Pitt Drops in Latest ESPN Bracketology

PITTSBURGH -- The Pitt Panthers suffered their worst loss of the season, which saw them drop in the latest ESPN Bracketology.

Pitt lost 90-57 to Mississippi State on the road on Dec. 4 in the ACC/SEC Challenge. The 33-point loss ranks tied for the worst under head coach Jeff Capel, as they lost 91-58 to Wake Forest on Feb. 20.

The Panthers shot just 31.3% from the field, while the Bulldogs made 57.8% of their shots. They also led the Panthers in a number of categories, including rebounds, 49-27, defensive rebounds, 33-13, points off turnovers, 15-4, second chance points, 24-12, bench points, 36-27, and points in the paint, 52-14.

Pitt struggled early on against Virginia Tech on the road in their ACC opener on Dec. 7, falling behind at halftime. They would mount a successful comeback, 64-59, to get their first conference win of the season.

Sophomore guard Jaland Lowe led the Panthers in this victory with 19 points. He scored 15 points in the second half, shooting 6-for-6 from the foul line and making four steals in the period, spurring the comeback.

The result of these two games led Pitt to fall from a No. 5 seed from last week, to No. 7 this week, with Joe Lunardi, who runs the ESPN Bracketology, dropping them two seeds.

He has Pitt facing No. 10 Utah State in the First Round of the NCAA Tournament in the West Region at the Lenovo Center in Raleigh, N.C.

The winner would face the winner of No. 2 Alabama and No. 15 Little Rock, the automatic qualifier out of the Ohio Valley Conference.

The Panthers have faced off against the Aggies twice prior in their history. They lost 54-50 in the Corn Bowl Classic in Des Moines, Iowa on Dec. 30, 1949, but would win 84-81 at the All-American Tournament in Owensboro, Ky. on New Year's Eve, Dec. 31, 1955

Pitt is 8-2 on the season, with five wins at home vs. Radford on Nov. 4, Murray State on Nov. 8, Gardner-Webb on Nov. 11, rival West Virginia in the Backyard Brawl on Nov. 15 and VMI on Nov. 18.

They then traveled to play in the Greenbrier Tip-Off at The Greenbrier in White Sulphur Springs, W.Va. where they defeated LSU on Nov. 22, but lost to then ranked No. 19 Wisconsin in the Championship Match on Nov. 24.

Pitt got an important win on Nov. 29, as they defeated Ohio State on the road in overtime, thanks to a game-winning 3-pointer from redshirt senior forward Zack Austin.

They host Eastern Kentucky on Dec. 11 and Sam Houston State on Dec. 21 to end their non-conference slate before starting ACC play with Cal on New Year's Day.

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