Pitt was cruising with about 13 minutes left in yesterday’s game, leading Wake Forest by 19 points, but the Demon Deacons managed to cut the lead to 3 in the final minutes before the Panthers locked down the win, 81-69, in the ACC Tournament quarterfinals.
Ishmael Leggett scored 30 points – one for each member of his family who was in attendance – and added eight rebounds and five steals with no turnovers to lead the Panthers into the semis, where they will meet top seed North Carolina. Blake Hinson scored 20 points and Jaland Lowe 11 for Pitt.
Pitt coach Jeff Capel says he is not watching the “bracketology” predictions of whether or not his team is good enough to make it into the NCAA Tournament.
Capel says the ACC Tournament is the best tournament in college basketball, so his Panthers are well aware of how big the moment is for them.
North Carolina beat Florida State, 92-67. In the other half of the bracket, number 10 NC State upset number 2 Duke, 74-69 and number 3 Virginia survived number 11 Boston College, 66-60, in overtime.
Pitt and North Carolina are scheduled to tip off at 7 PM. The airtime on WCCS tonight is 6:30. If they win, the Panthers will play for the ACC championship at 8:30 tomorrow night.
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