Inside The Panthers

Chaotic Weekend Helps Pitt in NCAA Tournament Fight

One bracketologist dropped the Pitt Panthers from the NCAA Tournament picture despite a win.

Stephen Thompson

Chaotic Weekend Helps Pitt in NCAA Tournament Fight
Chaotic Weekend Helps Pitt in NCAA Tournament Fight /
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PITTSBURGH -- The NCAA Tournament bubble was a bloodbath this weekend, with a host of teams fighting for those precious, dwindling at-large bids going down. The Pitt Panthers weren't one of those teams, as they took care of business this weekend, riding a dominant second half to a 79-64 win over Virginia Tech at the Petersen Events Center but that didn't do much to help their NCAA Tournament odds, according to at least one bracketologist. 

In fact, ESPN's Joe Lunardi had Panthers' dropping off the bubble entirely in the immediate aftermath of their win over the Hokies. Pitt entered the day on the very edge of the bubble, but they were not included in a new round of projections released immediately following the victory. About four hours later, Lunardi restored the Panthers to the bubble

The Panthers likely dropped in large part because of Kansas State's win over No. 21 BYU, which vaulted them back into consideration. but there were plenty of losses on the bubble during a loaded Saturday. 

Drake, New Mexico, Ole Miss, Cincinnati, Iowa, Butler, Utah, Texas A&M and Villanova - all who were on the bubble in varying positions to start the day - lost their games this weekend and took hits for those losses. 

Pitt still has plenty of chances to boost their resume before the end of the regular season. They'll visit Clemson, where they can pick up a Quad 1 win, early next week before facing Boston College on the road and hosting Florida State and N.C. State. So while they've been knocked down a peg for now, the Panthers are still breathing as they try to earn their second NCAA Tournament bid in as many years. 

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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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