Pitt Back in ‘Next Four Out’ in Bracketology

Pitt is back on the NCAA Tournament bubble, according to ESPN’s Joe Lunardi.

Lunardi has the Panthers as the final team listed on his bubble in Friday’s bracketology. He has them in the “Next Four Out” section of his bubble.

ACC teams Wake Forest, SMU, and North Carolina are all ahead of Pitt on the bubble, according to Lunardi. He has four ACC teams — Duke (1 seed), Clemson (6 seed), Louisville (6 seed), and Wake Forest (last four in) — in the tournament field.

Pitt has just five games left this regular season. Three of those five will come on the road. However, because Notre Dame and NC State are both having down years, those games are Quad-2 contests. The only remaining game against a Quad-1 opponent on the Panthers’ schedule is against Louisville — a team that is red-hot.

Pitt’s two home games come against Georgia Tech and Boston College, two of the ACC’s middle-to-bottom tier teams. The Georgia Tech game looks like it will be a Quad-3 contest, while BC should be Quad-4. Those wins, while necessary, are not going to move Pitt terribly far up the bubble.

The Panthers will have a chance to bolster their resume in the ACC tournament, though. If Pitt was the No. 8 or No. 9 seed in the ACC Tournament, it would have to face the league’s No. 1 seed — likely, Duke — on day two. Duke beat the Panthers 76-47 earlier this season.

Pitt’s remaining schedule is listed below.

Feb. 22 @ Notre Dame – 2:15 PM

Feb. 25 Vs. Georgia Tech – 7 PM

Mar. 1 @ Louisville – 6 PM

Mar. 5 @ NC State – 7 PM

Mar. 8 Vs. Boston College – 6 PM