Pitt Earns First NCAA Tournament Bid in Seven Years
PITTSBURGH -- The Pitt Panthers have surpassed milestone after milestone this season as head coach Jeff Capel's rebuild finally bore fruit. For all the Panthers accomplished this season, the months of preparation and play came down to this moment on Selection Sunday when they would learn their NCAA Tournament fate.
But the Panthers got good news during the Selection Show, the official start of March Madness. They learned they would be an 11 seed in this year's NCAA Tournament and play Mississippi State in the First Four at the University of Dayton's UD Arena on Tuesday at 9 p.m.
This is the first NCAA Tournament berth for this program since 2016 - two coaches and multiple generations of players ago. Capel and a roster laden with experienced transfers have achieved a 10-win improvement in their overall record and an eight-win improvement in their conference record. The Panthers' wins over Northwestern, Virginia and Miami carried the weight of their resume, but losses to Florida State, Notre Dame and Duke sunk them back to the bubble as the season wound down.
Pitt's path in the Tournament is not easy. They'll have to first get past the Bulldogs in the First Four game in Dayton, Ohio if they want to earn the right to play in the true first round of the Big Dance against Iowa State in Greensboro, North Carolina. Tip-off time and television designation have yet to be determined.
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