Inside The Panthers

Pennsylvania Governor Says Pitt Snubbed from NCAA Tournament

Gov. Josh Shapiro believes the Pitt Panthers should have been in the NCAA Tournament.

Stephen Thompson

Florida State v Pittsburgh
Florida State v Pittsburgh / Justin Berl/GettyImages

PITTSBURGH -- The Pitt Panthers' season is well over and they have moved on to the work of developing and recruiting as they look forward to the 2024-25 season that is still months away.

But supporters in Pittsburgh and across Pennsylvania haven't let go of the bitter ending to their 2024 season, which came to an abrupt close when Pitt was left out of the NCAA Tournament and declined an invitation to the NIT. Even Pennsylvania governor Josh Shapiro is still bitter over the Panthers' snub.

“Pitt got robbed. They should have been in the tournament," Shapiro said at the VisitPittsburgh annual meeting. "And I know hoops. Congrats to the [Duquesne] Dukes. I called that win by the way.”

Shapiro joins a slew of other ACC head coaches like UNC's Hubert Davis and NC State's Kevin Keatts, among others, and ESPN analyst Jay Bilas, who believed the Panthers deserved a shot at the big dance.

Pitt entered Selection Sunday 22-11 overall and 12-8 in ACC play, with a 7-4 record on the road that is tied for the fifth-most among power conference teams. They ranked 41st in the NET and 40th in KenPom and we're 9-9 in games against Quads 1 and 2. 

A slew of bid-stealing wins for teams like NC State, Oregon and others kept the Panthers from cracking the field after their loss to North Carolina in the ACC tournament semifinals. 

Virginia, Colorado State, Boise State and Colorado were the last teams to get into the NCAA Tournament field and will go to Dayton, Ohio to play in the First Four, where Pitt knocked off Mississippi State last season. The Panthers own a head-to-head win over the Cavaliers and a higher NET ranking than them. 

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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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