Pitt Climbs to Top Half of ACC Standings

Another gritty road win has the Pitt Panthers in the top half of the ACC standings for the first time this season.

PITTSBURGH -- The Pitt Panthers earned another gritty road win this week, knocking off NC State by the skin of their own teeth, 67-64, to improve to 6-6 overall in the ACC. 

The Panthers have rallied from a 1-5 start to conference play, posting a 5-1 record since a home loss to Syracuse, and their current hot streak has lifted them into the top half of the ACC standings for the first time this season. If the season ended today, Pitt would drop to ninth based on tiebreakers, it is currently tied for seventh with Miami and Syracuse in a crowded middle of the pack with eight games left to play in the regular season. 

Everyone in the league but Pitt will play this weekend and some - Wake Forest and Duke - will even play twice before the Panthers take the floor for their next game at Virginia. 

As they sit idle on Saturday, the Panthers will be rooting for Clemson to beat Syracuse at the JMA Wireless Dome (Noon EST, ESPN2) and No. 3 North Carolina to knock off Miami (4:00 p.m. EST, ESPN) first and foremost. Pitt is tied for Seventh in the league standings with a 6-6 record identical to the Hurricanes and Orange, who are both reeling. 

Pitt has wins over both NC State and Wake Forest this season and a game still remaining against either opponent, so their game between one another (4:00 p.m. EST, ACC Network) has pros and cons no matter the outcome. But handing Wake Forest (7-4 ACC and 2.5 games up on Pitt in fourth place) another loss to bring them closer to the rest of the pack is more useful than sixth-place NC State (7-5 ACC, one game up on Pitt) falling down another peg. 

It wouldn't directly affect their position in the standings, but Pitt will hope Virginia beats Florida State on the road (7:45 pm EST, The CW) so that first, the fourth-place Seminoles' lead over Pitt is cut from 2.5 games to just two. 

While Pitt will spend the weekend on their couches, there's still plenty for fans to root for as the regular seasons marches through it's final full month. 

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