Pitt retires Knight, stays alive in Big East hunt

It makes sense that on a night when Pitt retired the jersey number of one of its best guards in… It makes sense that on a night when Pitt retired the jersey number of one of its best guards in history, it also moved one step closer to achieving something the guard earned twice: a Big East regular season title. After pulling the No. 20 jersey of Brandin Knight into the rafters, Pitt took down Marquette, keeping its conference title hopes alive. But with a matchup against No. 1-ranked Connecticut looming, Pitt still has some work and some help from an old rival left. The Panthers need to beat Connecticut on Saturday, and No. 6 Louisville needs to lose its last regular season game, which is on the road against West Virginia Saturday night. The Cardinals beat Seton Hall at home last night 95-78. If Pitt beats Connecticut and Louisville loses to the Mountaineers, there will be a three-way tie for first place in the Big East. Pitt will get the No. 1-seed in the Big East tournament, though, as it would have a 2-1 record against those teams, thus giving it the edge. No matter what happens with Connecticut and Louisville, Pitt guaranteed itself a two-day bye in the Big East tournament next week and third place in the final conference standings, meaning it won’t play until Thursday and will have a maximum of three games in the tournament. Finishing among the top of the Big East is something that Knight, now an assistant coach for Pitt, is used to. Knight, who played point guard for Pitt from 1999-2003, holds school records for career assists, career assist average, career steals, season assists and minutes played in a season. He led Pitt to two consecutive Big East regular season titles and its first ever Big East tournament title. The Panthers also made two NCAA Sweet 16 appearances in that time. Now in his third year of coaching at Pitt, Knight works extensively with guards. ‘I told Levance [Fields] I wouldn’t cry, so I’m going to stick to that,’ said Knight. ‘This is the best place to play in the country. We have the best fans.’