The Panthers were even given a gift in the form of a late foul by Butler and still couldn’t take advantage.

Down one point with two foul shots and just a couple of seconds on the clock, the Panthers made the first and missed the second.

Pittsburgh then fouled Matt Howard, who grabbed the rebound and threw a desperation shot at the opposite hoop.

Howard went to the other end and sank his free throw, and the Panthers yet again missed out on the Final Four.

The Bulldogs had played just two days earlier, winning their opening round game to have the right to play the Panthers.

Despite being arguably one of the worst teams in the tournament, UNC-Asheville didn’t make things easy on Pittsburgh.

The Panthers lead by just five points at halftime, and the Bulldogs kept making runs to stay in the game.

Eventually, Ashton Gibbs started to take over and helped his team pull away and advance to the next round.

Kemba Walker put on a dazzling show and capped it by hitting the game-winning jump shot as time expired.

Ashton Gibbs kept the Panthers right there with the Huskies the entire way, scoring 27 points.

Pittsburgh had 11 turnovers and forced just six, which is rare for them.

The Panthers now must hope other contenders for No. 1 seeds fall by the wayside in their conference tournaments.

Pittsburgh used their patented swarming defense to hold the Wildcats to just 18 first-half points.

The Panthers also hit the glass hard as to be expected, outrebounding the Wildcats by eight.

On a day when Pittsburgh honored its four seniors, they needed their younger point guard to take control.

Ashton Gibbs carried the team with 18 points, making up for a poor performance from Brad Wanamaker.

The Big East Conference has been, hands down, the toughest league in the land this season. And the Pittsburgh Panthers have been the beast of the Big East.

The Panthers enter the Big East tournament this week in New York City as the regular-season champion, finishing on top of a league that features eight teams ranked in the top 19 in the nation.

Pitt is No. 5 in the country, at 27-4 overall and 15-3 in Big East action. The Panthers closed the regular season Saturday with a 60-50 home victory over No. 19 Villanova, the eighth victory in their past 10 contests. Ashton Gibbs scored 18 points as the Panthers used a big second half to down the Wildcats.

Pitt has bounced back from a 62-59 overtime loss at then No. 16 Louisville on Feb. 27, downing South Florida and Villanova this week.

Pitt ranks third in the nation in assists and eighth in rebounds per game. Gibbs leads the Panthers in scoring at 16.3 points per game.

—30—

It was earlier in the year when Pittsburgh protected their home court with an overtime win over Louisville.

Brad Wanamaker did a little bit of everything, finishing with 13 points, 12 rebounds and six assists.

Forward Gilbert Brown lead the team in scoring with 20 points. Point guard Ashton Gibbs added 14.

The loss could be a damaging one for the Panthers, who are battling hard for a top seed in the NCAA tournament.

Gibbs is expected to miss anywhere from 10-14 days, but could be out slightly longer if the team wants to be extra cautious.

The injury comes at the worst of times as the Panthers have road games at West Virginia and Villanova this week.

It will certainly be a challenge to win both of those games, and a split would probably be a great accomplishment.

Gibbs was coming off of his best performance of the season, scoring 25 points in a win over Cincinnati.

Ashton Gibbs hit a big three-point shot in the final minute to give the Panthers a two possession lead and ice the game.

It was one of Gibbs’ best games of the season, as he lead the Panthers with 24 points and four rebounds. He also had two steals.

The gritty Panthers actually scored 12 of their last 15 points from the free throw line, which is how you finish off a game.

With Villanova’s recent slide, Pittsburgh has taken over control of the Big East with an 8-1 record.

It was a clash between two of the best backcourts in the conference, if not the country, but it was no contest.

The Panthers quickly took Georgetown out of the game, opening things up on a 24-9 run. The 15-point advantage was the ultimate difference in the game.

Point guard Ashton Gibbs lead the way with 22 points, two rebounds and two assists, including five three-pointers.

Shooting guard Brad Wanamaker added 14 points and fellow backcourt mate Gilbert Brown had 12.

Haywood, the head coach at Miami (OH), has agreed to a five-year contact with the school. Financial terms were not released.

The head coach lead the Redhawks to a bowl game just one season after finishing with only one victory.

Haywood becomes the first African-American head coach in football or basketball in the history of Pittsburgh athletics.

It is unknown whether or not he will coach in the bowl game, but it seems less likely given the timing of the hiring.