Bracketology Watch: Pitt's Quality Wins Trump Metrics

ESPN's John Gasway believes the Pitt Panthers have notched enough quality wins to stay clear of the bubble.

PITTSBURGH -- The Pitt Panthers have struggled to gain ground and improve their seeding in NCAA Tournament projections during the month of February. Their 5-1 record has been enough to keep them clear of the bubble, but they are still considered far from a lock to make the field come Selection Sunday. 

The Panthers have hovered around No. 50 in metrics like the NET rankings for the balance of this bubble season," ESPN's John Gasway wrote in his latest Bubble Watch. "Typically, this range is the heart of at-large uncertainty, but throughout February, mock brackets have consistently shown Pitt as four to eight spots on the safe side of the cut line."

Gasway believes Pitt's top-line wins are doing a lot of heavy lifting as they try to avoid falling into the Last Four In or out of the picture altogether. Road wins over Northwestern, NC State and North Carolina, coupled with home victories against Virginia and Miami, have the Panthers cruising towards their first shot at the Big Dance in seven years. 

"This is doubtless a product of the quality wins recorded by Jeff Capel's team, in particular road victories at Northwestern, NC State and North Carolina," Gasway wrote. "With a week still remaining in February, this is already the program's first 20-win season in seven years."

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