Pitt a 4 Seed and Random Thoughts to Consider
March 16th, 2008 | by The Prowler |Pitt received a 4 seed in the NCAA Tournament and I have to admit to being torn. Yesterday I didn’t think a 4 seed was possible. Today Joe Lunardi mentioned 3 seed, which I really think is too high for a 9 loss team. I was ready for a 5 seed until they revealed the 4, and yet I found myself disappointed because of the mention of a 3. This is why all the speculation between the end of the BET and the NCAA selection show can be difficult.
I do feel like a 4 seed is fair compared to where other Big East teams were seeded, but had Pitt received a 5 I wouldn’t have complained at all. Now it is time to go out and win the games. And it has to be one game at a time. Pitt can’t go out (like many of the fans will because it is hard not to) assuming they need to beat Memphis. They need to beat Oral Roberts, and that is it. If they do that, they need to beat the winner of Michigan State and Temple. If they do that, you get the idea.
Some things to consider:
Just because a team makes a run through their conference tournament like Pitt did doesn’t necessarily mean they will make a deep run in the NCAA tourney. It doesn’t necessarily even mean they will win a game. We see it all the time that a team seemingly comes out of nowhere to win their conference tourney and even with all the emotion and momentum, they fizzle in the Big Dance. (See 2006 Syracuse)
On the other hand, Pitt being a 7 seed in the BET is in itself deceptive. Pitt was a hot team early in the season, playing several non-conference games that rival their in-conference match-ups (Duke, Washington, Oklahoma St.). The loss of Mike Cook then Levance Fields did have a major impact on the middle of this team’s schedule. While it is possible that this team is riding a wave as opposed to actually being as good as we think they are, I really believe that the return of Levance Fields to full strength truly is a return to top form for this Pitt team.
Now the waiting game begins. I am looking forward to Thursday.
3 Responses to “Pitt a 4 Seed and Random Thoughts to Consider”
By colt_convert on Mar 17, 2008 | Reply
Just for the sake of conversation, it seemed like the BE Tourney affected Pitt’s seeding, but had no impact on Georgetown or Louisville, who were seeded 2 and 3, respectively. Notre Dame only dropped one slot, to number 5. What’s puzzling is that the committee seemed to place some relevance on the conference tourney winner in this case, but hardly any emphasis on the losers.
You could argue that Georgetown made it all the way to the championship, and they had some dominating wins along the way. But was Louisville that convincing as a 3? Was Notre Dame as a 5? Why was Georgetown so firmly cemented in as a No. 2, especially when Pitt pretty much dominated them both times they played? It’s not like Pitt did a “Georgia” on the Big East, where the stars and planets aligned, and snuck into the championship. Pitt was good pretty much all year long, outside of their “injury period.”
I’m not dissatisfied with Pitt’s seeding (aside from the fact they have to go all the way out to Denver), but those are simply observations.
Here’s to the Panthers going deep in the tournament.
By 11glance11 on Mar 17, 2008 | Reply
ORU could be though. I think that pitt did get a good seeding. Better than usual. Did anybody else notice it always seems that we are in Memphis’ bracket?
By The Prowler on Mar 18, 2008 | Reply
I didn’t notice that we usually get Memphis. This is the first time in the last 4 years we didn’t get in Kansas’ bracket and I think also the first time the last 4 years we didn’t get in UCLA’s.
ORU could be a tough game. I honestly think that most of the field of 65 is tough. K St. an 11 seed? Who out there would want to play K St.? There aren’t too many gimme games in this bracket.
I too was surprised to see Georgetown still get a 2 seed and for Louisville to get a 3 seed. Both of those teams have a better record than Pitt so it isn’t that I think Pitt should leap frog them. But it seems like their losses to Pitt had no effect at all. Maybe that is more a sign of respect for this Pitt team than anything else. They didn’t get penalized for losing to Pitt because Pitt is a good team that you could lose to on any night.