Connecticut was the first Big East team to advance to this year’s Final Four, defeating Missouri by 82-75 in the West Regional final before the Wildcats put the league a step closer to another momentous season.  The Big East sent three teams to the Final Four in 1985, when St. John’s, Villanova and Georgetown advanced. Villanova, which was a No. 8 seed, went on to defeat Georgetown to win the national championship. It was the only time a conference sent three teams to the Final Four. If No. 1 Louisville beats No. 2 Michigan State in the Midwest Regional final Sunday, the Big East will again have three teams in the Final Four, which would be a memorable end to Commissioner Mike Tranghese’s final season.  The similarities to 1985 were not lost on Villanova Coach Jay Wright, who attended the 1985 Final Four as a fan with his wife.  “It’s kind of eerie how this is playing out,” Wright said. “I hope to God history repeats itself.”  For Pittsburgh, the season ended by the slimmest of margins. The Panthers had one final chance when Levance Fields put up a 70-foot shot at the buzzer, but it clanged off the backboard. Sam Young had a terrific game for the Panthers, finishing with 28 points.  In his postgame news conference, Pittsburgh Coach Jamie Dixon seemed stuck on the fact that the Panthers came close to turning the inbounds pass to Cunningham into a steal.  “It was a pass that could have gone either way,” he said, a theme he repeated at least three times.  Instead, the Panthers fell short of their first Final Four since 1941. Wright complimented Pittsburgh’s players and said the game showed just how tough meetings between high-level Big East opponents were this year.  The Wildcats overcame a 4-point deficit in the final three minutes thanks to a number of players, including Dwayne Anderson, who had a huge steal and a 3-point play to go with big shots and free throws by Corey Fisher.  “I think it’s just starting to sink in now,” Wright said. “It’s numbing when it happens, especially in a game like that.”  Anderson led the Wildcats with 17 points and Reynolds had 15. It was typical Villanova balance, as four players finished in double figures. Rollie Massimino, who coached the 1985 team, sat in the front row on Saturday, dressed in a sharp gray suit and pink tie.  He even reverted back to his old coaching days, watching the game with intensity.  Wright hugged his wife, Patricia, after the game and then dashed to hug Massimino. Massimino shimmied over a barrier onto press row to greet him.  “He’s great,” Massimino said of Wright. “He’s the best, that kid. I knew him when he was a baby. Now he’s a superstar.”  Wright will have a big-time matchup in his first Final Four as the Wildcats will face the winner of Sunday’s South Regional final between No. 1 North Carolina and No. 2 Oklahoma.  Villanova had a 2-point lead and the ball with 10.6 seconds remaining, but a gamble by Redding on the inbounds let Pittsburgh back in the game. He overthrew a baseball pass to Cunningham, who was closely guarded by Jermaine Dixon.  Cunningham saved the ball to Dixon, who rushed it up the court. Fisher fouled Fields with 5.5 seconds remaining and he made the free throws to tie the game. Overtime looked imminent, but Reynolds’s dash saved the game for Villanova.  And Wright is hoping now that the Wildcats are off to Detroit that a few more of the ghosts of 1985 reappear.  “Man, its all happening the same,” Wright said. “I’m not a superstitious person or anything. But, if history repeats itself, I’ll take it.”  An article in some editions on Sunday about Villanova’s 78-76 victory over Pittsburgh in the N.C.A.A. men’s basketball tournament misspelled the surname of the Pittsburgh player who missed a 70-foot shot at the buzzer. He is Levance Fields, not Field. Because of an editing error, the article also misstated the potential effect of the shot. It would have given Pittsburgh the victory; it would not have sent the game into overtime.
Scottie Reynolds made a half-court dash for the winning shot with seconds left, sending Villanova to the Final Four for the first time since 1985.