Pitt make history as they hold on to beat Mississippi State 60-59 in stunning First Four game
Pitt makes history as they hold on to beat Mississippi State 60-59 in an impressive First Four game as the NCAA Tournament gets off to a strong start
Jamarius Burton’s floater in the lane with 10 seconds remaining led Pitt to a dramatic 60-59 win over Mississippi State in an NCAA Tournament First Four thriller on Tuesday night, their first win at this level. since 2014.
The Panthers (23-11) advance as the No. 11 seed to play sixth-seeded Iowa State on Friday in a Midwest Region first-round game in Greensboro, NC.
Nelly Cummings led the Panthers with 15 points and Greg Elliott added 13 points. Blake Hinson had 12 points and Nike Sibande finished with 11.
Dashawn Davis led the Bulldogs (21-12) with 15 points while Shakeel Moore scored 14 in the season-ending loss. Tolu Smith had 13 points and eight rebounds, and DJ Jeffries contributed a game-high nine points and 13 rebounds.
The match went back and forth from start to finish.
Jamarius Burton hit a floater in the final seconds to push Pitt past the first four on Tuesday
The Panthers took a 58-52 lead with 3:08 left on Hinson’s 30-foot 3-pointer.
The Bulldogs scored the next seven points, highlighted by Smith’s layup with 32.9 seconds left to put the Bulldogs up 59-58.
After Burton’s go-ahead rim, Pitt’s Guillermo Diaz Graham blocked Smith’s shot on a drive to the basket with 2.7 seconds remaining before Moore missed a corner 3-pointer attempt and Jeffries was unable to return a rebounding shot.
Twice in the first 12 minutes of the game, Mississippi State fouled a Pittsburgh shooter on a converted 3-pointer. But in each case, the Panthers couldn’t convert their four-point game opportunity.
Pitt claimed a 35-34 halftime lead thanks in large part to his potent 3-point offense. The Panthers were 8 of 13 from beyond the arc, including two each by Sibande, Elliott and Cummings.
Mississippi State, which was shooting just 26.6 percent from beyond the arc into the season entering the night, made three of its first five 3-point attempts. But the Bulldogs returned to form and finished 6-for-23 (26.1 percent).
The Panthers were 9-for-19 (47.4 percent) from long range overall.
The Panthers went 8 of 13 from beyond the arc, which was crucial in the win for the No. 11 seed