Pitt Enters NCAA Tournament As No. 9 Seed
PITTSBURGH (KDKA) –After much anticipation, the NCAA Tournament brackets were revealed Sunday evening.
The field of 68 teams was revealed during the Selection Sunday special on CBS.
As for local teams, the Pitt Panthers (25-9, 11-7 ACC) were the only team invited to take part in college basketball's biggest and most exciting tournament.
The Panthers were selected as the No. 9 seed in the South region and will take on No. 8 seeded Colorado.
Should they win, they would likely take on the overall No. 1 seeded Florida Gators.
It was an up and down year that saw the Panthers ranked in the Top 25, before hitting a rough patch.
However, the Panthers have been playing better ball of late and reached the ACC semifinals before bowing out 51-48 against Virginia.
The No. 1 seeds in the tournament are as follows:
- Florida – South Region
- Arizona – West Region
- Wichita State – Midwest Region
- Virginia – East Region
Pitt's road to the Final Four is a treacherous one with that possible meeting against Florida in the Round of 32. However, Pitt guard Cam Wright says the team doesn't mind being the underdog.
"We've been the underdog the entire season. If you look on 'SportsCenter' or anywhere, they don't really give too much love to the University of Pittsburgh," Wright said. "You definitely can say that we have a chip on our shoulders and we definitely look forward to playing Colorado."
Listen to more of what Wright had to say here:
While the road may be tough, the Panthers are approaching the tournament one game at a time and they won't be overlooking Colorado.
"I think they're a really good team. They're playing without one of their best players, Spencer Dinwiddie, but even without him, they're a rally solid team. So, we have to be ready to go," James Robinson said.
"Obviously, we know Florida being the No. 1 seed that we could face them. But, we want to take it one game at a time and we have to focus on Colorado right now and the task ahead," Josh Newkirk said.
Hear more of what they had to say here:
The NCAA Tournament is unique in that teams don't have much time to prepare for opponents, especially in the first two weekends. So, how will head coach Jamie Dixon and his staff prepare for potential upcoming opponents?
"We divide them up with the coaches. We [have] three coaches that do the scouts and it works pretty good in a bracket situation," Dixon said. "I won't look at anything of the next opponent until we get done with [Colorado] and get the result we need and have to have."
Hear more of what Dixon had to say here:
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