EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. — Andre Barrett wouldn't let Seton Hall lose to No. 4 Pittsburgh Monday night.
The senior point guard had 20 points -- including the winning free throw with 9.6 seconds left in the second overtime -- six assists and no turnovers in 49 minutes in the Pirates' 68-67 victory.
Barrett had five of the seven points the Pirates (16-5, 6-3 Big East) scored in the second overtime as they won their fifth out of their last six and improved to 11-1 at home.
"I knew he had pushed me. I thought they were going to let it go, but they called it and I was able to go to the free-throw line," Barrett said of the foul charged to Pittsburgh point guard Carl Krauser.
"After I missed the first one, there was no way in the world I was missing two. This game wasn't going to go into another overtime. It's over with if I have a chance to make a shot to win the game."
The Panthers (22-2, 8-2) had won four straight overall and four of their last five against Seton Hall.
"This is a great win for us, for the program and hopefully we can build off this," Barrett said. "That's all I think about, building off of this. When you think about trying to get into the Top 25 and the NCAA Tournament, that's all in the future. We're thinking in the present now."
Pittsburgh and No. 5 Connecticut enter their matchup for first place in the conference Sunday coming off a loss. The Huskies, who handed Pitt its other loss, fell 80-74 at Notre Dame earlier Monday.
"These guys don't like losing in practice," first-year Pittsburgh coach Jamie Dixon said. "Responding to a loss is part of being a good team. I'm sure our guys are anxious to get out there and play."
Notre Dame guard Chris Thomas stands on the scorers' table celebrating a victory. The Irish stunned No. 5 Connecticut, 80-74, Monday night in South Bend, Ind. Thomas scored 31 points to lead all scorers.
Pittsburgh and Seton Hall came into the game ranked 1-2 in the Big East in scoring defense and both lived up to that stat, finishing regulation tied at 57.
The Pirates, who last beat a team ranked No. 4 in 2000 with a win at Syracuse, also got 10 points each from Kelly Whitney and J.R. Morris.
"We haven't played in any tournaments or anything like that," Seton Hall's John Allen said. "To play against the No. 4 team, to beat the No. 4 team is probably the highlight of everybody's career."
Freshman Chris Taft had 16 points and 15 rebounds, and Chevon Troutman had 10 points and 10 rebounds for the Panthers. Taft had seven offensive rebounds.
Notre Dame 80,
No. 5 Connecticut 74
South Bend, Ind. -- Chris Thomas scored 22 of his season-high 31 points in the second half, and Chris Quinn added 16 points, leading Notre Dame.
Thomas was 7-of-13 shooting in the second half to pace the Irish (11-9, 5-5 Big East), who slowed down the Huskies (19-4, 7-2) for their first win against a ranked team in six tries this season.
What made the victory even more surprising was that UConn had won five straight, including a 30-point win over West Virginia and a 28-point win over Syracuse the last two games. The Irish had lost three straight and five of their last seven.
Emeka Okafor led UConn with 24 points on 10-of-17 shooting and added nine rebounds. Ben Gordon scored 22 for the Huskies.
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