P-I-T-T...F-I-N-A-L-L-Y!

(Photo by Andy Lyons/Getty Images)

After 35 years of waiting—the Pittsburgh Panthers are returning to the Elite Eight!

This will be Pitt’s first trip to the Elite Eight since the tournament expanded to 64 teams in 1985, yet this team knows there is still a lot of work yet to be done.

But all that doesn’t matter.

On this day, in this city, for this University, no victory was bigger for a program than Pitt’s ugly, but hard fought, 60-55 triumph over the Xavier Musketeers.

In what will certainly be remembered as the ugliest game of the tournament, Pitt outlasted Xavier on a night where both teams shot under 34 percent from the field; the two teams went a combined 43-129 from the field, 9-38 from beyond the three-point line.

Pitt’s first win over a team seeded higher than fifth may be the biggest in school history.

Pitt has been one of the most successful programs in the country since 2001.

Under Ben Howland, and now Jaime Dixon, Pitt has amassed 219 wins in those eight seasons. That’s an average of just under 28 wins per season.

Pitt has been to seven Big East Championship games in nine seasons, and became the first Big East team in conference history to reach seven championship games in eight seasons.

Jaime Dixon has become the winningest coach in NCAA history for a coach in their first six seasons.

“The Joker," as he is sometimes referred to in Pittsburgh, has built a strong program that utilizes tough defense, and patient offense.

Dixon has now taken the Pitt program to new and uncharted waters.

But there was always something missing.

Something has consistently separated the top programs in the country from Pitt.

UConn, Kansas, North Carolina, Duke, Michigan State and UCLA are among the elite programs in the country.

When you talk about college basketball greatness, you think of those programs.

These schools have won National Titles, they have been to the Final Four and they constantly bring in top recruits.

Why?

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