Pitt vs North Carolina: One Win Away

The Pitt Panthers are headed to the ACC Tournament semifinals with a golden opportunity in front of them.

WASHINGTON, DC -- The Pitt Panthers are one win away from their first trip to the ACC Tournament championship game and potentially the NCAA Tournament. 

All that stands in between them is the top seed in the ACC and a team that has already beaten the Panthers by 13 on their home floor. North Carolina is coming - will Pitt be ready?

Game Info
Opponent: North Carolina (26-6 overall, 18-3 ACC)
Time: 7:00 p.m. EST
Location: Capital One Arena; Washington, D.C.
Broadcast: ESPN and 93.7 The Fan

Odds
Pitt is a 7.5-point underdog to Wake Forest, according to Action Network, with moneyline odds of +240 to -300 for the Tar Heels. The point total line has been set at 147.5

Revenge On Their Mind
The Panthers came to the nation's capital knowing they needed to pay Wake Forest back for a 33-point drubbing from late in February and they got their wish. 

"That's all preached coming up here. We just kept saying that we owed them one," freshman guard Bub Carrington said. "They got us good, so we owed them one for sure."

There's still more revenge to be had for the Panthers, who were outclassed in a 13-point loss to North Carolina during the early days of conference play. This is a team determined to redeem themselves from a sluggish start to the year and there is another golden opportunity to show how far they've come against the Tar Heels. 

Pitt has had North Carolina's number as of late - they've won five of their last seven against the Tar Heels - and there would be no better time to extend that hot streak than right now. 

Tall Task For Young Guards
Pitt's backcourt trio of Jaland Lowe, Ishmael Leggett and Bub Carrington helped limit First-Team All-ACC guard Hunter Sallis to just three points on 1-3 shooting from the field in the first half. Meanwhile, Boopie Miller managed just four points on 2-5 shooting. Sallis got hot late but still, it was an impressive showing for this young backcourt. 

The Panthers are evolving into an opportunistic and solid defensive team and the backcourt will need to lead the way again in a duel with ACC Player of the Year, R.J. Davis, who notched 15 points and four assists in his first meeting with Pitt. 

Leggett has been a consistently excellent perimeter defender but Lowe and Carrington have grown immensely on that end of the court as well. Pitt is as capable of handling this challenge as they have been all season long, but their point of attack defense will be put the test against the best player in the league. 

Win and In?
It's hard to say anything definitive about the NCAA Tournament picture right now but after entering the week on the wrong side of the bubble, Pitt is creeping their way closer to the picture. 

Losses to other bubble teams have helped and they staved off de facto elimination by defeating the Demon Deacons. They'll have a chance to notch another Quad 1 win against the Tar Heels and in doing so, exorcise some of their demons from earlier in the season. There would be no better proof that Pitt is a radically different team now than they were when the skid through the first half of the season than by beating a team in March that dominated them in January. 

Most bracketologists forecast the Panthers as close, but still out. They are knocking on the door right now but will become impossible to ignore if they can upset the Tar Heels and earn their first ever trip to the ACC Tournament final.  

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