Although the Panthers’ odds for an NCAA Tournament berth heading into Selection Sunday seemed positive, an Internet mishap calmed any lingering fears of a surprise snub.
Thanks to the bracket leaking on Twitter Sunday evening, the Pitt men’s basketball team discovered early that it earned a No. 10 seed in the 2016 NCAA Tournament.
The Panthers will join North Carolina and Kentucky, among others, in the East Region, as they prepare to take on the No. 7 seed Wisconsin Badgers in St. Louis, Missouri, on Friday.
Pitt head coach Jamie Dixon said the team was prepared to sit through the two-hour CBS broadcast awaiting its fate, until some received word of the premature revelation.
“Very bizarre for that to be out there,” Dixon said. “For a second we were like, ‘Can this be right?’ But we played it out.”
Pitt earned the spot by ending the season with a 21-11 record, going 9-9 in conference play. It advanced to the quarterfinals of the ACC Tournament last week in Washington, D.C., defeating Syracuse and next losing to eventual champion North Carolina.
Wisconsin finished the season 20-12 on the year and is entering its 18th consecutive NCAA tournament.
The Badgers previously matched up against Pitt in the 2004 Tournament, when the No. 3 seed Panthers defeated the No. 6 seed Badgers 59-55 in Milwaukee.
Dixon said he hasn’t familiarized himself with the current Wisconsin squad yet, but remembers their previous postseason matchup.
“I watched them play, I know we played them in the NCAA Tournament a while back,” Dixon said. “But we won’t be playing them in Wisconsin this time.”
The tournament berth is Pitt head coach Jamie Dixon’s 11th in his 13 seasons at Pitt. Senior point guard James Robinson will make his third appearance, marking the most tournament experience of any player on Pitt’s roster.
“When you’re young you watch the NCAA Tournament, you know the significance of the tournament,” Robinson said. “You just gotta be ready, right from the first game. You just gotta be ready to go.”
Dixon is excited that the Panthers have finally unmasked their opponent.
“There was a lot of energy today [at practice], but you don’t have that team that you’re focused on,” Dixon said. “Now we have it and now we can get going on specifics and tendencies and characteristics of Wisconsin.”
Tipoff is scheduled for 6:50 p.m, and TNT will broadcast the game.