You know, I appreciate the candor from Levance Fields, but he’s not here next year and you can bet next year this sort of thing will be taped up in the St. John’s locker room when Pitt plays them.

“Even when it was a close game,” Pitt point guard Levance Fields said, “you could tell they really didn’t think they had a chance.”

Playing for the first time since its newly minted No. 1 national ranking, the Panthers overcame a slow start to bully St. John’s, 90-67, in front of a sold-out Petersen Events Center.

…

St. John’s failed to respond to Pitt’s second-half run and couldn’t repeat its upset victory over then-No. 7 Notre Dame last week.

“Their heads were down,” Fields said. “Once the lead got to double-digits and the crowd was into it, I think that was pretty much the end of the game.”

I’m not saying he wasn’t correct, but no team likes to have it announced that they knew they had no chance and then gave up.

D.J. Kennedy definitely disagreed with Fields’ views.

“Everybody in our locker room, from the players to the coaches, thought we could win,” Kennedy said. “As you can see, in the first half, we came out and went blow-for-blow with them.”

St. John’s starting five, composed of four sophomores and one freshman, hung with Pittsburgh’s senior-laden lineup in the first half. There were seven ties and 10 lead changes. The Panthers led 41-36 at halftime.

The first half was when St. John’s put the scare into Pitt fans about the game. Whether the team was a little tight about coming out there as the #1 team or just rusty from over a week off. St. John’s hung with Pitt and led for a significant chunk in the first half. The second half was a combination of Pitt just playing a lot better and St. John’s not able to match Pitt in strength or depth.

With the return of his very close friend facing him, DeJuan Blair just asserted himself.

Where Blair recorded game-highs of 23 points and 15 rebounds, along with six steals, to lead Pitt to a 90-67 victory Sunday, Kennedy gave the Panthers all they could handle in his homecoming. The 6-foot-6 sophomore from the Hill District finished with a team-high 18 points, making 5-of-8 shots from the field and 8-of-11 free throws, with seven rebounds in 40 minutes.

“We both played good,” Blair said. “It was a fun game, but at the end …”

Blair didn’t have to finish his sentence. He got the last word, but give Kennedy credit for his effort. He was chirping at Blair every time he went to the free-throw line, but Blair made 9 of 11.

“I was trying to shut him up by making it,” Blair said.

This is part of what makes Blair a special player. He gets up for the big games. Whether it was the G-town game and going against a heralded freshman in the paint or squaring off against his old HS teammate. He wants to come out ahead.

It’s cliche, but the Big East is such a tough conference and if you have any bit of bad luck or injuries you get buried. St. John’s has some good young talent, but their depth has been killed by injuries the past couple of years. Anthony Mason, Jr. — who torched Pitt last year is out for the season. Promising young point guard Malik Boothe has been out for several games with a hand injury. Their starting big man, Justin Burrell, has to wear a mask with three broken bones in his face. Plus he has a back injury that was re-aggravated which made him completely ineffective against Blair. You wonder about the possibilities if they ever have a healthy season.

Of course, the other problem for St. John’s has been the lack of continuity. On top of the massive rebuilding from the devastation to the program from Mike Jarvis, there has also been a steady stream transfers that have sapped the depth. Pitt has such depth and continuity.

“It’s disappointing for us, but it’s also freshman and sophomores. That’s what we’ve got. They’ve got juniors and seniors. They have veteran guys,” said St. John’s coach Norm Roberts. “It’s part of the Big East. You play this game, and you put this game away, and you get ready to play the No. 5 team in America.”

DeJuan Blair had 23 points and 15 rebounds to lead the Panthers. Jermaine Dixon added 17 and Levance Fields had 13.

“Our seniors have exceeded my expectations on them. I think how they’ve handled things, prepared themselves for games, they’ve become leaders,” said coach Jamie Dixon.

And as the second half wore-on the Red Storm wore-down.

Like previous Big East Conference games at Rutgers and Georgetown, Pitt (15-0, 3-0) dominated the second half. Only one team – NCAA Division II Indiana – has outscored the Panthers during a second half this season.

“Physically, we got worn down,” St. John’s coach Norm Roberts said. “When you get worn down, you get a little frustrated and we did.”

And Pitt killed them quickly for it.