Jamel Artis: We Can Win This Tournament
PITTSBURGH (93-7 The Fan) — Pitt's chances of making the NCAA Tournament took a huge hit after losing the final three regular season games to Wake Forest, Miami and Florida State. As the Panthers make their way to Greensboro for the ACC Tournament, they know they have to win it all for a guaranteed spot at the Big Dance.
If the No. 10 ranked Panthers can pull it off, it won't be easy. First Pitt (19-13 overall, 8-10 in the ACC) will have to beat No. 7 NC State on Wednesday at 7 p.m. and then defeat No. 2 ranked Duke, in the quarterfinals on Friday.
Sophomore Jamel Artis is confident that the Panthers can make it all happen.
"I think we can win this tournament easy," Artis said.
Pitt lost to NC State 68-50 on the road January 3rd, but Artis said that doesn't matter now.
"It's zero and zero anything can happen right now," Artis said. "If we go in and make a big run and make them make the decision and if we go in there and do what we have to do, we got a good shot."
Head coach Jamie Dixon said the final three losses of the season were devastating for his team, but he's confident that everyone is approaching the ACC Tournament as if it's a whole new season.
"I know there's a sense of our guys that they're looking forward to the opportunity and looking forward to the tournament and looking forward to playing their best basketball," Dixon said.
To be successful in the tournament, he says the Panthers will need more help from the bench, specifically with rebounding and defense. He's looking for guys like Aaron Phillips-Nwankwo, Joseph Uchebo, Derrick Randall and Ryan Luther to be more physical off the bench.
"I think depth is one of our obvious weaknesses and it's hurting us from doing the things we need to do defensively," Dixon said.
Dixon enters his 12th league tournament event with a 14-10 career tournament record.
