March 9, 2008

Big East Championship First Round Notes: Game 32: Cincinnati (March 12)

2008 Big East Championship Bracket (pdf)

NEW YORK, N.Y.--No. 7 seeded Pitt (22-9 overall, 10-8 Big East) travels to New York City and Madison Square Garden to compete in its 26^th all-time Big East Championship. The No. 7 seeded Panthers will play No. 10 seed Cincinnati (13-17, 8-10 Big East) in Wednesday's First Round matchup at 7 p.m. The contest will be televised live on ESPN.

Should Pitt win Wednesday's First Round game, it would advance to the Quarterfinal Round to face No. 2 seed Louisville (24-7, 14-4) on Thursday at 7 p.m. Should the Panthers defeat Louisville, Pitt would advance to the Semifinal Round on Friday at 9 p.m. The Championship Final is set for Saturday, March 15 at 9 p.m. All of those games will be televised on ESPN.

Pitt has appeared in six of the last seven Big East Championship Finals. It appeared in four consecutive title games from 2000-04. Last year, Pitt advanced to the Big East Championship Final where it was defeated by Georgetown. Pitt will need to win four consecutive games to win the title.

PITT'S 2008 BIG EAST CHAMPIONSHIP NOTES

*Pitt enters the Big East Championship as the No. 7 seed and will play Wednesday at 7 p.m. against No. 10 seed Cincinnati. Should it win, Pitt will advance to the Quarterfinal Round to play No. 2 seeded Louisville (24-7, 14-4 Big East). Should Pitt win its Quarterfinal Round matchup, it would advance to Semifinal Round action on Friday at 9 p.m. All contests will be televised live on ESPN.

*Pitt begins its quest for a seventh Big East Championship title game appearance in school history as it enters the tournament as the No. 7 seed. Pitt finished its regular season with a 10-8 Big East record and its seventh straight 10-plus win regular season in the Big East. The Panthers also won 20-plus games for a school record seventh straight season and 15^th time in school history. Pitt is the only Big East program to surpass both 20 overall wins and 10 Big East wins in each of the last seven seasons.

*Pitt has appeared in six of the last seven Big East Championship Finals. It has appeared in each of the last two Big East Championship Finals (2006 and 2007) and appeared in four consecutive title games from 2000-04. It dropped its first game after receiving a first round bye in 2005.

*Pitt has won 15 of its last 21 Big East Championship games dating back to the 1999-00 season. Pitt has also won 12 of its last 17 games in Big East Championship competition.

*Pitt is playing on Wednesday for only the second time in the past seven seasons. Pitt has received First Round byes five times during that span including 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005 and 2007. In 2006, Pitt advanced to the Big East Championship Final after playing on Wednesday and winning three consecutive contests.

*Pitt is 21-24 all-time in 45 total Big East Championship games.

*Pitt Head Coach Jamie Dixon enters his fifth Big East Championship with a 7-4 tournament record. Last year, he guided Pitt to its sixth Big East Championship Finals appearance in school history.

*In 26 years since joining the Big East Conference, Pitt has won the title once (2003) and advanced to the title game in six tournaments (2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2006 and 2007). It defeated UConn 74-56 in the 2003 title game. Pitt has advanced to each of the last two title games.

*Since joining the Big East Conference in 1982-83, Pitt has made an appearance in each of its 26 potential Big East Championships. It owns a 21-24 all-time record in 45 total appearances.

*Pitt features five players and one staff member who are New York City area natives. The student-athletes include Ronald Ramon (Bronx), Keith Benjamin (Mount Vernon), Levance Fields (Brooklyn), Tyrell Biggs (Nanuet) and Austin Wallace (Brooklyn) along with Director of Basketball Operations Orlando Antigua (Bronx).

*Pitt is 19-8 at Madison Square Garden since the 2001-02 season. Pitt won each of its two games at Madison Square Garden this year: vs. Duke (65-64, OT on Dec. 20) and at St. John's (81-57 on Jan. 23).

*Pitt is 5-7 all-time in Big East Championship First Round games.

2008 BIG EAST MEN'S BASKETBALL CHAMPIONSHIP PRESENTED BY AEROPOSTALE SCHEDULE

(all games are played at New York's Madison Square Garden and televised on ESPN)

Wednesday, March 12, 2006- First Round

Game One: #8 Villanova (19-11, 9-9 Big East) vs. #9 Syracuse (19-12, 9-9 Big East), Noon, ESPN

Game Two: #5 West Virginia (22-9, 11-7 Big East) vs. #12 Providence (15-15, 6-12 Big East), 2 p.m., ESPN

Game Three: #7 Pitt (22-9, 10-8 Big East) vs. #10 Cincinnati (13-17, 8-10 Big East), 7 p.m., ESPN

Game Four: #6 Marquette (22-8, 11-7 Big East) vs. #11 Seton Hall (18-13, 7-11 Big East), 9 p.m. ESPN

Thursday, March 13, 2006- Quarterfinals

Game Five: 8-9 Winner vs. #1 Georgetown (25-4, 15-3 Big East), Noon, ESPN

Game Six: 5-12 Winner vs. #4 Connecticut (24-7, 13-5 Big East), 2 p.m. ESPN

Game Seven: 7-10 Winner vs. #2 Louisville (24-7, 14-4 Big East), 7 p.m. ESPN

Game Eight: 6-11 Winner vs. #3 Notre Dame (24-6, 14-4 Big East), 9 p.m. ESPN

Friday, March 14, 2006- Semifinals

Game Nine: Thursday morning Quarterfinal Winners, 7 p.m., ESPN

Game 10: Thursday evening Quarterfinal Winners, 9 p.m., ESPN

Saturday, March 15, 2006- Championship Game

Game 11: Big East Championship Final, 9 p.m., ESPN