Chaotic Weekend Helps Pitt in NCAA Tournament Fight

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

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

#Pitt back in the mix. Not sure how they dropped after a win or how they climbed in the 4 hours since their game ended but here we are. https://t.co/x5D7ptbi8H

— stephen thompson (@stephenethom) February 25, 2024

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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