EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. - Oklahoma State took Pittsburgh's pushes, shoves and banging for 33 minutes and then delivered a knockout blow that sent longtime coach Eddie Sutton to his sixth region final.
Tony Allen keyed a late 17-5 spurt when second-seeded Oklahoma State solved Pittsburgh's tenacious defense and beat the third-seeded Panthers 63-51 on Thursday night.
Oklahoma State (30-3) will face either Saint Joseph's or Wake Forest on Saturday in the East Rutherford Region for the right to go to San Antonio, Texas, for the Final Four.
Allen led the Cowboys with 23 points in a game that was much closer than the final score.
Carl Krauser had 15 points and Jaron Brown 11 for the Panthers (31-5), who lost in the region semifinal for the third straight year.
Neither team led by more than five in the first 30 minutes of a game that resembled a heavyweight fight.
For each jab, there was a counter with both teams playing aggressive defense.
Pittsburgh and rookie coach Jamie Dixon seemed to have the edge because Oklahoma State struggled to find its up-tempo game.
The Cowboys finally broke loose after Krauser hit a floater in the lane to tie at 42 with 7:51 to play.
Then the Big 12 champions took over.
Joey Graham broke the tie with a jumper from the right wing and Allen stretched the lead to four on a drive down the left side of the lane.
Ironically, the basket was set up when Chevon Troutman of Pittsburgh was shoved along the baseline on Pitt's possession and stepped out of bounds.
After Troutman and Graham exchanged baskets, Graham hit another jumper for a 50-44 lead with 5:07 to go.
Brown, who was in foul trouble early, hit a 3-pointer for Pitt to cut the gap to 50-47 with about 4:45 to play.
Allen answered with a 3-pointer, and the game quickly got out of hand when Janavor Weatherspoon scored on a fastbreak and Allen got another basket for a 57-47 edge.
The 68-year-old Sutton has won 754 games and he has been coaching for 34 years. He has been to two Final Fours but has not won a national title.
Dixon was 9 years old when Sutton got his first coaching job at Creighton.
