Gibbs helps Pitt get No. 1 Big East seed

Ashton Gibbs scored 18 points and No. 4 Pittsburgh clinched the regular-season Big East title, using a big second half to beat reeling No. 19 Villanova 60-50 Saturday.

Pitt (27-4, 15-3) secured the No. 1 seed for the Big East Tournament for the first time since 2004. Nasir Robinson, Travon Woodall and Gilbert Brown each had nine points for the Panthers.

Villanova (21-10, 9-9) was without Corey Stokes (left hamstring), and leading scorer Corey Fisher was limited by early foul trouble. But the Wildcats managed to stay close behind Maalik Wayns, who had 23 of his career-high 27 points in the second half.

Villanova opened the second half with a 10-3 run to take a 28-25 lead. But Pitt responded with a 16-4 surge.

Notre Dame 70, Connecticut 67: Ben Hansbrough scored 21 points despite fouling out with more than 8 minutes left in Storrs, Conn. Kemba Walker scored 34 points but missed a three-point attempt with 8 seconds left and No. 16 UConn (22-9, 9-9) trailing 69-67. The Huskies, behind by 14, went on a 15-0 run to take a 61-60 lead with 5:41 left, but the No. 8 Irish (25-5, 14-4) outscored UConn 10-6 the rest of the way.

West Virginia 72, Louisville 70: Kevin Jones had a career-high 25 points and 16 rebounds and Truck Bryant sank two free throws with 1 second left for host West Virginia (20-10, 11-7). The Mountaineers shot just 34 percent (21-for-62) but outrebounded Louisville 49-25. Kyle Kuric scored 21 points for the No. 11 Cardinals (23-8, 12-6).

Cincinnati 69, Georgetown 47: Yancy Gates scored 10 of his 13 points from the free-throw line, and host Cincinnati (24-7, 11-7) hit 20 foul shots in a row. The No. 17 Hoyas (21-9, 10-8) have lost three in a row.

Syracuse 107, DePaul 59: Rick Jackson had 14 points, seven rebounds and four blocks, and Scoop Jardine had 14 points and eight assists as host No. 12 Syracuse (25-6, 12-6) won its fifth in a row.

Seton Hall 85, Marquette 72: Jeremy Hazell scored 21 points as Seton Hall (13-17, 7-11) hit a dozen three-pointers in Newark. Jimmy Butler had 20 points for Marquette (18-13, 9-9).

Providence 75, Rutgers 74: Marshon Brooks scored 28 points, including a go-ahead layup with 30 seconds left, for host Providence.- AP