Pitt Believes it Belongs in NCAA Tournament
WASHINGTON, DC -- The Pitt Panthers suffered a disheartening loss at the hands of North Carolina in the ACC Tournament semifinals, but they remain hopeful of earning another opportunity to prove themselves on college basketball's biggest stage.
Jaland Lowe, who recorded 17 points and four assists against the Tar Heels, believes Pitt's roster fits the exact criteria of what you would expect from an NCAA Tournament-level team.
“Just look at the pieces we have all around," Lowe said. "We’ve got pretty good guard play, we’ve got Blake Hinson. That guy needs to be in the tournament again, no doubt. Blake Hinson needs to be in the tournament, and then we’ve got great bigs all around, we’ve got great wings. You look at an NCAA Tournament team, and I don’t see how you don’t see us.”
The Panthers' loss doesn't necessarily spell doom for their at-large hopes, but they have to pray the selection committee values certain aspects of their resume such as both their conference and road record over their nonconference strength of schedule.
Bub Carrington, after scoring 24 points on Friday night, is of the mindset that Pitt should find itself within the Big Dance after finishing with a top-four seed in a power conference such as the ACC.
"The ACC is a Power Five conference, and if you finish top-four in that Power Five conference, I feel like you should get in,” Carrington said.
The Panthers' slow start to the year set them off on the wrong foot as they sat with a 1-5 record early in conference play. However, their late season surge helped the team course correct and change the narrative surrounding themselves as well as their tournament chances by winning 12 of their final 16 contests.
Blake Hinson believes the group's reemergence should be taken into consideration on Selection Sunday as they demonstrated the ability to compete against formidable opponents on a nightly basis while also playing with an edge.
"We’re for sure a good enough team to be in there,” Hinson said. “We played really hard throughout the second half of the season. We definitely deserve it.”
Guillermo Diaz Graham shares a similar sentiment, stating that Pitt passes the eye test based on their level of play in recent games and should be rewarded with a spot in the field.
"I have no doubt that we are a tournament team," Diaz Graham said. "If you see the last 15 games we played, or 12 games we've played, I think we are pretty, pretty good."
The Panthers' fate is entirely in the hands of the committee with Selection Sunday on the horizon. While ESPN's Joe Lunardi projects Pitt as falling just short of a nod, perhaps its dreams will be realized and the team will get its wish come next week.
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