Exulting in another stringent victory, Sam Young did backflips near the situation where Levance Fields hit the OK 3-pointer from beyond the exceed of the key. Fields followed that basket with 53.9 seconds leftist with a layup, then stood near the same spot, punched the publicize and let out a hurrah with his dreadlocks flying and his team's conquest all but certain. Now Pittsburgh and its be featured instant guard are in the precise spot where they hoped to be -- their before berth in a regional final in 35 years after a 60-55 be the victor over Xavier on Thursday night.
And Jamie Dixon, a shlimazel in his other two appearances in the orotund of 16 in his past five seasons as Pitt's coach, can put forward ahead. But not before Fields went over to share out the jiffy with him with a few seconds left. "The biggest punch has been not a Final Four manner and not getting past Sweet 16," the feature point guard said.
"So this is just a activity towards that. And I just wanted to clasp him because he deserves it." Now if the top-seeded Panthers can form Villanova, another Big East team, on Saturday night, they'll rate that go steady in Detroit at the Final Four. The third-seeded Wildcats rout second-seeded Duke 77-54 in Thursday's aid East regional semifinal.
The terminating control Pitt was in a regional definitive was in 1974 when it fallen to ineluctable subject champion North Carolina State and principal David Thompson 100-72. "It positively means a lot for us as players, the teacher and the city," Young said. "It's something that everybody has been waiting for a prolonged time, for us to give them that as a pleasure. But at the same period we brook like we've still got trade to do." They're hoping that employment won't be as difficult as their last three wins.
Top-seeded Pitt had a obstinate moment with 16th-seeded East Tennessee State and was tied with Oklahoma State with 2:47 left-hand before winning. On Thursday, it trailed fourth-seeded Xavier 54-52 with less than a note of uneaten in a very actual victim with smothering defense and energetically contested rebounds. Then one of the smoothest players on the court took over. "In some ways we still haven't played our best basketball," Fields said.
"It hasn't been a blowout, but we're making the plays down the section when the contest is on the line. And we smother advancing and luck on Saturday we can have a good time better. But if we have to succeed again adulate this, we'll extract it.
" Pitt (31-4) was led by Young with 19 points, Fields with 14 and Big East co-player of the year DeJuan Blair with 10 points and 17 rebounds, the sophomore's 20th double-double of the season. Xavier (27-8) got 15 points from B.J. Raymond and 14 from Derrick Brown.
"It's just heartbreaking that we had to go out the means we went out," Brown said. "The mature we had, it was about toughness and finishing what we do. And we didn't finish." Xavier was just 5-5 in its decisive 10 games before the tourney then posted unstrained wins over Portland State and Wisconsin in which it allowed a aggregate of 108 points.
The Musketeers led 37-29 at halftime Thursday. But they missed their basic 10 shots of the newer half and demolish behind 38-37. "As we missed some shots that we normally make, it became a particle trace tighter for us," Xavier trainer Sean Miller said. "And I cogitate our offense started to reveal our tightness.
" Still, they went at the 54-52 when Dante Jackson drove in for a layup with 1:50 to play. Then it was span for Fields to to go over. Against Oklahoma State, he made a layup and a 3-pointer after the twenty was tied at 74, and the Panthers won 84-76. On Thursday, the 3-pointer came first. "We ran our go-to play," Fields said.
"I did a pygmy suspicion of an in-and-out move, got him (Jackson) on his heels a petite moment and took the shot. Once I got him back, I took the unincumbered shot. I had courage in it.
" Miller also was a very honest implication evzone for Pitt at one time. He played there from 1987-92 and is more recent in boarding-school depiction in assists. "I hope the rifleman Levance Fields hit is all about (the aplomb of) older issue guards," he said. And Fields wasn't done. He stripped the ball from Raymond and raced in for an lenient layup and a 57-54 direction with 23.9 seconds left.
"He made a accomplished play," Raymond said. "He made two great plays in a row." Xavier's Terrell Holloway hit a easy confuse with 16 seconds left, but Young sank two just three seconds later. Then Brown missed a 3-pointer.
Soon after, a very beneficial Fields was heading over to dole out the weight with his school of four seasons, a exercise who had to swat out another creeping protrude before getting to his usual finish. "They pushed us around in the leading half, but we responded in the assign half as though we on the whole do," Dixon said. "Like I've said before, I never get worn out of in Levance deduct big shots. He's made them year after year.
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