PITTSBURGH (93.7 The Fan) – Pitt took another step in digging out of its 1-5 conference hole and getting back to the goal with the win against Virginia Tech. How much did the victory help them?
From a NET standpoint beating a team that was actually ahead of them in those rankings provided an immediate bump. Really a mammoth jump in NET as the 18-win Panthers go from 57th to 46th. That would at least put them on the bubble for the NCAA Tournament as it stands right now.
Biggest game of season
This time of year, coaches will say, and with some reason, the current game is the most important until the next one and then that is the most important. The huge second half in beating the Hokies provided that jump in the standings, but the potential to win at Clemson would be huge.
The Tigers are 24th in NET and if the Panthers could beat them in South Carolina it would not only be a fourth Quad 1 victory, but a monster resume builder. While the Tigers presence inside will be a big problem Tuesday night, Clemson does have four losses at home this season.
Following the Clemson game, the schedule plays out with potentially two Quad 2 matchups-at Boston College for sure and NC State at home might be. The Wolfpack are currently 77th, if they would get into the top 75, that would Qualify as a Quad 2 game as well. Florida State is 94, they would have to move up 19 spots for it to become a Quad 2 matchup, currently it’s a Quad 3 game.
Current rankings
Here is a look at current rankings in the NET. We will start at number 40 and go through 65 for a comparison with their overall record followed by the combined number of Quad 1 and Quad 2 wins following Saturday’s games.
40. SMU (18-8)-2
41. Texas (17-10)-6
42. Nevada (21-6)-6
43. Nebraska (19-8)-7
44. Cincinnati (16-11)-5
45. Drake (22-6)-5
46. Panthers (18-9)-5
47. South Carolina (22-5)-8
48. Virginia (20-8)-6
49. St. John’s (15-12)-7
50. James Madison (25-3)-2
51. Princeton (19-3)-3
52. Northwestern (19-8)-9
53. Utah (16-11)-8
54. McNeese (20-3)-3
55. Providence (18-9)-8
56. San Francisco (21-7)-1
57. Virginia Tech (15-12)-5
58. Texas A&M (15-12)-8
59. Xavier (13-13)-7
60. Grand Canyon (23-4)-3
61. Iowa (16-12)-8
62. Seton Hall (18-9)-8
63. Butler (15-12)-7
Of the traditional Power 5 Conferences and Big East, there are two teams with more road wins than the Panthers-North Carolina and Creighton, each have seven as of Saturday night. Only Duke, Clemson, Washington St., Oregon, UConn, Tennessee and South Carolina have the same number of road wins, six, as Pitt.
The Wake Forest win against Duke was huge for the Demon Deacons opportunity to get in. Wake is currently the last team in the NCAA Tournament according to CBS Sports Jerry Palm. What really hurts the Panthers according to Palm is their strength of schedule-84th and non-conference strength of schedule-343rd.
It’s not that the Panthers couldn’t overcome a loss to the Tigers, but a win puts them squarely back on the map for the NCAA Tournament.