three-pointers, while Jessie Sapp scored 13 points and had seven rebounds. Georgetown advanced to the Big East tournament final for the second year in a row – its first back-to-back appearances in the final since 1991 and 1992 – to face No. 17 Pittsburgh, the tournament's seventh seed, with a chance to repeat as tournament champions for the first time since 1984 and 1985. Although they shot only 22-for-44 (50 percent) from the free-throw line, the Panthers outrebounded the Hoyas 41-29 and attacked the net with a balanced offense. Pittsburgh led 31-28 at halftime and 59-49 with 3:45 remaining in the game. Georgetown closed to a 65-60 deficit with 1:20 left to play, but Pittsburgh's Ronald Ramón went 5-for-6 from the free-throw line over the last 1:07 and Pittsbugh took the tournament championship with a 74-65 upset victory. It was the first defeat for the Hoyas in the 16 Big East tournament games they had played in as the tournament's top seed since the tournament began in 1980. Roy Hibbert had 17 points in his final Big East game, and Jonathan Wallace had 12. NCAA tournament With a 27-5 record and ranked No. 8 in the country, Georgetown received an at-large bid to the 2008 NCAA tournament, its third consecutive NCAA tournament appearance. Seeded second in the Midwest Regional, the Hoyas began their pursuit of their first back-to-back Final Four appearances since 1984 and 1985 by facing 15th-seeded Maryland-Baltimore County (UMBC) in the first round. The Hoyas dominated the undersized Retrievers, shooting 51 percent from the field and holding UMBC to 32-percent shooting and completely scoreless over a seven-minute stretch in the first half, during which the Retrievers missed eight straight shots: A Chris Wright three-point jumper gave the Hoyas a 31-17 lead with three minutes left in the half before UMBC's scoring drought ended. Georgetown went on a 22-5 run late in the first half, posted a 34-22 halftime lead, and won 66-47. Roy Hibbert exhibited thorough control inside and had 13 points, Jonathan Wallace also had 13, Austin Freeman contributed 11, and Patrick Ewing Jr., who filled in at center when Hibbert was on the bench, finished with 10 points. In the second round, Georgetown met the region's tenth seed, No. 23 Davidson, the winner of 23 straight games, led by junior point guard Stephen Curry, a future National Basketball Association star. Before defeating Gonzaga in the first