Pittsburgh seniors got their first taste of victory in the Big East Tournament, as the Panthers ran past St. John's in the second half en route to a 73-59 victory. Pitt had lost in its first game in the Big East Tournament in the previous three seasons, but this time will advance. Ashton Gibbs led the team in scoring with 20 points and was 4 of 9 from three-point range. Nasir Robinson was the difference in the second half, scoring 12 of his 15 points after halftime.
For St. John's, Moe Harkless showed why he was the Big East Rookie of the Year. Harkless led the team with 25 points and 9 rebounds. It wasn't enough, however, as a very difficult season that saw multiple highly rated recruits not qualify and head coach Steve Lavin be forced to miss virtually all of the season to focus on his battle with cancer finally came to an end. There's plenty of young talent on the team and with Lavin returning to the sidelines, it should be a much better season in 2012-13.
Pittsburgh, whose 10 year streak of NCAA Tournament appearances rides on its ability to win the Big East Tournament, will now move on to face Georgetown at 2:00 p.m. tomorrow.