The large, blue Big East championship banner was hoisted into the rafters at Petersen Events Center.
The Pitt men's basketball team was presented with a large gold trophy, and the beaming players lifted their spoils near midcourt to the cheers of an overflow crowd of 12,843.
One down and more to go.
"We were happy," senior Brad Wanamaker said, "but we realize this is just the first checkpoint on what we want to do this year."
The No. 4 Panthers defeated No. 19 Villanova, 60-50, to clinch their first Big East regular-season title since 2003-04 and achieve one of their goals in a season dotted with anticipation.
"They deserve it," Villanova coach Jay Wright said. "They are an outstanding team."
Pitt (27-4, 15-3) made good on its selection as the preseason favorite and will enter the Big East Tournament as the No. 1 seed for the third time — the others were in 1988 and 2004. The Panthers receive a double bye into the quarterfinals and play their opening game against No. 8 Georgetown, No. 9 Connecticut or No. 16 DePaul at noon Thursday.
"I'm proud of what our guys did and what they accomplished," coach Jamie Dixon said. "I'm so happy for our seniors. It's their last game here, but at the same time, we feel we have a lot of work to do."
Regardless of what happens at Madison Square Garden, Pitt seems in line for a No. 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament. The Panthers won a conference that will place at least 10 teams in the NCAA Tournament. No conference has ever sent more than eight.
"I think we are in a pretty good spot," Dixon said. "Generally, if you win the best league in the country, I think that probably puts you in a good position to get a No. 1 seed."
After the game, the Panthers went into the locker room and phoned longtime assistant coach Pat Sandle, who missed the game following the death of his brother, Ray, earlier this week in California. It was an emotional moment for a close-knit group who had just matched the finest Big East regular season in school history.
"They have great respect for Coach Sandle, and they wanted him to be here," Dixon said.
Pitt remained patient as short-handed Villanova (21-10, 9-9) employed the deliberate "burn" offense that Notre Dame used to upset the Panthers six weeks ago. Ashton Gibbs scored 18 points, and Gary McGhee added 10 rebounds, as Pitt beat the slumping Wildcats for the second time in three weeks.
Sophomore guard Maalik Wayns scored 23 of his career-high 27 points in the second half for Villanova, which has dropped four in a row and six of eight. Villanova was without senior guard Corey Stokes (hamstring); leading scorer Corey Fisher battled foul trouble and managed only seven points on 3-of-14 shooting.
Trailing, 28-25, with 14 minutes to play, Pitt went on an 18-4 run to take the lead for good. Six players scored during the surge, which began with a McGhee jump hook and ended with a Gibbs 3-pointer for a 43-32 lead with seven minutes left.
Senior forward Gilbert Brown, who scored his 1,000th career point in the second half, said the Panthers will enjoy the moment, but there is much more to accomplish.
"We have a special group, and I think we are capable of doing a lot of great things," he said. "This is just the first step."
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