PITTSBURGH — After a week of final exams, Pittsburgh's players might have felt more tested in the early minutes of their game against Vermont on Saturday.

Pitt overcame a slow start to defeat the Catamounts, 63-52, after a week in which the Panthers had only one full practice. Carl Krauser had 21 points, Aaron Gray had 11 points and 12 rebounds and Levon Kendall added 10 points to help Pitt (8-0) remain undefeated.

"It wasn't our best performance, and Vermont had something to do with it," Pitt coach Jamie Dixon said. "Any win is a good win, but we seem to play better when we practice. That I'm sure about."

Pitt, which improved to 8-0 for the fourth consecutive season, had practiced only three times since dominating Penn State in its last game Dec. 10 — and there wasn't perfect attendance at two of those workouts because of final exams.

The Catamounts (3-5), who had won three of their last four, made their first four shots but then missed nine of their next 11 from the field.

During that span, the Panthers went on a 17-0 run to turn a 15-7 deficit into a 24-15 lead. Pitt, which had trailed by a season-high eight points, closed out the half on a 25-4 run and never trailed the rest of the game.