Inside The Panthers

Pitt Falls Out of ESPN's Bracketology

The Pitt Panthers are dropping out of the NCAA Tournament picture.
Dominic Campbell|
Feb 11, 2025; Dallas, Texas, USA; Pittsburgh Panthers head coach Jeff Capel yells to his team during the first half against the Southern Methodist Mustangs at Moody Coliseum. Mandatory Credit: Jerome Miron-Imagn Images
Feb 11, 2025; Dallas, Texas, USA; Pittsburgh Panthers head coach Jeff Capel yells to his team during the first half against the Southern Methodist Mustangs at Moody Coliseum. Mandatory Credit: Jerome Miron-Imagn Images | Jerome Miron-Imagn Images

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Pittsburgh Panthers

PITTSBURGH — The Pitt Panthers have struggled mightily as of late, which is putting them out of the race for a spot in the NCAA Tournament.

They have lost eight of their last 10 games, dropping to 14-10 overall and 5-8 in the ACC, after a 12-2 start and three conference wins.

Pitt has lost four consecutive games twice, as they suffered a blowout 76-47 defeat to then ranked No. 4 Duke on the road on Jan. 7, a close 82-78 defeat to Louisville at home on Jan. 11, ending a 15-game winning streak at the Petersen Events Center, a road loss, 82-70 to Florida State on Jan. 15 and a loss at home to Clemson, 78-75 in overtime on Jan. 18.

They got back-to-back wins to end that losing streak, with a 77-73 victory on the road over Syracuse on Jan. 25 and a comeback win over North Carolina at home, 73-65 on Jan. 28.

Pitt then went on their second four game losing streak, with a close road loss to Wake Forest, 76-74 on Feb. 1, an embarassing home defeat to Virginia, 73-57 on Feb. 3, another one-possesion road defeat to UNC on Feb. 8, 67-66, and then a blowout road loss to SMU, 83-63 on Feb. 11.

Joe Lunardi of ESPN released his recent bracketology and doesn't have Pitt anywhere on it, other than they are "considered", dropping them from the Next Four Out.

Pitt had a solid non-conference schedule, which they performed well in, earning them a No. 5 ranking in the initial NET rankings and a No. 10 ranking when they started conference play in early January.

This streak of losses dropped them from No. 10 to start the calendar year to No. 51 after their loss to SMU, falling 41 places.

Pitt has just one Quad 1 game left, a road match with Louisville on March 1, and two Quad 2 road matches, Notre Dame on Feb. 22 and NC State on March 5.

The Panthers must win these games and will likely need a solid run in the ACC Tournament if they want to avoid missing the NCAA Tournament for the second straight season and for the eighth time in the past nine seasons.

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Dominic Campbell
DOMINIC CAMPBELL

Dominic writes for Pittsburgh Pirates On SI, Pittsburgh Panthers Pn SI and also, Pittsburgh Steelers On SI. A Pittsburgh native, Dominic grew up watching Pittsburgh Sports and wrote for The Pitt News as an undergraduate at the University of Pittsburgh, covering Pitt Athletics. He would write for Pittsburgh Sports Now after college and has years of experience covering sports across Pittsburgh.

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