NEW YORK -- John Thompson III took the last snip at the dangling net and then gathered his players together.

The jubilant coach led the players in a loud "We Are Georgetown!" chant, and the huge contingent of Hoyas fans at Madison Square Garden joined in. Winning the school's first Big East championship in 18 years was cause for an extra-exuberant celebration.

"It's funny to see him out there doing stuff like that," star guard Jeff Green said after the No. 9 Hoyas beat No. 13 Pittsburgh 65-42 on Saturday for their Big East-record seventh tournament title.

"He doesn't see me doing stuff like that," the normally reserved Thompson added with a big smile.

Thompson was back to his usual self Sunday, showing no emotion -- not even a flinch -- when Georgetown was announced as a No. 2 seed in the East Region of the NCAA Tournament. The Hoyas (26-6) will play 15th-seeded Belmont (23-9), the Atlantic Sun champion, in a first-round game Thursday at Winston-Salem, N.C.

Thompson could hardly believe what he heard a few moments later, when CBS' Seth Davis said the Hoyas had a favorable draw, adding, "I think it's an easy bracket for them."

Thompson, sitting in a chair, wrinkled his brow and mouthed, "What?"

"That's great, but that's irrelevant," Thompson said. "We have to play Belmont on Thursday. And we're not looking at the path. We're looking at the next game. It's worked pretty well for us thus far, taking that approach, and we're not going to change that now."

Hoyas fans were used to their team winning Big East titles when Thompson's father was the coach and players like Patrick Ewing, Sleepy Floyd, Reggie Williams, Alonzo Mourning and Charles Smith were dominating the court. So, it was hard to believe that a program that had six Big East titles under its belt hadn't won one since 1989.

There have been plenty of stars to come through the program since that last championship -- Dikembe Mutombo, Allen Iverson, Othella Harrington, Victor Page and Michael Sweetney, to name a few -- but they couldn't accomplish what this season's Hoyas did.

Since the elder Thompson stepped away early in the 1998-99 season, Craig Esherick tried but couldn't return the Hoyas to greatness in five-plus years.

It took the younger Thompson three seasons, and the Hoyas are headed to the NCAA Tournament with four consecutive wins and 15 victories in 16 games.

Thompson, who played at Princeton under Pete Carrill, coached at his alma mater for four seasons before stepping into his father's huge shadow at Georgetown. Rather than just try to imitate Big John's formula for success, Thompson did things his way.

Running the Princeton-style offense while still concentrating on defense, Thompson reinvented the Hoyas and reinvigorated the program.

"We're a different team from the legacy from when his dad was coaching," said Green, selected as the tournament's most outstanding player. "We just can't think about that. That's the past."

Of course. But the reminders of the glory days of "Hoya Paranoia" were all around the arena. There was another Thompson on the bench, and his father sat a few feet away. Patrick Ewing Jr. -- wearing the familiar No. 33 -- flashed some of the same moves that made his dad a perennial NBA All-Star.

The elder Ewing was in the arena to see his son win the title, along with Boston Celtics coach Doc Rivers, whose son, Jeremiah, is a freshman guard. A number of former Hoyas were in the stands to see this squad bring Georgetown back to the top of the Big East.

"It's nice, it's a family atmosphere," center Roy Hibbert said. "We had a couple of former players come in the locker room and talk to us and shake our hands."

Apparently, something rubbed off.

The Hoyas trailed only once against the Panthers, on Mike Cook's layup to start the game. They used a 15-2 run midway through the first half to open a big lead that grew to 25 in the second half.

"We won this tournament together and the regular season together," Hibbert said. "We did this for all the former Hoyas and ourselves, and especially coach Thompson."

Georgetown has momentum heading into the NCAA Tournament, and the Hoyas would face the winner of the Boston College-Texas Tech matchup if they beat Belmont. After watching his team get routed by Georgetown in the Big East championship, Pittsburgh coach Jamie Dixon saw enough to think the Hoyas were good enough for a No. 1 seed.

"I think we're in the toughest conference and they won the league and they won the tournament," Dixon said. "I think that's usually a good indicator."

If winning three games in the Big East tournament is an indicator, the Hoyas might make some noise in the NCAA Tournament. Just like the good old days.

"The opportunity to win the Big East regular season and then win the Big East tournament is something that's extremely special, and we're going to enjoy it," Thompson said. "But then we have to turn that off and focus -- and get ready for the NCAAs."

EVERYBODY INTO THE POOL

Office tourney pools are bigger business than Las Vegas, and a bargain, too, usually $5, $10 or $20 a person. In Nevada, $80 million to $90 million is expected to be bet legally on the games. By one FBI estimate a few years ago, the office pools are worth $2.5 billion. There are stories of pots getting up to $100,000, but for the most part the pools are a low-budget, low-pressure way to keep the interest up for people who have never heard of George Mason. And keep them interested it does. A survey by career publisher Vault Inc. showed that 27 percent of employees participate in March Madness office pools, and that a third of them take at least 30 minutes at work to fill out their brackets.

-- The Associated Press