Bubble Team Losses Help Pitt in Race for NCAA Tournament Bid
GREENSBORO -- After suffering a deflating 96-69 loss to Duke in the semifinals of the ACC Tournament this week, the Pitt Panthers are forced to return home, where they've been sweating out the remainder of Champ Week from their couches, rooting for the favorites to snuff out bid stealers after dropping to the NCAA Tournament bubble.
Pitt cannot help themselves any further without any more games to play over the less than 48 hours until the final bracket is revealed, but they did get some help from teams around the country in the wake of their loss and can feel somewhat more secure in their spot as one of the "Last Four In" according to ESPN's Joe Lunardi. All in all, 11 of the 15 non-Pitt teams on the bubble, according to Lunardi, lost over the past two days, giving the Panthers some breathing room in the race for their first bid to the Big Dance since 2016. Some improved their standing but overall, it was a successful lead-up to Selection Sunday.
Michigan, Nevada and Wisconsin - all of whom were either in the First or Next Four Out - had already been knocked out before the weekend rolled around, meaning they stopped nipping at the Panthers' heels early. And potential bid-stealers Ohio State, Cincinnati UAB, Tulane and Utah State - all lost in the semifinals to the top seeds in their conference semifinals.
The silver linings continued to form with the game that immediately followed their latest loss at the Greensboro Coliseum. A tight game between Virginia and North Carolina in the third ACC Tournament quarterfinal game ended with a 68-59 victory for the Cavaliers and dashed any hopes of the Tar Heels stealing a bid. "First Four Out" Clemson dominated NC State in the quarterfinals but followed it up by getting throttled by Virginia, which resulted in the Wolfpack falling to "Last Four In" status while the Tigers stayed stationary.
Providence, one of Lunardi's "Last Four Byes" also lost in the quarterfinals of the Big East Tournament. Their 16-point halftime deficit to UConn proved too much to overcome. The Friars appeared Dayton-bound to play in one of the First Four games after that performance, but Lunardi left them on the top end of the bubble.
Mississippi State, another "Last Four Bye" member, was decimated by No. 4 Alabama at the SEC Tournament in Nashville on Friday afternoon, putting the Bulldogs in a similarly precarious spot on the bubble alongside the Panthers. Vanderbilt made an unexpected run to the semifinals but lost by 12 to Texas A&M and remained in the "Last Four In".
Oklahoma State, one of the "First Four Out", lost to the Big 12's second seed, Texas, 60-47, in Kansas City, all but ending any prayer their had of entering the field as an at-large team or automatic qualifier.
Out west at the Pac 12 Tournament, Oregon snuck past Washington State, 75-70, to give themselves a puncher's chance at earning better wins further down the line and elevating from their "Next Four Out" position, but a blowout loss to UCLA will likely keep them out. Arizona State upset USC, but fell to rival Arizona the day after.
But not everyone was as willing to sacrifice themselves for the sake of the Panthers' tournament odds.
At the Big 10 Tournament in Chicago, "Last Four In" member Rutgers put up an admirable fight against No. 5 Purdue, but couldn't finish off their upset of the Boilermakers and lost, 70-65 in the quarterfinals. They likely won't move from their spot, as the selection committee tends not to punish teams for winning a conference tournament game and advancing, even if they lose to a higher seed.
Penn State earned the right to face Northwestern in the quarterfinals after topping Illinois for the third time this season and pulled off another upset of the Wildcats to continue their climb into the tournament field and past Dayton. After beating Indiana in the semifinals, they can only improve their seed from here.
It's been a mixed, but mostly positive bag of results for Pitt as they made the trip back to Pittsburgh and started the clock on what will likely be the longest 48 hours of their season.
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