Ashton Gibbs scored 18 points as No. 5 Pittsburgh clinched sole possession of the Big East regular-season title and the top seed in next week’s conference tournament with a 60-50 victory over visiting No. 19 Villanova on Saturday.

Nasir Robinson added nine points for the Panthers (27-4, 15-3 Big East), who would have been pushed down to the No. 2 seed in the tournament had they lost by virtue of Notre Dame’s victory over Connecticut earlier in the day.

Pittsburgh will open up its Big East Tournament run in the quarterfinals on Thursday while the Wildcats (21-10, 9-9), who finished the regular season having lost four straight, will play a first-round game on Tuesday likely as the No. 10 seed.

It was a defensive slugfest from the start on Saturday, with the teams combining for 15 field goals in the first half and the Panthers taking a 22-18 edge at the break.

Pittsburgh opened up a gap with an 8-0 run late in the second half, stretching it out to 51-38 on Travon Woodall’s jumper with 1:39 remaining. The Panthers sealed it at the line, connecting on 23-of-25 free throws in the contest.

Maalik Wayns scored a game-high 27 points for Villanova.