ESPN Drops Pitt from NCAA Tournament Bubble
PITTSBURGH -- The Pitt Panthers' 91-58 loss on the road to Wake Forest had some lasting consequences as they pursue their second NCAA Tournament bid in as many seasons.
ESPN's Joe Lunardi said in the middle of the Panthers' blowout loss to the Demon Deacons that neither team could move up from where they stood in his latest projections with a win but a loss could be devastating. He followed through on that promise with his latest round of March Madness predictions, which have Pitt no longer on the bubble among the Next Four Out.
The Panthers are still in picture, but just on the outskirts of the bubble. They're one of four teams - Iowa, Oregon and SMU with them - that are hanging on to consideration for an at-large bid.
Cincinnati replaced Pitt in the Next Four Out while Wake Forest moved up to become the top team among the First Four Out.
Four ACC teams in all are among Lunardi's projected field. They're led by North Carolina, a No. 2 seed and Duke, a No. 3 seed. Lunardi also predicted Clemson to be in the field and Virginia is among the Last Four Byes.
Pitt has an opportunity to bounce back this week with a home game against surging Virginia Tech. They'll also make one more road trip to Clemson before embarking on an ACC Tournament run, so there are plenty of chances left to improve their resume.
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