AP Photo Courtesy Getty Images by Julie Jacobson 

Apparently, somebody forgot to tell the Pittsburgh Panthers that they weren’t supposed to be here. Like a broken record, Jamie Dixon’s hard working team is back in the Big East Final once again after hanging on to defeat No.25 Marquette 68-61 last night at Madison Square Garden in the second tournament semifinal.

Star forward Sam Young scored 20-or-more for the third consecutive game netting a game high 22 in helping the Panthers advance to their seventh championship appearance in eight years.

They’ll try to become just the second school in tournament history to win four games in four days when they take on the top seeded Georgetown Hoyas later tonight.

“I think it’s probably more difficult to win more games, but we’ll be ready to play. We’ll be after it. We’ll show up and we’ll be ready,” a philosophical Dixon told reporters after his team’s third straight win.

“I know our guys are anxious to play. They’re looking forward to the opportunity, and we’ll be ready.”

They led the Golden Eagles from almost wire to wire building a double digit lead which got to 16 before Tom Crean’s team mounted a strong comeback down the stretch slicing the deficit to three with 80 seconds left. The seventh seeded Panthers finally put them away with a clutch rebound from Young along with some freebies from their top scorer and New York product Levance Fields.

Fields scored half his 12 from the line while grabbing five rebounds and dishing out four assists. Backcourt teammate Ronald Ramon chipped in with 14 including a couple of treys to go with five boards.

Pitt also got key contributions from Mount Vernon product Keith Benjamin, who had eight points, four rebounds and four assists.

That kind of balance along with a tenacious defense which held Marquette without a field goal for an 11:38 stretch spanning the end of the first and beginning of the second half proved to be the difference. The Golden Eagles shot just 31.1 percent for the game including a putrid 8-for-31 (25.8 pct) in the first 20 minutes.

Pitt’s D on Golden Eagle leading scorer Jerel McNeal held him to 17 while limiting his effectiveness as the future NBA lottery pick turned the ball over a game worst five times.  Dominick James shot just 3-of-16 from the field despite a couple of big buckets down the stretch including a putback which gave his team a chance at a stunning comeback.

The Panthers reduced Ousmane Barro (1 pt, 3 fouls, 2 turnovers) and supersub Maurice Acker (3 pts, 3 turnovers) into non-factors.

Amazingly, during the run of Finals appearances, Pitt has only one championship to show for it five years ago. They’ll try to do what Syracuse did two years ago and make a little history against a very tough Georgetown team which could be a No.1 seed if they prevail.

Led by much more visible big man Roy Hibbert’s double double of 25 and 13 rebounds including 10 on the offensive glass plus two blocked shots, John Thompson III’s ninth ranked Hoyas crushed the Mountaineers 72-55 to advance to their second consecutive Big East Final and setup a rematch. They blew out the Panthers last year.

After a no-show in the Hoyas’ tournament tying record 17 three-point fest, the senior Hibbert took apart West Virginia and in particular star Joe Alexander by totally outplaying him. Sure. He still got into double figures but 12 points and just five rebounds wasn’t going to help Bob Huggins’ school on this night.

Apparently, Hibbert got our message or maybe better yet read our last entry where I dissed him. I still don’t like his game at the next level. Let the big guy continue to prove me wrong.

The Hoyas also connected on a more normal 7-for-17 trifectas including a trio from Jonathan Wallace. Bronx native Jessie Sapp shot 6-for-11 from the field with 13 points and seven rebounds.

If there was a notable difference aside from Hibbert’s dominance inside where he did whatever he wanted including stepping out and knocking a trey down, it was Georgetown’s unselfishness. They spread the ball around for 17 assists compared to the Mountaineers’ nine. Amazingly, nobody got more than three (Patrick Ewing, Jr.) with seven other players including all five starters notching two apiece.

That kind of basketball which they play under Thompson is wonderful to watch. Knick fans should be so lucky.

Not surprisingly, the Hoyas also outrebounded their smaller foes 36-19. They’ll go for the repeat later tonight.