Inside The Panthers

Pitt Among Most Likely to Pull First Round Upset

The Pitt Panthers are in a prime position to pull an upset if they can advance in the NCAA Tournament.

Stephen Thompson

Pitt Among Most Likely to Pull First Round Upset
Pitt Among Most Likely to Pull First Round Upset /
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PITTSBURGH -- The Pitt Panthers are in the NCAA Tournament for the first time in seven years. Behind a top-30 offense and an experienced roster, the Panthers have strung together 22 wins - the most any single team has won during head coach Jeff Capel's time in Pittsburgh. 

As Pitt approaches the start of its NCAA Tournament run at the First Four in Dayton, Ohio against Mississippi State, many are looking ahead toward a potential second round matchup with No. 6 Iowa State in Greensboro, North Carolina. The Athletic's Jordan Brenner and Peter Keating have a hypothetical Panthers win over the Cyclones as the ninth-most likely upset of a six seed or higher at a 22.1% probability. 

Brenner and Keating think Iowa State is vulnerable - they gave Mississippi State a 37.8% chance to beat the Cyclones - but also believe that this is going to be a good year for upsets in the first round overall. 

"Our quick reaction: This field looks thrillingly friendly to upsets — more like 2021 than 2022," they wrote.  

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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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