Inside The Panthers

Pitt Cracks New National Power Rankings

The Pitt Panthers are earning recognition as one of the hottest teams in all of college basketball.

Stephen Thompson

Pitt Cracks New National Power Rankings
Pitt Cracks New National Power Rankings /
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PITTSBURGH -- The Pitt Panthers' late season push for the postseason only got stronger last week as they notched key wins over No. 21 Virginia and Louisville. Now national media is catching up to what kind of hot streak they are on. 

CBS Sports and NCAA men's basketball analyst Andy Katz slotted the Panthers at No. 28 in his latest Power 36 Rankings. 

"The Panthers beat Virginia and have won five in a row to sneak back into bid contention," Katz wrote. 

He has Pitt as the third-highest-ranked ACC team, behind only North Carolina  and Duke, who rank 11th and 12th, respectively. No. 29 Virginia and No. 30 Clemson trail close behind. No. 36 Wake Forest, Pitt's next opponent, dropped out of the rankings after consecutive losses this week. 

The Panthers are knocking on the door of an at-large bid to the NCAA Tournament. Before and after a blowout win over Louisville, Pitt had been widely pegged as one of the "Next Four Out" on the bubble. The Panthers continue to climb in the NET Rankings, but with Quad 1 opportunities against Clemson and Wake Forest still on the table, they'll have chances to potentially lock up their second consecutive NCAA Tournament berth before the ACC Tournament begins. 

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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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