PITTSBURGH (93.7 The Fan) – Short of winning the ACC Tournament, what gets Pitt in the NCAA Tournament?
Most experts currently have them in around a 10 or 11-seeded team at 21-10 on the season. That is near or at the dreaded bubble. Would a loss to Georgia Tech Wednesday afternoon at 2:30p mean they would be left out?
“I think they are sweating,” said Sporting News Hall of Fame basketball writer Mike DeCourcy to the PM Team. “You can’t take another one of those. You already lost to Florida State and Notre Dame. I’m not saying they can’t get in, but if they take a third bad loss when you are in the conversation…”
DeCourcy said then instead of laying out the reasons you should be in, you are laying out the reasons other teams should be out. Which he told Andrew Fillipponi and Chris Mueller means you really weren’t worth of consideration in the first place.
The reason the Panthers could be in peril despite 14 ACC wins and 21 wins overall has little to do with them. They have key wins, seven conference road wins and a huge victory at Northwestern. However, he said Florida State, Notre Dame, Georgia Tech, Louisville all having losing seasons is killing the conference has a whole.
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“The ACC bottom was awful this year, inexcusably awful,” DeCourcy said on 93.7 The Fan. “This league with this history, the richest history of any basketball conference in America, to be that poor, that’s hard to explain and accept.”
“I don’t think they did a good enough job recruiting generally, and other than Pitt and Miami and a couple of others, they did a poor job of working the transfer portal. They did not get the level of talent in there necessary to be successful.”
If Pitt were to beat the Yellow Jackets, does that guarantee them a spot in March Madness?
“I’m not going to say they are a lock, but I would be completely flabbergasted if they didn’t make it,” DeCourcy told The PM Team on 93.7 The Fan. “If I say they are a lock, this is something that is a subjective process when you are selecting at large teams. You still have to leave open the variable that they don’t know what they are doing.”
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“I think they do. I think they do pretty good, but you have to leave that open as a variable. I wouldn’t say they were a lock, I would say it would be astonishing if they didn’t get in if they win Wednesday’s game.”
If Pitt gets in DeCourcy believes it could win a couple of games. It would have to be a matchup against a team without great offense. The veteran basketball writer believes Pitt is exceptional offensively, but would struggle stopping a good offensive team.
A week ago in the Top 25, it appears Wednesday is make or break or at least make or hope, to return to the NCAAs for the first time in seven years. Tipoff at 2:30 on 93.7 The Fan.