Pitt Controls Destiny in NCAA Tournament Race

The Pitt Panthers don't need anyone but themselves to make the NCAA Tournament.

PITTSBURGH -- It's a joy to be anxious this time of year when you're a college basketball fan. The Pitt Panthers are one of the hottest teams in America right now and they've earned the right to be anxious because they're playing meaningful games late in the calendar again. 

Take stock of what it took for Pitt to get here. It won seven of its last eight games and downed a pair of ranked ACC opponents in vaunted road environments in historic fashion. Back on the NCAA Tournament bubble, the Panthers have earned the privilege of controlling their own destiny as they hit the home stretch of the regular season. 

Pitt is, by most bracketology accounting right now, one of the "Next Four Out." They are firmly on the bubble, lifted by landmark wins over ranked ACC opponents in vaunted road environments. They have two big hurdles to clear - road trips to Wake Forest and Clemson - and the schedule outside of that is fairly forgiving. 

KenPom has the Panthers favored to win all of their remaining home games - the metrics give them a 60% chance or better of beating each of Virginia Tech, Florida State and N.C. State. And their toughest challenges come on the road, where this team has thrived. Their 4-2 record in ACC play away from the Petersen Events Center is tied with Duke for the second-best mark in the conference.

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An undefeated finish would all but guarantee an at-large bid. Go 5-1 and you're on the inside track. Even 4-2 or 3-3 (which KenPom predicts would be the case) would give the Panthers 20 wins heading into the ACC Tournament in Washington, D.C. with a chance to play their way into the field. This is, after all, the hottest team in the conference and Pitt owns the 15th-longest winning streak in America. The ceiling for this team in that competition is no less than a run to the championship game. 

The Panthers have already notched the two landmark wins necessary to build the foundation of an NCAA Tournament bid. Good luck finding a team with a better set of top two wins than Duke at Cameron Indoor Stadium and Virginia at John Paul Jones Arena. Now, a paltry conference and overall record has swelled to 17 wins. 

They continue to climb bracketology rankings slowly but surely, with, as of right now, enough Quad 1 opportunities left to give their resume the necessary splash while wins over lesser opponents can build a solid foundation. 

Possibilities are endless once you get there and Pitt is right on the verge of getting there. The best part of it all is that they don't need any help. This team's postseason fate is in their own hands - win and you're in, lose and you're out. It is simultaneously comforting and terrifying - no one else you have to count on and no one else you can lean on. 

But for a team playing this well at this time of year, there's no better place to be. 

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