Hartford, Conn. ? Connecticut and Pittsburgh went retro Monday night. Not in what they wearing or the music being played. They played a Big East-style game like the ones that gave the league its physical reputation.

“Only the brave dared report for that game,” Connecticut coach Jim Calhoun said of his fourth-ranked Huskies’ 68-65 victory over No. 8 Pittsburgh — the Panthers’ first loss of the season. “The 10 starters all played at least 30 minutes, and if you didn’t stand up you got knocked down. You couldn’t find a place to hide.”

The Huskies (15-2, 3-0 Big East) bounced back from Saturday’s 68-65 loss at North Carolina that knocked them from the No. 1 spot they held in the rankings for the previous five weeks.

“Two losses in a row, we didn’t even think about that,” Connecticut guard Taliek Brown said.

Now that’s a possibility for the Panthers (18-1, 4-1), one of the last four unbeaten teams in Division One.

“A lot of people didn’t think we’re as good as we are because our schedule wasn’t that tough,” Pittsburgh guard Carl Krauser said. “We’re as good as our record says we are.”

The game was a lot slower than Connecticut, which averages 85.9 points, wanted. Pittsburgh used up most of the shot clock on virtually all of its possessions, the way a team that averages 71.3 points usually does.

“We couldn’t speed things up,” Calhoun said. “We tried everything, and they’d bring the damn thing back out again.”

That Connecticut was able to play that way and win was even more impressive because preseason All-Americans Emeka Okafor and Ben Gordon didn’t have their usual standout games, although Okafor came up big on the defensive end in the final minute. Denham Brown led the Huskies with 20 points.

Connecticut's Josh Boone taps the ball in for two points in the closing minutes of the UConn-Pittsburgh Big East Conference game as Pittsburgh's Julius Page (1) watches. The No. 4 Huskies defeated the No. 8 Panthers, 68-65, Monday in Hartford, Conn.

Taliek Brown scored in the lane with 1:44 left to give Connecticut the lead for good at 64-63. Freshman Josh Boone, who matched his career-high with 10 points, scored on a tip-in with 1:04 remaining to give the Huskies a three-point lead.

Krauser, who had a career-high 24 points for the Panthers, made two free throws with 34 seconds left to make it a one-point game. Pittsburgh had only four teams fouls and had to commit three in a span of six seconds to get the Huskies to the free-throw line.

Denham Brown made both ends of a one-and-one with 25 seconds left to make it 68-65. Krauser’s shot was blocked by Okafor with 13 seconds to go. Taliek Brown missed the front end of a one-and-one with 7.8 seconds to go and the Panthers had one last chance to tie.

Krauser sent the ball across the court to freshman Antonio Graves, whose open three-pointer bounced off the rim at the buzzer.

“I had a lot of confidence in Antonio Graves. He’s a good shooter, and he’s a great player, and I believe he could knock that down,” Krauser said. “It didn’t go our way, but if I could give him the ball again I would.”

Gordon finished with 16 points, while Okafor had 11 points — snapping his streak of five straight games with 20 or more — seven rebounds and five blocks. Taliek Brown had eight points and eight assists for the Huskies, who were outrebounded 37-30, the first time that happened this season.

Big 12

No. 18 Texas Tech 67,

No. 20 Oklahoma 47

Lubbock, Texas — Andre Emmett scored 21 points, and No. 18 Texas Tech won its 11th straight game.

6Sports video: Tech hands Oklahoma another loss

The winning streak is Tech’s longest under coach Bob Knight. The Red Raiders won 10 in a row during the 2001-02 season — his first at the school — before a loss at Oklahoma.

The Sooners (10-4, 0-3), meanwhile, dropped their fourth straight game. In three of the defeats — against Connecticut, Oklahoma State and Texas Tech — they lost by at least 20 points.

Oklahoma has lost four in a row for the first time in five seasons. The Sooners are off to an 0-3 start in conference play for the first time since the 1980-81 season.

Devonne Giles and Jackson added 12 points each, and Ronald Ross got 10 for the Red Raiders.