Pitt Continues Rising in ACC Standings

A crowded middle of the ACC has made for a thrilling finish to the regular season for the Pitt Panthers.

PITTSBURGH -- The Pitt Panthers dominated Boston College in their final road contest of the regular season to improve to 19-10 overall and 10-8 in ACC play and they made a move up the league standings in the process. 

Pitt entered the day in a tie for seventh in the conference but after a pair of stunning losses from two of the ACC's better teams, it now sits in a tie for fifth with Clemson and Wake Forest, who both own identical 10-8 records as well. 

The Tigers lost 69-62 on the road to Notre Dame, who also beat the Demon Deacons earlier this week. And Wake Forest dropped a road game, 87-76 to Virginia Tech. 

If the season ended now, Pitt would hold the sixth seed in the ACC Tournament. Clemson owns the tiebreaker over the Panthers by virtue of two head-to-head wins. The tiebreaker with Wake Forest is more complicated because they split their two games against Pitt. 

MORE: Inside Pitt Postgame Report: Panthers Dominate Boston College

If a tie can't be broken by a head-to-head record, the next level tiebreaker is either team's record against the top team in the conference. If both teams have the same record against the league-leader (0-1 against North Carolina for both squads, in this case), you move down the standings to the No. 2 seed, which would be Duke, who split their two games against each of Pitt and Wake Forest. 

So the tiebreaker now moves to Virginia, who is 1-1 against Wake Forest and 0-1 against Pitt, giving the edge to the Panthers. 

Syracuse's win over Louisville allowed them to leapfrog the Tigers and earn sole control of fourth place and a double bye. N.C. State and Florida State both lost on the road as well to drop to 9-9 in league play and fall a game back of the Panthers. 

If the standings hold as they are currently constituted, Pitt would play in the final game on the second day of the ACC Tournament as the sixth seed. It would face the winner of Notre Dame-Miami, slated to be the final game on the first day of play. A win there would send them to a rematch with Virginia in the quarterfinals the following day. 

Pitt can still climb to as high as the third seed, but it would take two losses from each of Syracuse, Virginia and Clemson, at least one loss from Wake Forest and two wins for the Panthers next week. 

The crowded middle of the ACC makes for a thrilling finish to the regular season and the standings could fall in a number of different ways over the next seven days. 

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