Inside The Panthers

Bracketology Watch: ACC Down Year Holds Pitt Back in NCAA Tournament Projections

A lack of national respect for the ACC is keeping the Pitt Panthers locked into a low seed.

Stephen Thompson

Bracketology Watch: ACC Down Year Holds Pitt Back in NCAA Tournament Projections
Bracketology Watch: ACC Down Year Holds Pitt Back in NCAA Tournament Projections /
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PITTSBURGH -- The Pitt Panthers sit alone atop the ACC after enjoying a blowout win over Boston College at the Petersen Events Center. With that victory, the Panthers secured a program record for ACC wins in a season, surpassing the 11 the 2013-14 team earned during the school's inaugural year in the conference. With five games left, Pitt is also within spitting distance of the school record 15 conference wins, set by the 2010-11 team that earned a No. 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament. 

"What a time to be alive for Pitt basketball fans," ESPN's John Gasway wrote this week. "This current six-game win streak in conference play is the longest run of success the Panthers have ever had in the ACC. It's also the longest string of victories the program's recorded in any conference since Pitt earned a No. 1 seed as a member of the Big East in the 2011 NCAA tournament."

But for all the Panthers have accomplished, some believe they are still far from a lock to make the Big Dance and end a seven-year postseason drought. Gasway wrote that Pitt is being held back by a light conference schedule. There isn't much love for the ACC nationally and that is holding the Panthers back.

"All this winning in a down year for the ACC, however, is giving Jeff Capel's team a mere No. 9 seed in mock brackets," he continued. "That position would still represent the Panthers' best postseason placement since 2014."

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Stephen Thompson
STEPHEN THOMPSON

Stephen Thompson graduated with a bachelor's degree in communications and political science from Pitt in April 2022 after spending four years as a sports writer and editor at The Pitt News, the University of Pittsburgh's independent, student-run newspaper.  He primarily worked the Pitt men's basketball beat, and filled in on coverage of football, volleyball, softball, gymnastics and lacrosse, in addition to other sports as needed. His work at The Pitt News has won awards from the Pennsylvania News Media Association and Associated College Press.  During the spring and summer of 2021, Stephen interned for Pittsburgh Sports Now, covering baseball in western Pennsylvania. Hailing from Washington D.C., family ties have cultivated a love of Boston's professional teams and Pitt athletics, and a fascination with sports in general.  You can reach Stephen by email at stephenethompson00@gmail.com and follow him on Twitter. Read his latest work:

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