It’s probably a good thing, but Pitt is getting no buzz in the West region. What little mention there is, suggests Pitt will have a hard time making it to the Sweet 16 — let alone any further.
I get that. Syracuse and K-State are the top two teams in the region. Syracuse, especially, tends to dominate media attention.
Then there is the fact that a Pitt-Xavier rematch would be a toss-up. The two teams are so close statistically. It means that about half the punditry doesn’t even need to consider Pitt after the first weekend.
I am hoping that this is good for Pitt. The expectations are low. They have a very respectable seed, but not pressure. They get to keep playing with that same “no body believes in us” mentality that seemed to serve them well to start the Big East portion of the schedule. Or, at least that is what I am telling myself.
Minny by comparison has beaten #25 Butler, #4 Ohio St, #3 Wisconsin, and (not as important) #13 Purdue
It seems like Pitt can never get it right in this area…even if you call the bookstore to order a shirt, you are on hold forever.
“You always worry about [being upset] and it is something that is always in the back of your mind,” said junior guard Brad Wanamaker just before the team boarded the buses.
It reminds me of something I believe I heard Michael Jordan say, which was something along the lines of when you think about missing the shot, you miss the shot.
I hope Pitt brings its swagger.
I wouldn’t read too much into Wanny’s comment. There’s no context around it. My guess it was in response to a question that went something like, “Are you worried about being upset in the early rounds?” Hard to answer a loaded question like that and sound both confident and focused on the game at hand.
Wanny’s later quotes, “A successful season will be making it to the Final Four and winning a national championship” and “We still have some goals to accomplish” are probably more where his head is at.
I’ve known plenty of sports reporters who love to ask loaded questions to get controversial responses. Makes for good reading. Not saying Ziese is like that though. He may not even have been the one who asked the question, but he probably felt that quote fit the theme of his article – ‘Pitt isn’t looking ahead.’
