Louisville 62 W. Va.59

The Big East regular-season title came down to one final shot last night – after Pittsburgh pulled off a rare double feat earlier in the day.

Terrence Williams scored 20 points and No. 6 Louisville clinched the Big East regular-season title and the top seed in this week’s conference tournament, beating West Virginia 62-59 in Morgantown, W.Va.

The Cardinals (25-5, 16-2) took advantage of third-ranked Pittsburgh’s 70-60 win over No. 1 Connecticut earlier in the day – the Panthers’ second win over the Huskies in less than a month.

For West Virginia (21-10, 10-8), freshman Kevin Jones scored a season-high 19 points.

Neither the Cardinals nor the Mountaineers led by more than four points in a tightly contested second half that came down to the final shot.

Jerry Smith made two free throws to put Louisville ahead 62-58 with 12 seconds left. After West Virginia’s Da’Sean Butler made a free throw, Williams was fouled and missed two straight from the line. But Butler’s 3-point attempt bounced off the rim as time ran out.

In Pittsburgh, Sam Young dominated one of this season’s biggest games with 31 points and the Panthers (28-3, 15-3) likely secured one of the top seeds in the NCAA tournament, opening a 14-point lead early in the second half before holding off the Huskies.

Pitt had never beaten a No. 1-ranked team in school history, only to accomplish it twice in less than a month – both times against Connecticut.

Pitt 70 UConn 60