PITTSBURGH -- Ontario Lett was a starter for the first three games. But he wasn't as comfortable in that role, choosing to come off the bench and replace the taller Toree Morris.

	Pittsburgh's Ontario Lett had 20 points on 8-of-9 shooting against Notre Dame.

But the Pittsburgh staff knew that the 6-foot-10 Morris was more of a practice player. The 6-6 Lett was a gamer.

Boy, is he.

For the Panthers to make a run again toward the Big East title, to mount a Final Four campaign, keeping Lett on the bench to start the game wouldn't work, especially against chief Big East West Division rival Notre Dame.

The Panthers unleashed Lett on the Irish on Monday night and watched as the undersized power forward played with the Irish's big men for a career-high 20 points in Pitt's 72-55 victory. Lett was nearly flawless, powering his way to an 8-of-9 evening, teaming up with fellow frontcourt 6-7 forward Chevon Troutman (6 of 8 for 12 points and 12 boards) to dominate the Irish.

Forget about the point guard matchup. Brandin Knight set up Lett on more than one occasion, but he had six turnovers to go with 12 points. The Irish's Chris Thomas was a brutal 2 for 15, 1 of 7 on 3s with four turnovers.

This game though was about the Pitt big men.

"Their big men are like strong, big guards,'' Thomas said. "We haven't played a team like that. Texas was physical, but these guys were more physical.''

That's quite a compliment, considering the Irish have already beaten Marquette, Texas and Maryland. But how could Thomas say anything else? The Panthers dominated the backboard 51-30, limited the Irish to 31.7 percent shooting and scored 52 points in the paint compared to 22 for the Irish.

"Chevy and Ontario dominated,'' Knight said. "They got rebounds. They scored. And it's all a plus. It takes the pressure off me and Julius (Page). Those guys are getting easier shots than we are. They're able to capitalize and because of that we're a well-rounded team.''

The decision to start Lett was obvious. Look at the numbers: Lett scored 14 in the loss at Georgia on New Year's Eve. He scored 18 in a win over Robert Morris. He hadn't scored in double figures in two of the previous three games.

The staff saw that he wanted to become more of a player. The staff wanted to start him because he was a senior. But they had to have a reason.

"This is by far my best game, my best half,'' Lett said. "Mentally, I love playing against the big guys. I love trying to outsmart them. We're stronger than a lot of teams. I think I'm like a guard. We're all about guard size.''

Pittsburgh coach Ben Howland said the matchups favored Lett over Morris, who played only three minutes. He expects Morris to play more minutes against teams in the Big East like Syracuse and Georgetown. But Notre Dame will play four face-up players, which means a power player like Lett can score in the post easier than Morris because Lett is stronger and tougher inside.

"Getting the ball inside is huge for us,'' Howland said. "Ontario made some great passes (three assists, but still six turnovers is too high). He was unselfish tonight. That's what I like about this team is the unselfishness with 19 assists on 29 baskets.''

Howland had to love the atmosphere in the Petersen Events Center and the bounce back ability of the Panthers in a big-time game, too.

The Panthers were playing their first Big East game in their brand-new, state-of-the-art gorgeous on-campus facility. The joint was absolutely rocking from the first minute to the last.

Suddenly, the Panthers went from the worst facility in the Big East to the best.

"I didn't think this place could be louder than Fitzgerald,'' Notre Dame senior Matt Carroll said. "I was shocked how many students were here all wearing the same color. This is the toughest place we've played in, tougher than the RAC (at Rutgers).''

Notre Dame owned Pittsburgh last season, sweeping the Panthers. But Pittsburgh knows it has the target on its back this season and can't afford to let one slip at home and still win the Big East West Division.

Notre Dame had the better non-conference wins with the trifecta of Marquette, Maryland and Texas. Toss in DePaul and Vanderbilt and it's still better than Pitt's wins over Penn State, Ohio State and Rhode Island.

Pitt lost its one marquee road game outside of the state -- at Georgia. But that is proving to be a "good loss" with the Bulldogs ripping off eight straight wins and looking more like an SEC champ and potential Final Four team. Still, the Panthers felt like no one believed they were any good -- or at least talented enough to be considered a top five, top 10 team after losing at Georgia.

"We needed this win to get our confidence back,'' Lett said. "Everyone questioned if we were for real. I saw you guys even said it on College Hoops Tonight Sunday. I watched. I heard it. So, we needed this win to get that Georgia game out of the way. We're off to a good start.''

So, too, is Lett. And if he is on then the Panthers should be too for the rest for the Big East.

Andy Katz is a senior writer at ESPN.com.