Inside The Panthers

Pitt Rises to Top 50 in NET Rankings

The Pitt Panthers rose to the top 50 in NET and Ken Pom rankings after decimating Louisville.

Stephen Thompson

Pitt Rises to Top 50 in NET Rankings
Pitt Rises to Top 50 in NET Rankings /
In this story:

PITTSBURGH -- The Pitt Panthers decimated Louisville, 86-59, behind a legendary 41-point masterpiece from Blake Hinson to make it seven wins in their last eight games and rise to fourth in the ACC standings. 

The Panthers also made massive gains in the NCAA NET Rankings, a critical factor in their race for an NCAA Tournament bid. They rose seven spots from No. 60 to No. 53 after upsetting No. 21 Virginia earlier this week and took a similar leap after beating the Cardinals, leaping from No. 54 to No. 47 after a loaded weekend in college basketball. 

Pitt is the sixth-highest-ranked team in the ACC, trailing North Carolina, Duke, Clemson, Wake Forest and Virginia, who are all ranked in the top 40. The ACC has seven teams ranked in the top 75 of the NET, with NC State and Miami just on the outside at No. 76 and No. 78, respectively. 

These NET rankings will have a direct impact Pitt's NCAA Tournament chances and the Panthers are closing in on a resume that makes it a near lock to make the Big Dance. According to The Portal Report's Matt Kraemer, no team ranked No. 37 or better has been left out of the NCAA Tournament since the full NET rankings were made publicly available three years ago.

Two teams ranked 70th or lower, five teams ranked 60th or lower and 10 teams ranked 50th or lower have made the NCAA Tournament via an At Large bid over the past three seasons. 10 out of 108 total at-large bid teams, or roughly 10%, were ranked below 50th in the NET.

Pitt has chances to improve their resume with a pair of Quad 1 games at Wake Forest and home against Clemson left on the schedule, plus any potential matchups in the ACC Tournament. 

Make sure you bookmark Inside the Panthers for the latest news, exclusive interviews, recruiting coverage, and more!

Pitt's Blake Hinson Adds to Enormous Legacy

Pitt's Blake Hinson Earns Comparison to NBA Superstars

Jon Rothstein Endorses Pitt's Blake Hinson as All-American

Pitt Moves to Fourth in ACC Standings

Pitt Dominates Louisville Behind Blake Hinson Masterpiece

Pitt's Bake Hinson Sets New Scoring High

Published
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:

Home/Basketball