Inside The Panthers

ESPN Moves Pitt Into Next Four Out

ESPN's Joe Lunardi has the Pitt Panthers vying for one of seven remaining NCAA Tournament at-large bids.

Stephen Thompson

ESPN Moves Pitt Into Next Four Out
ESPN Moves Pitt Into Next Four Out /
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PITTSBURGH -- The Pitt Panthers enter the final three games of the regular season still in position to earn an at-large bid to the NCAA Tournament. 

ESPN's Joe Lunardi has released a new, revised set of NCAA Tournament predictions focused particularly on the bubble and he has Pitt still in the mix to earn one of the limited at-large bid he thinks are still up for grabs. After having them just on the edge of the bubble, Lunardi moved the Panthers up to the No. 76 overall seed - one of the Next Four Out in his latest projections. 

Pitt is in the Next Four Out with Kansas State, Drake and Iowa. Those four squads are chasing St. John's, Villanova, Colorado and Utah - the First Four Out - and Wake Forest, New Mexico, Seton Hall and Providence - the First Four Out. 

Lunardi believes that there are 37 teams that will make the field regardless of of they earn automatic bids or not at this point in time. Add in the automatic bids and 61 of 68 spots are spoken for. That leaves just seven spots up for grabs among 25 teams that remain on the bubble, according to Lunardi and Pitt is one of them. 

If the Panthers don't make the NCAA Tournament field, Lunardi predicts they would receive and automatic bid to the NIT alongside Virginia. Those automatic bids are given to two teams from the top six conferences with the highest NET Rankings that didn't make the NCAA Tournament field. 

The Panthers will try to stack some wins to close the regular season, beginning with a road trip to Boston College. 

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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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