- The Washington Times - Thursday, March 10, 2016

Pittsburgh coach Jamie Dixon left for the ACC tournament earlier this week knowing that how his players performed would be instrumental in his team securing an NCAA tournament invitation.

The Panthers wrapped up the regular season with a 20-10 record and a 9-9 mark in conference play, losing six of their last nine games. A home victory over then-No. 15 Duke could have provided a confidence boost, but that was followed by narrow road losses to Virginia Tech and Georgia Tech.

That’s why a victory over Syracuse on Wednesday in the second round of the ACC tournament was crucial. It’s also why a loss to top-seeded North Carolina in the quarterfinals on Thursday may have been crushing.

“I mean, everybody seems to be telling us we are [in],” Dixon said after Pittsburgh, the No. 8 seed, lost to the Tar Heels, 88-71. “I haven’t looked at everything going on. Just from what everybody says.”

As is always the case in March, a number of teams entered their conference tournaments hoping to boost their NCAA tournament resume. Several media projections have the ACC receiving six bids when the field is selected on Sunday — North Carolina, Miami, Virginia, Notre Dame and Duke, the top five seeds, are among them — with Pittsburgh, Syracuse and, perhaps, Virginia Tech anxiously looking in.

One of the more unpredictable college basketball seasons in recent memory could lead to a number of difficult decisions on Sunday. Some NCAA tournament analysts consider the bottom portion of the field, where teams like Pittsburgh and Syracuse are toiling, to be rather weak. With a number of conference tournaments outstanding, including several mid-major events slated to end this weekend, the consistency of that grouping could be very dynamic.

“All we can do is hope for the best now,” said freshman guard Cameron Johnson. “It’s kind of out of our hands now after this game, so we have to wait and see what happens.”

Pittsburgh entered the ACC tournament 55th in the ratings percentage index (RPI), according to the NCAA’s public rankings, and improved to 49th after defeating Syracuse. The loss to North Carolina on Thursday leaves the Panthers 2-7 in nine games against teams ranked in the RPI’s top 50.

Syracuse faces an even murkier future. The Orange was informed that the nine-game suspension coach Jim Boeheim served as part of NCAA sanctions will be a factor the selection committee considers.

It lost five of those nine games and, after the loss to Pittsburgh on Wednesday, fell to No. 67 in the RPI. Few perceived bubble teams rank lower; Syracuse also went 4-9 against top-100 RPI teams and lost to dismal St. John’s, which won just one Big East game, on Dec. 13.

“I’ve always thought the NCAA committee was not the infractions committee,” Boeheim said on Wednesday following the loss to Pittsburgh. “I thought it was the NCAA basketball committee. I thought it’s their job to pick the best teams for the tournament.

“I have read where some people think we should be punished by the basketball committee as well. I think we’ve had our punishment. I don’t think we should now be punished by the basketball committee.”

Virginia Tech, which played Miami in the quarterfinals late Thursday, began the week needing a significant run — perhaps all the way to the championship game — to claim a first NCAA tournament appearance since 2007. So, too, did Clemson, which was already bogged down by two bad losses and then fell to Georgia Tech in overtime on Wednesday.

“I certainly think we’re tournament-worthy,” Clemson coach Brad Brownell said, practically campaigning for a spot. “It would be a good thing for this team to get to continue to play more.”

• Zac Boyer can be reached at zboyer@washingtontimes.com.

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