For weeks now we've been debating Pitt's NCAA Tournament aspirations and while the team likely is headed to the postseason, where they end up is anybody's guess. The Panthers still don't have the huge win we've all been looking for and while they have been an above average team all year long, Pitt has run into some recent struggles lately, playing poorly over the last four games.
Count CBS Sports' Gary Parrish among their supporters, though.
Just as I have, Parrish pointed out that Pitt has been able to avoid the pitfalls (see what I did there?) other teams have suffered in that they still don't have a single bad loss to their name. The team's four defeats have all come to teams currently ranked and the Panthers have managed to beat everyone else in front of them.
However, Parrish doesn't just think this team is good - he says they could still be Final Four good. lolwut?
To be fair, I'm a big fan of Parrish. I think his rankings are generally pretty solid. And to be completely fair here, he called that shot before both of Pitt's narrow escapes this past week. Chances are, he might feel a little differently now.
Still, I'm not sure I saw Final Four potential out of this team before those close wins. Pitt has fallen short against every standout team they've played so far and while they have some nice wins, it usually takes more than that to get to the NCAA's final weekend. I just haven't seen enough out of Pitt to think they can make it that far and after this past week, a Sweet 16 looks like it could be a daunting task.
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