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If not for the six-overtime thriller that Connecticut and Syracuse staged March 12, 2009, in the Big East Conference tournament quarterfinals, they might be talking about the game Pitt and West Virginia played Friday night into Saturday morning as the greatest Big East game of the new century.
As it is, the epic contest that kept a capacity crowd at Petersen Events Center on the edge of their seats will have to merely settle for being the game of the year in the Big East.
Perhaps the game of the year in college basketball.
And certainly one of the all-time greats in annals of Pitt basketball.
Pitt's 98-95 triple-overtime victory was not only noteworthy for its length. It was only the third Big East regular-season game to go to triple overtime in the history of the conference and Pitt's first since 1976.
This game was special for all of its momentum swings, clutch shot-making and endurance in the face of exhaustion over a 55-minute marathon that took more than three hours in real time.
And, oh yes, one miraculous comeback at the end of regulation that made it all possible.
"It was another classic game for us," Pitt junior Brad Wanamaker said.
PDFClassic comebacks are becoming old hat for the Panthers, who erased a five-point deficit in the final minute of regulation to force overtime Jan. 16 against Louisville in a victory. This comeback made the one against the Cardinals look easy.
Friday night, Pitt erased a seven-point deficit in 22 seconds in the final minute of regulation to force overtime. That alone makes this game remarkable.
Yet there was so much more that took place after regulation that contributed to the game's greatness.
But first the details of the comeback:
West Virginia led, 66-59, before Ashton Gibbs made a jumper with 43 seconds left to make it 66-61. West Virginia senior Da'Sean Butler missed a free throw with 43 seconds left, and Travon Woodall made two free throws after being fouled with 36 seconds left to make it 66-63.
After two Darryl Bryant free throws made it 68-63 with 35 seconds left, Woodall quickly answered with a runner in the lane to make it 68-65 with 31 seconds remaining.
On the ensuing inbounds play, Nasir Robinson forced a turnover, and Brad Wanamaker saved the ball from going out of bounds (although replays show he might not have stayed in bounds). His desperation pass landed in the hands of Woodall, who found Gibbs open in the corner for the tying 3-pointer with 26 seconds left.
The score was tied, 68-68, at the end of regulation.
Pitt had a great opportunity to win the game in the first overtime. Gibbs, a 91-percent free-throw shooter, was at the line with seven seconds remaining and Pitt ahead by three. Gibbs missed and West Virginia capitalized.
Bryant dribbled up court and made a 3-pointer with one second remaining to tie the score at 78-78 and force a second overtime.
Pitt again had a golden opportunity to salt the game away in the second overtime. The Panthers led by three with 20 seconds remaining when Butler went up for a 3-point attempt. Gary McGhee lunged toward him and fouled him as he released his shot.
Butler made all three free throws to tie the score at 88-88 to force a third overtime.
Finally, with three of his teammates on the bench after fouling out, Gilbert Brown made two free throws with 28.8 seconds remaining in the third overtime to give Pitt the lead for good after 12 ties and 12 lead changes in the first 54 minutes.
Gibbs redeemed himself by making two free throws with 10 seconds left to give the Panthers another three-point lead. Only this time, the Mountaineers could not pull another rabbit out of their coonskin hats.
Bryant's desperation 3-pointer with three seconds left grazed the front of the rim, and McGhee pulled down the rebound to end the longest home game in school history.
"Without a doubt it's the greatest game I ever played in," Brown said. "It was the greatest comeback since I've been at Pitt. We had the Ronald Ramon buzzer-beater [against West Virginia in 2008]. But this tops it. The way we fought back at the end of regulation and then in the first and second overtime was huge. And then pulling it out in the third overtime was even bigger. I definitely think this goes down as one of the greatest Pitt victories against West Virginia."
Brown did not need to utter those final three words. Pitt has played in other great games throughout the years, and it's probably too difficult to rate them. But it's hard to imagine another game with as many swings of momentum, as many clutch plays in crunch time.
The end result for Pitt (19-6, 8-4) meant that it tied West Virginia (19-5, 8-4) and Georgetown (18-5, 8-4) for third place in the conference with six games remaining. And according to Brown, this victory was much needed for a team that had fallen on some hard times in recent weeks.
"It's a big emotional boost as well as a confidence boost for us," he said. "I think we needed a win like this to make us believe we can do this. Early on in the season, when we had our first five wins in the Big East, we were rolling. We really felt like we could get it done and possibly be in contention for a Big East regular-season championship. And then after going through the struggles we went through, pulling this game out it really shows the character of the players, how we fought every day in practice just to get back to this point."
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