PITTSBURGH — Top 10, Top 5, Tennessee doesn’t care. To the Volunteers, the only way to beat good teams is to play them, even if it’s far away from Knoxville.

Even if it’s in Pittsburgh, where non-conference opponents go years and years without winning.

Scotty Hopson missed only three shots while slicing through No. 3 Pitt’s defense for a career-high 27 points and No. 11 Tennessee dealt the Panthers their first non-conference loss in Pittsburgh in nearly six years, winning 83-76 on Saturday.

Melvin Goins added 19 points and Cameron Tatum hit a succession of big shots while scoring 14 points as the Volunteers (7-0) opened leads of as many as 21 points against the Panthers (10-1). Pitt needed a late flurry to cut the final margin to single digits.

Brad Wanamaker scored 21 points, but Pitt — missing 17 free throws — lost a non-conference game in the city for the first time in 58 games,.

“They surprised us early on, and until the end of the game they kept bringing it at us non stop,” Wanamaker said.

Tennessee (7-0) and Pitt are similar in size, makeup and a shared ability to play physically at both ends of the court, but with one difference. Tennessee plays more ranked non-conference opponents.