PITTSBURGH — This might not be the best Pitt team since the Panthers returned to being a Big East power six years ago. Or the most stylish. It might be the deepest.

Pittsburgh overcame another ineffective game by star Aaron Gray, turning to a smaller unit to open an 11-point lead over South Florida in the first half, and the No. 10 Panthers were never pushed after that in a 69-48 victory Sunday.

The 7-foot Gray, the Big East preseason player of the year, scored in single figures for the fourth game in a row — he had seven points on 2-for-7 shooting in only 20 minutes. Also, 6-10 power forward Levon Kendall was held to five points by the smaller Bulls.

"If somebody wants to take away a big guy, put two or three guys on him ... you're going to give up something else," Pitt coach Jamie Dixon said.

That lack of inside scoring hardly mattered as the Panthers (14-2, 2-0 in Big East) turned to their backcourt not only for scoring but strong defense.

"When they double-team the big guys, we know it's going to open up shots for us," Ronald Ramon said. "Aaron's a smart player and he sees the double team coming. The way he passes the ball, that's going to open up guys on the perimeter."

Pitt led 16-15 before going on a 10-0 run late in the first half with Gray and Kendall on the bench. Antonio Graves hit a 3-pointer and scored on a driving layup and backup guard Ramon followed with a 3-pointer to make it 26-15.

"Once those guys left, it was unfortunate for us," South Florida coach Robert McCullum said of Gray and Kendall. "Their depth makes them one of the best teams in the country. Maybe they're not the prettiest — they won't get a lot of style points — but they're one of the best teams."

The Panthers, playing the Bulls (9-7, 0-2) for the first time in the Big East, limited South Florida to four points in the first 8Z\x minutes of the second half while opening a 42-26 lead. Pitt went on an 8-0 run during that stretch, with Sam Young making three free throws.

"I feel comfortable with all of our guys," Dixon said of his nine-man rotation. "We got a lot of good efforts from a number of guys."

Pitt came into the game shooting 39 percent from 3-point range, only to make 10-of-16 (63 percent) with Levance Fields going 3-of-4 and Ramon 3-of-5.