors.
The 17th-ranked Panthers look to improve on their shaky outings against mid-major opponents when they play their first road game Friday night against Pennsylvania at the historic Palestra.
Pittsburgh (3-1) began the season ranked 10th in the AP poll with four home dates against seemingly overmatched competition. After easily beating Albany in the opener Nov. 11, the Panthers needed a second-half surge to defeat Rider 86-78 on Nov. 13 and lost 86-76 to Long Beach State on Nov. 16 to end their 58-game non-conference home winning streak.
Pitt then survived 21 turnovers - its most since committing 23 on Jan. 4 in an 83-79 win at Providence - to narrowly beat La Salle 73-69 on Tuesday.
"Those types of things just can't happen," coach Jamie Dixon said.
Nasir Robinson scored a team-high 17 points Tuesday and Ashton Gibbs - averaging a team-high 19.8 points - added 14, but he went only 3 for 15 from the field.
Highly touted freshman Khem Birch, who played sparingly against Rider and Long Beach State, scored four points and grabbed six rebounds in 13 minutes. Dixon seems to be bringing the Birch along slowly in order to get him adjusted to playing at the college level at multiple positions.
The 6-foot-9 Birch played mostly forward but saw some time at center.
"He was more effective (at center)," Dixon said. "He was playing both (forward and center) and we've got to get him more comfortable playing there."
The Panthers will look for a stronger performance when they face Penn (3-2), which is coming off a 71-65 loss to Wagner at home on Tuesday.
Pitt and Penn last met at the Palestra on Dec. 28, 1964, with Penn winning 71-59.
Each team has faced Rider this season, as the Quakers won 78-72 in overtime on Nov. 17. Penn, though, has struggled since.
It barely escaped with a win over Robert Morris, 66-60 on Saturday, before falling to Wagner despite 23 points from guard Zack Rosen.
Rosen, averaging 22.8 points, was named Ivy League player of the week for the second straight time Monday. He had a solid performance in the most recent meeting against Pitt, scoring 11 points and adding eight assists in 35 minutes of an 82-58 loss last Nov. 27.
The Quakers have dropped 30 straight games against ranked opponents since beating then-No. 6 Temple 73-70 in overtime Nov. 23, 1998.
Gibbs went 4 for 11 with 12 points last season against Penn, as Pitt committed only eight turnovers.
The Panthers have won 10 of 11 road games against unranked non-conference opponents since 2003, falling 80-55 to Dayton on Dec. 29, 2007, for the only loss.
Pitt is 6-14 in 20 games at the Palestra but hasn't played there since a 74-70 loss to Villanova on Jan. 18, 1986.
