So after all my comments about how seeding is not as important as match-ups and where you play the games. When Pitt ended up as a Number 8 seed, well that kind of went out the window.
Pitt was a top-20 team. They were ranked in the top-10 in KenPom.com. The ESPN system of BPI said top-15. In the RPI, Pitt was only #43. The NCAA Tournament Committee Chair, Mike Bobinski has said they don’t just look at RPI. That they look at Sagarin, KenPom, and plenty of rankings beyond RPI. And when there is a significant discrepancy they look at a team closer.
I guess they didn’t like what they saw. On their official 1-68 list they had Pitt at #31. The popular sentiment is that the Committee leaned towards agreeing with the RPI rationale. Which penalized Pitt for their non-con strength of schedule. That the Committee wanted to penalize Pitt for a weak non-con.
Even so, it seems that this is more than a single seed line penalty to be dropped to an #8 seed.
Yes, Pitt’s non-con wasn’t good. The extenuating circumstances of the screw job by the Big East on the SEC/Big East Challenge and that Delaware upset of Virginia in the prelims of the Coaches vs. Cancer that cost Pitt a chance for another quality game are irrelevant. No one who watches Pitt, didn’t want to see a better schedule.
This won’t change it. What it does, is validate how Pitt has scheduled in recent years. The way Jamie Dixon has carefully gamed the RPI in most years. This only encourages more of the same.
You hope the classic disrespect, nobody believes in us stuff helps. Whatever it can take.
That said, this isn’t the worst set of match-ups. Wichita State is a very good team. They are a strong defensive team. They beat VCU on the road. They have wins over Iowa and Creighton. Decent offensive efficiency. They were the runner-up to Creighton in the MVC Tourney and regular season.
That said, they aren’t exactly up-tempo. They are not a 3-point shooting team. The expectations are already for a low scoring, physical game.
And if they win that game, Pitt will be the trendy pick to upset #1 seed Gonzaga. The match-up is fairly even, but how the game is called will likely decide whether Pitt can go Butler on them.
I believe that translates into “Be relentless”. That is a good motto to take into the tourney.
they all signed over there tv rights
the 4 and sleepy the 5 on the floor together
Peter Keating says 50% chance getting to second weekend in the link above.
Altitude is usually an issue only after about 8000 feet and as OPFIM says, the arena is in the heart of the valley. Also, I am sure our opponent is playing in the same arena and Wichita and Gonzaga aren’t from anywhere with an altitude higher than Mt Washington(didn’t look this up though), so neutral effect.
I will say I am feeling tighter today(myself) that when the bids were announced and that is because I really think we have a shot. As others have posted above, we will have to work hard to beat WSU but hope the second game has Gonzaga puckered as it should much more than us.