NCAA Tournament: Pitt Receives No. 9 Seed In South Region, Will Match Up Against Colorado
By Brett Tunno
Mar 14, 2014; Greensboro, NC, USA; Pittsburgh Panthers guard James Robinson (0) , guard Cameron Wright (3) help Pittsburgh Panthers guard Josh Newkirk (13) up off the court after sinking his basket and drawing the foul against the North Carolina Tar Heels in the quarterfinals of the ACC college basketball tournament at Greensboro Coliseum. Pittsburgh defeated North Carolina 80-75. Mandatory Credit: John David Mercer-USA TODAY Sports
From being on the NCAA bubble last week to becoming an NCAA “lock” with an impressive showing in the ACC tournament, the Pitt Panthers waited to hear what seed they would be given on Selection Sunday.
The NCAA selection committee deemed the Panthers a No. 9 seed in the South Region, and they will face eighth-seeded Colorado on Thursday in Orlando, Fla. (Here’s a printable bracket.)
Other teams in Pitt’s region include, from 1 to 7: Florida, Kansas, Syracuse, UCLA, VCU, Ohio State and New Mexico.
Six ACC teams made the Big Dance, with Virginia (1), Duke (3), Syracuse (3), North Carolina (6) and N.C. State (play-in 12) joining Pitt. Florida State and Clemson were left out, likely to be in the NIT. Pitt defeated North Carolina in the ACC quarterfinals before falling to eventual tournament champion Virginia in the semis.
It has been a wild season for Pitt (25-9, 11-7 ACC), and we can expect this year’s tournament to be one of the craziest yet. Wichita State went 34-0 in a sub-par conference, but there truly isn’t a dominant team that is guaranteed to run the table. Florida has been hot, but how good is the SEC?
Time will tell.
Prior to Selection Sunday, Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski expressed his thoughts on the ACC getting a perceived lack of respect compared to a conference like the Atlantic 10:
"“I said to [N.C. State coach Mark Gottfried] at the end of the game, “I hope you guys get in.” I don’t understand it. They won at Tennessee. They probably should have beaten Syracuse twice. I think they’ve played a really good schedule, and they’ve got one of the best players in the country. I’ll get in trouble probably for saying it. Like the Atlantic 10, they’re a really good conference. I hear people saying there are six teams in there. Come on. I mean, they’re good, but put them in our conference and go through the meat grinder that our conference has to go through. But really, our league should get more respect. The fact that Pitt comes in here and people are saying they have to do something, come on. Come on, man. I don’t get it. The Clemson team we played last night is a heck of a basketball team.”"
How will the ACC teams fare? How far can the Panthers go? Stay tuned to City of Champions for my thoughts and predictions this week.