The Panthers and the Mountaineers know their history and how they are intertwined. They seem to pick one another when the time comes to commemorate a special event.

Pitt and West Virginia are forever linked with their histories. Pitt played West Virginia in 1904 before the university fielded a varsity team. They also played an unsanctioned game in 1905 before the first recognized game between the two schools took place in 1906, the first season the Panthers fielded a varsity squad.

The two universities have kept each other in mind when planning historic moments as well. The final basketball games played at the Pitt Pavilion, Fitzgerald Field House and WVU Field House were between Pitt and West Virginia.

That leads us to tonight. It’s the last Big East regular season game they’ll play against one another, though there are actually ways they could meet in the first round of the Big East Tournament. One would like nothing more than to beat the other if this is the end, even if it sounds like both sides want to find a way to play when the time comes to talk about such things in the future.

Taking the last Big East game would add to the mentionable moments in future meetings, but there’s plenty else at stake at 9 p.m. on ESPN at the Petersen Events Center.

WVU can revoke Pitt’s membership in a pretty exclusive club.

Only Kansas, Pitt and Gonzaga have won 20 overall games and 10 conference games and made the NCAA Tournament the past 10 years. The Panthers can’t get to 10 Big East wins if they lose tonight.

The Panthers also can put a wrinkle in Kevin Jones’ candidacy for Big East Player of the Year. The WVU senior forward leads the conference in scoring (20.6) and rebounding (11.1). Only St. John’s Walter Berry (1986) and Notre Dame’s Troy Murphy (2000) have done that for a full season.

They won player of the year, something no WVU player has done in the Big East. Berry led the Red Storm to the NCAA Tournament and Murphy led the Fighting Irish to an NIT final.

And remember, Jones hasn’t played all that well against Pitt in his career, including the 7-for-16/0-for-5 performance in last month’s loss. A loss pushes the Panthers (15-11, 4-9 Big East) very far from the NCAA Tournament. A loss puts WVU (16-10, 6-7) in a really tricky, though not impossible, spot for both the NCAA Tournament and even a one-round bye in the Big East Tournament.