Let's Go Pitt!

Pitt is in the NCAA Tournment, and they play their first opponent Wichita State tonight.  They are rated number 9 against number 9 seed Wichita State.  The game will be at 1:40 pm in the afternoon on TBS.  Keep reading to learn more!

Pitt has sent better teams to the NCAA tournament, many of them in the past decade. The Panthers were a No. 1 seed in 2009 and 2011, a No. 2 seed in 2003 and a No. 3 seed in 2002, 2004, 2007 and 2010. None of those teams were able to reach the Final Four.

The Panthers begin their journey toward that elusive Final Four today as a No. 8 seed in a matchup against No. 9 seed Wichita State in the West Region. Recent NCAA tournament history suggests that's not a bad place to be.

In the past five years, 15 teams seeded eighth or lower have advanced to the Sweet 16. Three of those teams reached the Elite Eight, two reached the Final Four and one made it to the NCAA championship.

Pitt prepares for Wichita State

Pitt basketball players prepare for their team's NCAA second round game against Wichita State at Energy Solutions Arena in Salt Lake City. (Video by Matt Freed; 3/20/2013)

Pitt had a hand in creating that history. In 2011, the Panthers were a No. 1 seed and lost to No. 8 seed Butler in the Round of 32. Butler went on to reach the national championship before falling to Connecticut. That season, VCU, as a No. 11 seed, reached the Final Four.

"It's the NCAA tournament, anything can happen," Pitt junior Lamar Patterson said. "It's getting hot at the right time."

One difference between being a higher seed and lower seed is the margin for error in the first game. It's never easy advancing as a lower seed.

It's a footnote to history, but people forget Butler needed a tip-in at the buzzer to get past No. 9 seed Old Dominion before upsetting the top-seeded Panthers two years ago.

In 2008, No. 10 seed Davidson made it to the Elite Eight before losing to top-seeded Kansas by two. In the first two rounds, Davidson had to win close games against Gonzaga and Georgetown.

Jason Richards, a member of Jamie Dixon's staff for the past three seasons, was the point guard for Davidson that season.

"We were down big in all of those games," Richards said. "We were down by double digits to Gonzaga, down by 17 to Georgetown in the second half. You have that mentality, to expect to win, and that's what helped us pull off those victories.

Read more at the PPG.