Pitt Falls Out of AP Top 25, Received 10 Votes

The Pitt Panthers had not been ranked in 2,591 days until being slotted No. 25 on last week’s AP Top 25. Pitt finished the 2022-23 home schedule winning its final six games in a row at the Petersen Events Center but faltered in its final two matchups on the road.

In the March 6th edition of the updated AP Poll, the Panthers fell out of the Top 25 and received 10 total votes, tied for No. 33 overall. Virginia (No. 13, 791 points), Miami (No. 14, 761 points), and Duke (No. 21, 293 points) represent the ACC in the rankings. West Virginia received 15 votes to spot just ahead of the Panthers. 

Pitt needed to win one of its final two games to own a share of the 2022-23 ACC regular-season title. Winning both would have secured an outright championship. The Panthers lost at Notre Dame (88-81) in Fighting Irish head coach Mike Brey’s final home game. Jeff Capel’s team fell in the final seconds at Miami (78-76) Saturday night and dropped from tied for first to fifth in the ACC. 

Pitt received 140 votes to rank No. 25 on the AP rankings last week as the third-highest ACC team behind Virginia (No. 13, 718 votes) and Miami (No. 16, 668 votes). Duke (78), NC State (6), and Clemson (5) also received votes. 

The Panthers sat as high as No. 20 during the 2015-16 campaign under head coach Jamie Dixon. It also marked the last time Pitt reached the NCAA tournament, losing 47-43 to No. 7 seed Wisconsin. Pitt entered March Madness a No. 10 seed following a 21-12 overall record and 9-9 ACC mark. Dixon’s TCU Horn Frogs rank No. 22 on the AP Poll after being previously unranked. 

Andy Katz placed the Panthers No. 35 overall on his Power 36, down 13 spots from No. 22 last week. Miami (No. 8) improved four spots after clinching a share of the ACC regular season while Duke (No. 13) moved up from No. 18 and Virginia (No. 21) slotted nine spots higher. West Virginia (No. 23) and Penn State (No. 28) moved ahead of Pitt after failing to make the cut last week. 

Despite losing back-to-back games, CBS Sports’ Jon Rothstein moved Pitt from No. 26 to 25 on his latest ROTHSTEIN 45, noting Pitt WILL play in the NCAA Tournament. Miami (No. 10), Virginia (No. 15), and Duke (No. 23) are higher than Pitt while West Virginia (No. 41) and Penn State (No. 44) trail behind. 

Pitt will face the winner of Florida State and Georgia Tech Wednesday at 2:30 p.m. on ESPN.