Pitt Still Believes It Deserves NCAA Tournament Bid
PITTSBURGH -- The Pitt Panthers had just suffered a deflating loss at the Greensboro Coliseum. Duke had just shot them into oblivion, knocking down 11 of their 26 attempts from 3-point range and scoring 17 points off 10 opponent turnovers in a 96-92 victory over Pitt in the quarterfinals of the ACC Tournament.
As the final minutes wound off the clock, the questions that lingered concerned Pitt's future, primarily whether that future lies in the NCAA Tournament or NIT. Ask the Panthers themselves, and they believe they still should be in. When starting guard Jamarius Burton was asked what the next steps are, he said definitively that his job now is to prepare for the Big Dance.
“I can do better," Burton said about his 13-point, four-rebound, three-assist performance. "Obviously, I hold myself to a higher standard so it’s just about getting back into the lab and seeing what I can do in the Tournament.”
Pitt's Jeff Capel offered a simple "yes" when asked if he thinks his team deserves an NCAA Tournament bid and his Blue Devil counterpart agreed.
"Pitt is a really good team and they're going to be an NCAA Tournament team," Duke's Jon Scheyer said. "I don't think they're respected nationally like they should be. They're a dangerous team, man."
Both Nelly Cummings and Nike Sibande said the same thing, agreeing that Pitt's body of work speaks for itself. The Panthers have high-level wins over Miami, Virginia and Northwestern but the low-level losses, like ones to Florida State, Notre Dame, Michigan and VCU, are what hold them back. Still, both players were confident this group is worthy of a bid to the Big Dance, which would be this program's first since 2016.
“I think we proved all year the type of team we can be and I definitely feel like we should make the [NCAA] Tournament," Cummings said. "But we’re just focused on regrouping right now and really getting back to who we are.”
Burton went on to say that not only does Pitt deserve to be in the NCAA Tournament, but that it could make some noise in the Big Dance if they earn that bid.
"When you look at our resume and who we beat, who we compete against, there’s no doubt in my mind that we belong there and that we can do some things when we get in the games,” Burton said.
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