PITTSBURGH — Stan Heath knows his South Florida basketball team may not be the popular pick when it comes to NCAA tournament contenders. Yet after the Bulls’ 56-47 win over Pittsburgh on Sunday night, he said it’s time to look past flash and at results.

USF’s 10th Big East win guarantees the Bulls a winning conference record for the first time since they joined in 2005.

“Ten wins in this conference is 10 wins in this conference,” Heath said. “That’s a hell of a deal. We need to get some more. We’re not satisfied, but we should be in a big discussion nationally for what these guys are doing.”

Anthony Collins scored a career-high 22 points to lead South Florida (17-10, 10-4), which beat Pitt (15-13, 4-11) for the second time in 12 days. He made 8 of 10 from the floor and added a game-high six assists. He hasn’t been on the team for long, but Collins understands how important Sunday’s win was.

“We’re happy to do it because it’s never been done,” he said, “but we can’t be satisfied with just 10 (conference) wins. We have four more to go.”

Those four games — road contests at No. 2 Syracuse and No. 19 Louisville and home games versus Cincinnati and West Virginia — could do a lot to convince the selection committee that the Bulls are worthy.

They already have a believer in Pitt coach Jamie Dixon.

“I know their nonconference (record) may hold them back in some people’s eyes, but that’s November and December and they’re a different team,” Dixon said. “They seem to be playing their best basketball. In our conference, you hope that a team that plays better in January and February should be rewarded.”

The Bulls began the game on a 15-4 run as the shooting woes that plagued Pitt in its first game versus USF on Feb. 8 resurfaced tonight. The Panthers hit just one of their first 12 shots, but recovered to make eight of their next 10 and climb back into the game.

J.J. Moore led Pitt’s resurgence, as the sophomore forward scored 11 first-half points. His back-to-back fastbreak dunks tied the game at 22-all with 4:22 left in the first half. His 3-pointer from the wing with 1:43 left gave Pitt its first lead at 27-26. Rudd, Jr. responded with a basket and USF took a 28-27 lead into halftime.

The Panthers’ hot shooting wouldn’t last, though.

Collins, a freshman guard, scored the first five points of the second half, coming in an 8-0 USF run for a 36-27 lead. Moore scored six straight points for Pitt to cut USF’s lead to 42-39 with 9:26 left in the game, but the Panthers couldn’t get any closer. Moore scored a career high 21 points on 8-of-14 shooting.

Victor Rudd Jr. added 11 points and six rebounds for the Bulls, who have won four straight games. Nasir Robinson scored nine points with 11 rebounds for the Panthers, losers of four straight.

Pitt made a few runs despite the struggles of its starting backcourt, Ashton Gibbs and Tray Woodall. The duo, Pitt’s two leading scorers this season, combined for just four points on 2-of-11 shooting. Woodall played only seven first-half minutes after getting whistled for his second foul less than five minutes into the game.