ORLANDO, Fla. — Sometimes, the NCAA Tournament isn’t easy to watch. Sometimes, more times than we like to remember, there are more March massacres than March Madness.
Unexpectedly, No. 9 Pittsburgh produced one of Thursday afternoon’s most brutal games, bludgeoning No. 8 Colorado, 77-48, in the second round at the Amway Center, in one of the most lopsided 8/9 games in NCAA history — one-point shy of surpassing Michigan’s 30-point win over Tennessee in 2011.
Pittsburgh will play South Regional top-seed Florida on Saturday, looking to advance to its first Sweet 16 since 2009, after winning its first tournament game in three years.
“We were just trying to set a tone,” said Pittsburgh senior Talib Zanna, who scored 16 of his 18 points in the first half (6-of-7 shooting from the field), barely playing in the second half of the blowout. “I mean, you can tell the energy was there, and the focus.”
The Panthers (26-9) pounced early, jumping out to a 13-0 lead, while holding the Buffaloes (23-12) without a point for the first 5:40 of the game. The flurries soon became a blizzard, with Pittsburgh shooting 62 percent from the field and Colorado hitting 29 percent in the first half, beginning what would become an embarrassing end to the Buffaloes’ third straight NCAA Tournament appearance.
Pittsburgh dominated on defense, causing 10 first-half turnovers and allowing no assists, while scoring more points in the paint (24) than the Buffaloes had at halftime, a 46-18 gap at the break.
“I don’t know what Colorado team that was,” Colorado coach Tad Boyle said. “You go in at halftime down 28, there’s not a lot you can say positively to your guys. The defensive effort and focus and intensity we had today was pathetic.”