Darren Hauck, Associated Press photos Levon Kendall, right, fouls Marquette's Dominic James in the first half last night in Milwaukee. Click photo for larger image. More Coverage: Pitt Women set program mark for wins, reaches quarters

MILWAUKEE -- For the second consecutive Saturday, Pitt had the opportunity to win a share of the Big East Conference regular-season championship. And for the second time in a week, the Panthers fell short of their goal.

Marquette beat Pitt, 75-71, last night at the Bradley Center, relegating the Panthers to a second-place finish after they were in first place or shared first place for all but two days this season.

For the moment, Pitt is alone in second place, but the Panthers could fall to the No. 3 seed in this week's Big East tournament if Louisville beats Seton Hall at home this afternoon. If that happens, Pitt could end up playing Marquette again in the Big East quarterfinal round. Marquette will be the No. 6 seed and will play No. 11 seed Connecticut in a first-round game Wednesday. The winner of that game will play the No. 3 seed at 9 p.m. Thursday.

No. 20 Marquette (23-8, 10-6) swept the season series from Pitt and has won three of the four meetings between the two schools since joining the Big East last season. No. 12 Pitt (25-6, 12-4) has lost three of its past five conference games heading into the tournament.

Marquette had lost four of five entering last night's game, but the Golden Eagles love playing against Pitt. It didn't even matter last night that the Golden Eagles had to play without second-leading scorer Jerel McNeal, who has a thumb injury, and much of the second half without leading scorer Dominic James, who was fighting cramps.

Wesley Matthews picked up the slack and had one of the best games of his career. He scored 20 points. David Cubillan added 20 points off the bench to boost the Golden Eagles.

Pitt had a hard time matching up with the athletic Golden Eagles. James consistently drove to the hoop and set up his teammates. He had a career-high 10 assists. It was also evident that Marquette coach Tom Crean wanted to take it to Pitt's interior players. Marquette's forwards found success driving on Pitt center Aaron Gray and scored some easy baskets. Ousmane Barro, a 6-foot-10 junior, had a big game, going 5 for 5 from the field and scoring 10 points.

Levance Fields, bottom, tries to pass out of trouble as Marquette's Dominic James closes in. Click photo for larger image.

Gray led Pitt with 18 points.

Marquette led, 43-30, at halftime and quickly built a 17-point lead after Barro scored on a layup to make the score 51-34 with 16:36 to go. Pitt looked like it was going to get back in the game when the Panthers cut the lead to 11 after scoring six consecutive points to make the score 51-40 with 12:22 remaining, but Marquette regained the momentum with back-to-back 3-pointers 23 seconds apart. First it was Matthews and then David Cubillan, and it was back to a 17-point lead before the Panthers could blink.

But Pitt would not go quietly. The Panthers went on a 15-4 run to trim the lead to 61-55 with 3:35 remaining. Pitt got a big 3-point play from Gray after scoring off an offensive rebound to make the score 59-49 and then a few minutes later Ronald Ramon made Pitt's first 3-pointer of the second half to trim the lead to six.

But the Panthers could not make up enough points because they were off from 3-point range. They missed their first eight to open the second half before Ramon made his with 3:35 to go. The Panthers cut the lead to four after two Sam Young free throws, but Marquette's David Cubillan, in the game for an injured James, made a 3-pointer from the corner to make it 64-57 with 1:40 remaining.

Pitt was able to cut it to three after a Young 3-pointer with 20 second left, but that was as close as Pitt could get.

The game had seven lead changes in the first seven minutes, but Marquette went on an 18-5 run to seize control shortly thereafter. Pitt led 14-13 after Sam Young scored on a layup, but Marquette scored the next nine points to take a 22-14 lead with 10:59 remaining.

Pitt cut the lead back to three after Mike Cook made a 3-pointer and another basket, but Marquette went on a 10-run to make it 32-19 with 5:15 before halftime. The Panthers trailed by double digits for most of the rest of the half and went into the intermission down, 43-30, after Matthews made two free throws with 26 seconds left, capping a 12-point first half.

Marquette shot 51.6 percent from the field and dominated Pitt underneath. The Golden Eagles scored 22 points in the paint in the first half and grabbed 20 rebounds. Gray was a nonfactor in the half, scoring just four points as the Golden Eagles frustrated the Panthers with a zone defense.

Pitt shot 35.5 percent from the field and only had 15 rebounds. It was the fifth time in the past seven games that the Panthers trailed at halftime.