ATLANTA -- Do not fret too much over Pitt losing two games in a row. Things are going to lighten up for a bit.
Pitt enters Saturday's 3 p.m. tip-off at Georgia Tech at 11-6 overall. It is one of five teams to boast a 4-2 record in conference play, sitting two games back of 6-0 Clemson as it officially enters the second half of the season.
All things considered, with the stretch of tough opponents Pitt had to face dating to the end of December, it remains in a good position going forward in the ACC.
Going 3-2 in games at Syracuse and No. 24 Duke and at home versus No. 25 North Carolina, No. 11 Virginia, and Clemson is nothing to at all scoff at. But it was the roads which Pitt took to get to this point that should have fans excited for this upcoming stretch run.
Those five teams combine for a 61-22 overall record and a 21-9 mark within the ACC. The "worst" team Pitt faced in that stretch by record was UNC, which sits at 11-6 overall and 3-3 in the ACC.
Here are Pitt's next four opponents: at Georgia Tech, at Louisville, Florida State, and Wake Forest. Those four are combining for a 27-40 overall and an 8-16 mark within the ACC. The toughest team in that stretch is Wake Forest (12-5, 4-2), but these next three opponents the Panthers will see are beatable beyond comparison and can get the Panthers back on track for NCAA Tournament contention.
"It's a marathon, not a sprint," Greg Elliott said after Wednesday's 77-69 loss to Duke. "Me being an older guy, I know that. I've been through it. We've got other older guys that's in our locker room, as well. The one thing we've got to do is stick with it. Remain neutral. ... Everybody else was on cloud nine (after the upsets). Right now, we've lost two (in a row), but I still think we're neutral. I still feel like we've got to go out there, get ready for practice, and learn from the tape."
This is the first streak of at least two losses since the three-game skid Pitt had to open the season. Those losses to West Virginia, Michigan, and VCU came in varying degrees. Pitt was out-manned by West Virginia and Michigan, but could have closed out VCU to begin the season 2-2. The recent losses to Clemson and Duke came from those two teams exposing some of Pitt's weaker points in the frontcourt, which can be chalked up to as mismatches.
Pitt opened this recent stretch with a gutted-out win at Syracuse just before Christmas. Then came the come-from-behind affairs in upsets over North Carolina and Virginia to help put Pitt right into the crosshairs of national prognosticators. By that point, some were even going as far to talk about -- gasp! -- ranking the Panthers in the Associated Press Top 25 for the first time since 2016.
But, even with the two losses this week -- high-quality ones, with Clemson as the leader of the ACC and Duke being, well, Duke -- the Panthers are, as some would say, still "in position to be in position" to return to the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2016. The Panthers dropped just one spot to 65 in the NCAA NET rankings, and KenPom placed the Panthers at the same slot entering Friday.
For context: Clemson's NET and KenPom rankings are 59 and 57, respectively, and Duke's are 23 and 26. The loss to Clemson was by one point, and though the Panthers dropped their game to Duke by eight, they still had a strong lead in the first half before Duke came roaring back in the second half.
Here are the current NET and KenPom rankings for the Panthers' next four opponents:
• Georgia Tech: 147 NET, 128 KenPom
• Louisville: 339 NET, 275 KenPom
• Florida State: 227 NET, 171 KenPom
• Wake Forest: 81 NET, 80 KenPom
If we want to adhere to these, Pitt has four favorable matchups ahead and can potentially get to 10 wins in the ACC by the time Miami (36 NET, 41 KenPom) rolls into the Petersen Events Center on Jan. 28. That would keep Pitt in a prime position as the calendar turns to February.
"This stretch has just taught us that this is a competitive league," Jamarius Burton said Wednesday. "We've got to take care of what we can take care of. That's rebounding, that's getting more 50/50 balls than them. That's understanding the scouting report. That's a lot of things. So for us we've just got to go back, get back to Pittsburgh, and get back to the drawing board."
ESPN's Joe Lunardi and CBS Sports' Jerry Palm each currently have the Panthers among their "last teams in" the NCAA Tournament, as each have Pitt as an 11th-seeded play-in team. Prior to Pitt's loss at Duke, NCAA.com's Andy Katz had Pitt in as a No. 10 seed, though that could change once the weekend ends and he updates that Bracketology ranking.
The Hurricanes were arguably the cut-off point within the ACC last year among teams which made the NCAA Tournament in what was perceived as a "down" season for the conference, after winning 14 ACC games.
If Pitt can get to nine or 10 wins by that Miami game, it would need to win four of its final 10 games of the season to reach that 14-win threshold. And, for how bunched up the ACC currently is, it is more than likely by this point that more ACC teams make the NCAA Tournament in 2023, compared to the five which made it in 2022.
Winning just four of those final 10 to close the season likely would not put the Panthers in, as tournament selectors would likely view the dropoff as a negative, but Pitt currently is ahead of or tied with of all-but one of those final 10 opponents in ACC standings, as of Friday: UNC (3-3 ACC), Louisville (0-6), Florida State (3-3), Boston College (2-4), Virginia Tech (1-5), Georgia Tech (1-5), Syracuse (4-2), and Notre Dame (1-5). The team currently ahead of Pitt is Miami (5-1), which will host Pitt in Coral Gables, Fla., to close the season in what potentially could be a massive showdown of NCAA Tournament hopefuls ahead of the ACC Tournament.
Keep in mind, also, the Panthers likely will have to win at least one ACC Tournament game for its resume. Those wins over North Carolina and Virginia are massive for that, but those losses to West Virginia, Michigan, and VCU certainly will not be forgotten.
The point is, not only is Pitt still in a good spot despite losing two in a row, it still has plenty of room to add to its already quality resume built from the first half of the season. The schedule is far lighter and the wins over North Carolina and Virginia will be in the back pocket come Selection Sunday.
The main question going forward: Can the Panthers continue to build on it?
