No. 20 Pittsburgh vs. No. 25 Notre Dame final score: Irish defeat Panthers, 51-42

The No. 20 Pittsburgh Panthers can only wonder how they let a key Big East game slip away so easily on their home court. The No. 25 Notre Dame Fighting Irish can only be thankful to come away from such a horrible start with a "W."

Notre Dame found itself down by 16 points to start the game before rallying for the 51-42 victory in Pittsburgh. The Irish missed their first 12 shots from the field and went seven minutes between their first point and third. Pat Connaughton connected on a three-pointer with 6:11 remaining in the half that ignited his team. Notre Dame closed the first half on a 16-3 run.

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Jerian Grant's three-pointer at the 14:45 mark in the second half put Notre Dame ahead for the first time since a 1-0 lead. A later 12-2 run run helped the Irish to take a nine-point lead with less than five minutes left in the game.

Jack Cooley scored 13 points and grabbed nine rebound to lead the Irish.

Along with Cooley, Grant finished with 13 points for Notre Dame, although he shot just 4-of-15 from the floor. Tray Woodall scored 11 points for the Panthers in the losing effort.

Notre Dame (21-6, 9-5 Big East) moved a game ahead of Pittsburgh (20-7, 8-6 Big East) in the conference standings. The Irish are now just a half-game behind Louisville and a full game behind the first-place trio of Syracuse, Georgetown and Marquette.