PITTSBURGH (93.7 The Fan) – You could sense it coming with the way some of the games went over the last few days, Pitt left out of the NCAA Tournament after finishing fourth in the ACC.
They were listed as the fourth team left out and on CBS/KDKA-TV the head of the NCAA Tournament Selection Committee said there were five at-large bids taken away by upsets in conference tournaments. That means two of those upsets costs Pitt a bid.
NC State beating North Carolina in the ACC title game on Saturday along with Oregon, Duquesne, Colorado, Texas A&M, Drake adding upset wins leaves Pitt on the outside despite a 22-11 season with seven road wins.
Long-time basketball writer Mike DeCourcy, who graduated from Point Park University and started his career covering Pitt explained why he believed Pitt didn’t get in. Someone who studies bracketology, DeCourcy told 93.7 The Fan it’s not complicated. He said if you examine it, and take the emotions out of it, there is one big factor that is planned ahead.
Scheduling.
That is where DeCourcy said ACC teams, in this case Pitt, are at a disadvantage.
“You have to schedule based on what you expect your league to be,” DeCourcy said on 93.7 The Fan. “There was no reason to come into this year and expect the ACC to be significant generally. Louisville was clearly a mess. Notre Dame was completely in transition. Georgia Tech was in transition. Boston College hasn’t been fully able to get off the deck. They have been ok, competitive, but not really.”
“You knew there were going to be problems at the bottom of your league. Those problems become your problems.”
What DeCourcy said is that ACC teams needed to schedule tougher than other leagues because of the lack of top to bottom depth in the conference this season. He mentioned Alabama has a lot of losses (11, same as Pitt), but scheduled tougher and were rewarded with a four-seed.
He said the Big 12 has a much weaker non-conference schedule on the whole per team because they knew in the conference schedule would provide enough Quad 1 and 2 opportunities.
What is tough for a team like Pitt this year, they lost five senior guards from 2022-23. How do you organize a monster schedule with a pair of freshmen guards playing their first college games? That doesn’t make sense. Also, they scheduled a series with West Virginia years ago, who foresaw what would happen there. It should matter that the team improved, but it really doesn’t.
Bottom line, DeCourcy said the ACC needs to figure out the road map to get to their desired destination.
“It’s not that complicated but it takes some examination,” DeCourcy said on 93.7 The Fan. “There is a lot of emotion in this. I don’t understand when coaches say they don’t know this. How could you not? It’s your job? It’s like me saying I don’t know how to type.”
A few years ago, the SEC higher an assistant commissioner in charge of basketball and also brought in a former Big East commissioner as a consultant to figure the formula out. It has paid dividends for the Southeast Conference. They got eight teams in the tournament.
In the past, how you played in the 10 games leading into the tournament mattered. DeCourcy said it doesn’t matter now and people still cling to that. He also said the polls mislead people, he doesn’t think the polls mean anything.
Pitt finishing 12-4 or their recent wins aren’t deciding factors. He said the loss to Missouri was huge, acknowledging they were unlucky in that the Tigers were the opponent assigned to Pitt in the ACC/SEC challenge. He also said they were unlucky with their draw in the ACC Tournament in that they had to face North Carolina, one of the best teams in the nation, in the semifinals.
It's not that DeCourcy dislikes Pitt, he said they are actually one of the best 68 teams in college basketball. But it’s not about that when discussing getting into the NCAA Tournament with all of the automatic bids.
“I like their team,” DeCourcy said. “Obviously, I like their coach and it’s a program I have a fond affection for because I covered the Panthers for four years and grew up watching them. I would love to see them in, but the numbers and the achievements that they have didn’t add up.”