Inside The Panthers

Pitt Earning NCAA Tournament Hype After Virginia Upset

The Pitt Panthers are back on the NCAA Tournament bubble, according to some.

Stephen Thompson

Pitt Earning NCAA Tournament Hype After Virginia Upset
Pitt Earning NCAA Tournament Hype After Virginia Upset /
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CHARLOTTESVILLE -- The Pitt Panthers stunning 74-63 upset of No. 21 Virginia caught the attention of a national audience as this sport enters its most compelling time of year. 

Pitt has won seven of their last eight and four in a row, which includes multiple road wins over ranked ACC teams. Multiple national analysts took notice and now have the Panthers back in the NCAA Tournament conversation. 

CBS Sports' Jon Rothstein was one of the first to acknowledge the upset, praised head coach Jeff Capel's work bringing Pitt back into the national conversation and called the Panthers "a team to monitor in the ACC."

Most - like Jeff Goodman from the Field of 68, CBS' Seth Davis and ESPN's Jeff Borzello - simply acknowledged the upset without offering much in the way of a prediction about what Pitt is capable of.  

But FOX Sports' John Fanta took it one step further, saying the Panthers are back on the March Madness bubble because of marquee wins over Duke and Virginia

"Hello, Pittsburgh," Fanta said on Twitter. "The Panthers move into the bubble conversation. Why? They now own wins at Duke and at Virginia." 

ESPN's Dick Vitale agreed, saying Pitt is "making a strong run to be part of" the NCAA Tournament come next month. 

CBS' Matt Norlander was simply stunned, offering only "That's an eye-opener," as his analysis. 

Pitt head coach Jeff Capel was reserved in his assessment of what this team is capable of or if they're deserving of a spot in the NCAA Tournament. All he knows is that they're playing well right now. 

"It’s a lot of season left, man, it’s a lot," Capel said following the win. "I think we played really well tonight. We’re playing well. And all we’re trying to do is, we’re 1-0 right now. We’ll enjoy tonight, be off tomorrow, then Thursday start getting ready for Louisville and hopefully after Saturday we can be 1-0."

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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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