The Pittsburgh Panthers defeated the Georgetown Hoyas by a score of 74-65 in the final of the BIG EAST Men's Basketball Championship. The win earned Pitt an automatic bid in the NCAA Division I Championship Tournament. The Panthers out-rebounded the Hoyas 41-29, effectively eliminating Georgetown’s size advantage. Tournament MVP Sam Young contributed 16 points, six rebounds and three blocked shots in the championship game, leading the Panthers to their first tournament title since 2003.

Since the Big East was formed in 1979-80, the league has experienced a steady evolution into one of the nation's leading athletic and academic conferences. Formerly a seven-member league with just seven championship sports in its inaugural season, the Big East is now the largest Division I-A conference in the nation. Since the expansion of the conference during the 2005-06 season that included the addition of five new schools (Cincinnati, DePaul, Louisville, Marquette and University of South Florida), the newly remodeled Big East Conference now showcases 5,500 athletes, 23 championship sports and a 16-member roster.

2008 BIG EAST Tournament Recap

Finals

Pittsburgh 74 – Georgetown 65

For the second consecutive year, the Georgetown Hoyas and the University of Pittsburgh Panthers faced-off in the BIG EAST Championship game. This season Pitt prevailed over the top-seeded Hoyas by a score of 74-65, relying on a balanced attack which featured five players scoring in double figures. Senior guard Ronald Ramon led the Pitt scoring attack posting 17 points, five boards and three steals. The #7-seeded Panthers won four games in four days to claim their first BIG EAST title since 2003. Pittsburgh joined Syracuse (2006) as the only teams to win four games in this tournament.

The Hoyas, previously unbeaten as a #1-seed in the BIG EAST tourney, were led by center Roy Hibbert’s 17 points and six rebounds. Senior forward Patrick Ewing Jr. contributed eight points, four assists and four blocked shots.

Semifinals

Georgetown 72 – West Virginia 55

Roy Hibbert controlled the game with a season-high 25 points and 13 rebounds as the Hoyas defeated West Virginia for the second time this season. The Hoyas stifling defense limited West Virginia forward Joe Alexander to 12 points on 5-of-16 shooting. Alexander had scored 20+ points in his last five games including three games over 30. With the Hoyas 72-55 victory, Georgetown advances to their second consecutive berth in the BIG EAST finals.

Pittsburgh 68 – Marquette 61

Pittsburgh topped Marquette 68-61, earning their seventh Big East Championship Game in the last eight years. Forward Sam Young led the Panthers with a game-high 22 points. The Panthers again relied on their dominant defense as they held Marquette without a field goal for a stretch of 11:38 to build a 16-point lead early in the second half. The Golden Eagles shot only 31 percent from the floor compared with the Panthers who shot 49 percent. Junior guard Jerel McNeal, Marquette’s leading scorer, poured in 17 points on 7-of 12 shooting.

For more information, please visit www.bigeast.org.