Inside The Panthers

Pitt Moves Up New NCAA Tournament Predictions

The Pitt Panthers made some gains in new NCAA Tournament projection after a 1-1 week.
Stephen Thompson|
Pitt Moves Up New NCAA Tournament Predictions
Pitt Moves Up New NCAA Tournament Predictions

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Pittsburgh Panthers

PITTSBURGH -- New NCAA Tournament projections are coming fast and furious as college basketball's regular season nears it's close and after an up-and-down week, the Pitt Panthers find themselves moving up those  

ESPN's Joe Lunardi has given Pitt a marginal lift, elevating it from the last team on the bubble to the third-to-last team on the bubble. Fox Sports' Mike DeCourcy took it one step further, listing Pitt alongside Utah, Villanova and Colorado as his First Four Out. The Panthers were among his Next Four Out last week. 

The Panthers appear to be one of the few ACC teams with a realistic chance of earning another at-large bid to the NCAA Tournament. Lunardi currently has five ACC teams - North Carolina, Duke, Clemson, Wake Forest and Virginia - in the field as it stands, with the Cavaliers and Demon Deacons just on the right side of the bubble. 

Lunardi says Miami must beat North Carolina this week to even get back into the conversation for an at-large bid. He has nine teams - Cincinnati, Iowa, Kansas State, Ole Miss, Colorado, Utah, Villanova, and Texas A&M standing in between the Panthers and a Last Four In spot. 

DeCourcy has the same five teams from Pitt's home conference in the field as Lunardi does and in much of the same order. North Carolina and Duke lead the pack as No. 2 and No. 3 seeds, respectively. He pegs Clemson as a No. 5 seed and Wake Forest and Virginia as two No. 11 seeds that would play in the First Four in Dayton.

The Panthers can give their resume a massive boost if they take down Clemson on the road this week and pick up another Quad 1 win on the road. 

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Stephen Thompson
STEPHEN THOMPSON

Stephen Thompson graduated with a bachelor's degree in communications and political science from Pitt in April 2022 after spending four years as a sports writer and editor at The Pitt News, the University of Pittsburgh's independent, student-run newspaper.  He primarily worked the Pitt men's basketball beat, and filled in on coverage of football, volleyball, softball, gymnastics and lacrosse, in addition to other sports as needed. His work at The Pitt News has won awards from the Pennsylvania News Media Association and Associated College Press.  During the spring and summer of 2021, Stephen interned for Pittsburgh Sports Now, covering baseball in western Pennsylvania. Hailing from Washington D.C., family ties have cultivated a love of Boston's professional teams and Pitt athletics, and a fascination with sports in general.  You can reach Stephen by email at stephenethompson00@gmail.com and follow him on Twitter. Read his latest work:

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