Pittsburgh Makes an Impression

Pittsburgh might be the beast of the Big East.

The No. 7 Panthers (26-4) rolled through Boston College, 76-62, in the quarterfinals of the conference tournament Thursday at New York.

The Eagles (20-11) broke to a 20-15 lead with six minutes left in the first half, then the Panthers went on a 21-4 run to take a 36-24 halftime lead.

Boston College never challenged after that.

“In a game when you’re down, you have to do damage in the first six or seven minutes of the second half,” Eagle Coach Al Skinner said. “We didn’t. We didn’t execute well and they got transition baskets and built the lead.”

Pittsburgh never panicked and waited for its opportunity. When it came, the Panthers made their move.

“We don’t get concerned when we’re down,” Pittsburgh Coach Ben Howland said. “We defended and rebounded and did what we wanted to do.”

It’s a formula Pittsburgh has used in winning eight games in a row and 11 of the last 12. The Panthers wore down Boston College and had a 40-23 rebounding edge.

“Our players are strong and physical,” Howland said. “We don’t get pushed around. We have depth. We’re nine or 10 deep and all of them are good.”

The Panthers will play No. 20 Miami (24-6), which defeated Georgetown, 84-76, in overtime. The Hoyas are 19-11. St. John’s (20-11) was eliminated with an 83-63 loss to Notre Dame (21-9). The Fighting Irish will play No. 19 Connecticut (22-6), which defeated Villanova, 72-70. The Wildcats are 17-12.

BIG TEN

Iowa (17-14) extended its season with an 87-72 victory against Purdue (13-18). The Hawkeyes play Wisconsin today.... Michigan (11-17) took advantage of Northwestern’s sluggish play to start both halves and defeated the Wildcats, 72-51. The Wolverines play Ohio State today. Northwestern is 16-13.

BIG 12

Andy Ellis scored 27 points and Andre Emmett added 24 at Kansas City, Mo., as Texas Tech defeated Texas A&M;, 80-71, in a game interrupted by the collapse on press row of veteran author and sportswriter Bob Hammel. Hammel, 66, the former sports editor of the Bloomington Herald-Times and a friend of Red Raider Coach Bob Knight, was sitting courtside when he collapsed with about 6:30 left in the second half. The co-author of Knight’s recently released autobiography, Hammel was taken away on a stretcher. Kansas City TV station WDAF said Hammel had a low blood-sugar diabetic seizure and was expected to recover. While paramedics attended to Hammel, Knight went across the court several times to watch closely. After the game, Knight jumped into a waiting patrol car and went immediately to St. Luke’s hospital, where Hammel was hospitalized. Texas Tech (22-7) will play Oklahoma State today. The Aggies finished 9-22.

Missouri (21-10) defeated Iowa State, 79-59, ending the Cyclones’ season at 12-19. The Tigers (21-10) will play Texas today.... Blair Wilson scored 24 points as Colorado (15-13) withstood two Nebraska (13-15) rallies for a 67-60 victory. The Buffaloes’ reward is quarterfinal game today against No. 1-ranked Kansas.... Matt Seibrandt made a game-winning free throw with 1.4 seconds left as Kansas State (13-15) defeated Baylor, 74-73. The Bears finished 13-15 and the Wildcats advanced to play Oklahoma today.

CONFERENCE USA

Marcus Oliver scored a career-high 26 points and Houston scored an 80-74 victory against Memphis (22-9) at Cincinnati. The Cougars (18-13) will play No. 13 Marquette (25-5), an 84-76 winner against Louisville (18-12), in a semifinal game today.... Tournament favorite and No. 5-ranked Cincinnati cruised to a 79-57 victory against South Florida (19-12) and will play Charlotte, a team it has beaten twice, in the semifinals. The 49ers (18-10) defeated Tulane, 78-69, ending the Green Wave’s season at 14-15.

SOUTHEASTERN

Arkansas (14-15) had its disappointing season end with a 68-61 loss to Tennessee at Atlanta. The Volunteers will play Alabama today in the quarterfinals.... Louisiana State advanced with a 69-62 victory against Vanderbilt (16-14). The Tigers (17-13) will play Georgia today.... Udonis Haslem had 22 points and 10 rebounds to lead No. 11 Florida past Auburn, 81-63. The Tigers finished 12-18. The Gators will play Mississippi State today.... Rolando Howell’s basket 16.9 seconds remaining lifted South Carolina (17-13) past Mississippi (20-10). The Gamecocks will play defending tournament champion Kentucky tonight.

OTHER CONFERENCES

Atlantic Coast--Delvon Arrington scored a career high 24 points at Charlotte, N.C., as Florida State (12-16) scored a 91-84 overtime victory against Clemson (13-17) and advanced to a quarterfinal game today against Maryland.

Atlantic 10--Saint Joseph’s (18-11) NCAA tournament hopes were dashed in an 81-74 loss to Dayton (20-9) at Philadelphia. The Flyers will play Xavier (23-5), which advanced with a 65-59 overtime victory against Massachusetts (14-16). Saint Bonaventure (17-11) advanced with an 81-66 victory against Dequesne (9-19) and will play LaSalle (15-16), a 72-66 winner against Temple (15-14).

Ivy--T.J. McHugh had 21 points and eight rebounds at Philadelphia to help Yale (20-9) defeat Princeton, 76-60, in an Ivy League playoff game. The Bulldogs will play Penn on Saturday at Easton, Pa., with an automatic NCAA tournament berth at stake. The Tigers are 16-11.

Mid-American--Keith McLeod’s three-point basket with six seconds left at Cleveland lifted Bowling Green (23-7) to a 60-58 victory against Akron (10-21). The Falcons will play Ball State (20-10), a 62-50 winner against Miami of Ohio (13-18). Also advancing to the semifinals were Kent State (25-5), an 82-70 winner against Marshall (15-15), and Toledo (16-13), a 62-54 winner against Central Michigan (9-19).

Mountain West--Top-seeded Wyoming (21-7) needed overtime to edge Air Force, 69-67, at Las Vegas. Tom Bellairs had 20 points for the Falcons (9-19). San Diego State (19-11), a 62-51 winner against Brigham Young (17-11), will play the Cowboys in today’s second round. Utah (21-7) advanced with a 69-66 victory against Colorado State (12-18) and will play the winner of the New Mexico-Nevada Las Vegas game.

Western Athletic--Tulsa (25-5) rolled to a 72-53 victory against Boise State (13-17) at Tulsa, Okla., and will play Fresno State (19-13) a 72-69 winner against Louisiana Tech (20-9). Nevada (17-12), a 72-66 winner against Southern Methodist (15-14), will play Hawaii (25-5), which scored a 71-56 victory against San Jose State (10-22).