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While Pitt can't expect to hear their name on Selection Sunday, the Panthers will almost certainly be an NIT team.
As you would expect, there aren't nearly the same amount of projections for the NIT as there are for the NCAA Tournament. Finding diehards out there willing to predict college basketball's second biggest tournament is a bit harder. However, there are a few out there and indications seem to point to Pitt easily being in the field despite a four-game losing streak to close their season.
BracketMatrix.com (as of Friday) has Pitt firmly in the middle of the field as a No. 5 seed. DRatings.com, a statistical-based predictions site, has the Panthers as a No. 6 seed. Another site, Big Apple Buckets, has Pitt in as a No. 4 seed as of early this afternoon.
The Panthers' 19-14 record doesn't stand out as being particularly NIT worthy. But when you consider the quality wins they had against Notre Dame and North Carolina coupled with a difficult ACC schedule, Pitt is likely to get in. How they do in the tournament is anybody's guess and this isn't like the CBI where the Panthers faced some weak competition. The NIT is filled with teams that could have ended up in the NCAAs with a few more breaks going their way and considering the way they finished the year, a deep run is hardly a guarantee.
The Panthers finished about as badly as a team can finish, but the predictions still indicate they should easily be in the field.
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