Matt Freed, Post-Gazette Pitt's Aaron Gray dunks against West Virginia's Frank Young in the first half Tuesday. Click photo for larger image. Related article Collier: Pitt hunts for magic touch at free-throw line

Many Pitt players were still reeling Monday, wondering how they let the Big East championship slip away 48 hours earlier at Georgetown. The sting of losing an eight-point second-half lead to the Hoyas was not dissipating.

But when the Panthers clicked on ESPN Monday night and watched Syracuse end Georgetown's 11-game winning streak that despair turned to hope again. Georgetown's loss reopened the door for Pitt to win at least a share of the Big East regular-season championship. And after beating West Virginia Tuesday night, the Panthers control their own destiny again heading into the final game of the regular season Saturday at Marquette.

"There was not a guy on our team who wasn't watching," senior center Aaron Gray said. "We had our sidekicks or our phones, and we were texting each other. We were calling each other. It was crazy. It was real exciting."

Imagine that. Pitt players rooting for Syracuse, one of the team's foremost rivals, the team that beat the Panthers in the Big East Conference championship game last year at Madison Square Garden. And the players weren't calm by any means; in fact, they were downright fanatical in their cheering.

"That's part of the reason my voice is gone," Gray said after Pitt beat West Virginia and reclaimed a share of the Big East lead. "It was the first time I think I ever voted for Syracuse. I don't hate, but it's so much of a rivalry that it's so hard to cheer for that team."

Pitt and Georgetown are tied atop the Big East standings with 12-3 records. If Pitt wins at Marquette, the Panthers are assured of at least a share of the conference championship. If Georgetown loses earlier in the day to Connecticut, the Panthers would have the opportunity to win the championship outright as well as the top seed at the Big East tournament next week in New York.

If Gray thought it was strange rooting for Syracuse, imagine what he and his teammates will be feeling Saturday when they are holed up in their Milwaukee hotel rooms rooting for Connecticut to knock off Georgetown.

"That's been our goal -- to win the Big East championship," senior forward Levon Kendall said. "It's huge for us to get that chance again. We're just going to take care of our end and see how things pan out."

Pitt has the opportunity to win or share the Big East regular-season championship for the first time since 2004, when the current seniors were freshmen. The Panthers finished in a tie for fourth place last season and came in fifth in 2005. On both occasions, Pitt had to play an opening-round game at the Big East tournament.

The Panthers have secured a first-round bye this year and can finish anywhere from the top seed to the third seed, depending upon the results of games this weekend.

"It was a huge goal for us in the preseason," Gray said. "Knowing we've played 30 games that we still have a chance to win the Big East regular season. ... We put ourselves in great position.

"This is huge. You never want to rely on another team. It's definitely more comforting knowing we have our own destiny in our own hands. A lot of people don't realize we beat Georgetown, so it's not like they deserve it any more than us if we share the title."

Junior guard Mike Cook said the Panthers covet the regular-season championship more because it seemed out of reach for two days. Pitt had been in first place or tied for first all season before losing to Georgetown. It was almost as if the Panthers needed to have it taken away before realizing how much it meant to them.

"We have a second chance," Cook said. "I think we value it a little more now. It's a great opportunity for us to go out there and do it against a tough team like Marquette. That would really make us feel like we earned it."