No. 2 Pittsburgh overcame a rough shooting night to beat Rutgers 65-62 and avoid a second-straight upset loss.

Ashton Gibbs scored 22 points for the Panthers, who got 12 of their last 15 points from the foul line.

"I liked how we made plays down the end, especially the free throws," coach Jamie Dixon said. "We did what we wanted to do assignment-wise and defensively. We finished the game in a good way. They defended well, we defended well, but at end of game we made our free throws, took care of the ball and rebounded, things that we wanted to do."

Pitt has now won 20 or more games in 10 straight seasons.

No. 14 Notre Dame defeated No. 2 Pittsburgh 56-51 on Monday night, handing the Panthers their first Big East loss of the season and their first home loss in over a year.

Hansbrough scored 19 points and Carleton Scott had 16 for the Fighting Irish.

Employing a methodical, plodding game plan they call "burn," the Irish won their third consecutive game in the series against the Panthers.

"This was the first time we committed to an all-out 'burn,' and we beat Pitt doing it two times last year," said Hansbrough. "This is probably the best win I've had ... maybe ever."

While Ohio State maintained the top slot in RealGM's college basketball rankings for the week of January 24th, Pittsburgh moved up to the second slot with their win over the previously undefeated Syracuse.

1. Ohio State
2. Pitt
3. Duke
4. San Diego State
5. Connecticut
6. Texas
7. Kansas
8. Brigham Young
9. Missouri
10. Villanova
11. Texas A&M
12. Syracuse
13. Purdue
14. Washington
15. Wisconsin
16. Notre Dame
17. Kentucky
18. Minnesota
19. Louisville
20. Georgetown
21. Illinois
22. Vanderbilt
23. Florida
24. Utah State
25. Michigan State

• Click here to view college rankings from the AP, Coaches and RealGM.

Pittsburgh has succeeded this season in large part due to the leadership of seniors Brad Wanamaker, Gilbert Brown and Gary McGhee.

The trio organized offseason pick-up games among their teammates.

"That's something we take pride in," Wanamaker said. "We know what we are capable of and what we have to do to lead this team."

Pitt is currently ranked fifth in the nation with a 18-1 record, including a 6-0 mark in the Big East.

"They are doing a great job," junior Ashton Gibbs said. "Everything is paying off right now."

Andre Drummond, believed by many to be the top recruit from the 2012 class, is being targeted by as many as seven teams.

"Louisville, Kentucky, West Virginia, Connecticut, Pitt, North Carolina and Georgetown," St. Thomas More coach Jere Quinn said. "No one else is even talking to him.

"I don't think anybody else is coming in."

The 6-foot-10, 260-pounder is a native of Middletown, Connecticut and says he doesn't have any visits scheduled.

No. 4 Pittsburgh jumped out to an early lead and outlasted No. 3 Syracuse on Monday night.

The Panthers raced out to a 19-0 lead before winning 74-66.

"It was a strange game," coach Jamie Dixon said of the game, in which Pittsburgh needed a second run to win.

Brad Wanamaker added 15 points to help the Panthers (18-1) improve to 6-0 in the Big East for the first time.

Pittsburgh gave Syracuse its first loss of the 10-11 season on Monday, with a 74-66 win at Petersen Events Center.

Jim Boeheim said this year’s Pittsburgh team might be the best Pitt team he’s seen.

“They’re a tremendous basketball team,’’ Boeheim said. “To me, it’s one of the best teams if not the best team we’ve played against here. They’ve got a lot of weapons and senior leadership.’’

Pittsburgh has long been known for their defense, but their offense has raised eyebrows this season.

The Panthers beat Marquette 89-81 on Saturday, including an impressive three-point play by Brad Wanamaker.

“Any time we get it going early and everybody’s hitting shots — especially shots like that — you know it’s your day,” Wanamaker said.

Pitt was 10 of 18 from beyond the arc for an astonishing 55.6 percent. They made 30 of their 50 shots — a 60 percent clip — including 13 of 20 in the second half.

They have made 50 percent or more of their shots in six of their last eight games, and eight times overall this season.

“We shoot the ball better, maybe, than any team we’ve had … but we’ve always been, in assists to turnover (ratio), among the leaders in the country,” Pitt coach Jamie Dixon said. “We’ve always been a high assist team, a good offensive rebounding team, so all of those things have come together to make up a good offense.”

Gilbert Brown has been on fire for Pittsburgh over the team's last five games.

He is averaging 16.6 points and hitting 61.9 percent of his 3-point goals.

More importantly, the redshirt senior has embraced a leadership goal.

“Being a leader it’s very important to set high standards for my teammates to follow,” Brown said. “I like to show the younger players on the team how to be successful on and off the court.”

He has come a long way in that regard as he missed the first 11 games of last season due to an academic suspension.

Georgetown coach John Thompson III admits that he's scared by college player's use of social media.

“It’s something that scares me,” Thompson III said. “I do sit down with the team and we have our sports information director sit down with the team (and talk about it). We have given some thought to what some other schools have done and banning them. We haven’t done that, and we try to tell them just to be smart.

“Kids today don’t understand that what you put out there, you can’t take back. But with every emotion —- you have a bad practice, the world can know about it. You’re mad at your teammates, you’re mad at your coach, you’re mad at yourself, you’re mad at your girlfriend, you’re mad at your parents — the world knows about it. So, I think it’s something that’s very dangerous because it’s the nature of college athletics that so many people are following, watching, looking for something to say, trying to bait you into saying things, all at an emotional time. It’s something that worries me.”

After UConn played Pittsburgh last month, sophomore forward Jamaal Coombs-McDaniel vented on his Facebook page. Coombs-McDaniel’s post was something like, ‘I should have taken more time making my college choice,’ intimating that he was unhappy at UConn after a lack of playing time.

”Our basic premise is, do the right thing — don’t embarrass yourselves, don’t embarrass your families,” Pittsburgh coach Jamie Dixon said. “When you operate under that guideline, it covers a whole lot of things. Ultimately, that’s most important. They know that anything they put out, they’re responsible for, and we’ve made that very clear.”