It’s been a lousy couple of weeks for the Pitt Panthers.
First, they lose in a tight Big East Final against Connecticut on a Ben Gordon jumper with 30 seconds left.
That’s after being primed for a No. 1 seed in this week’s NCAA Tournament, after Xavier decimated St. Joseph’s.
Then on Selection Sunday, the Panthers drew a three seed. Not a one. Not even a two.
“They should’ve been a two,” said Jay Bilas, a college hoops analyst for ESPN. “And the second-ranked two, at that. They didn’t play a non-conference schedule that would knock anyone down, but they beat as many good teams as anyone else in the country.”
But a three’s still good, right? Sure – unless you look at the rest of the bracket and see that the Panthers could potentially play sixth-seeded Wisconsin in the second round.
The game, played in Milwaukee, essentially will be a Badger home game.
“Giving them a three, there’s no real dilemma there,” said ESPN’s Dick Vitale. “But then you ask them to go to Wisconsin and go play them in their own state on their own floor. In college basketball, there’s such an unbelievable advantage when you have the home crowd pumping that adrenaline.”
Worse still for Pitt, if the Panthers can beat first-round opponent Central Florida and then Wisconsin, it would most likely have to play an Oklahoma State team many proclaimed deserved a one seed.
To combat their shoddy luck, Pitt (29-4) will rely on a rough and tough style defense and a score-as-you-may offense led by their sophomore point guard Carl Krauser. Krauser leads the team in points (15.2 ppg) and assists (4.8 apg). and isn’t against grabbing the occasional rebound (4.8).
“I think Krauser is the key to their team,” said Mike Gminski, who will do color for Pitt’s first round game for CBS. “When you have a strong point guard, it’s such an advantage. He’s not afraid to do anything. He characterizes that team.”
Also look out for Brooklyn native Chris Taft (11.2 ppg, 7.5 rpg). Taft, who graduated from Xaverian High School, is considered one of the top freshmen in the nation.
“If he sticks around, he’ll make a big impact,” Bilas said. “He’s big and strong, and he works very hard. I think he’s a poor man’s Chris Wilcox [who left Maryland in 2002 after his sophomore year].”