Well, holy crap.

Those were my thoughts, anyway. Pitt was hosed with a No. 8 seed when it was all said and done and that's significantly below most reasonable projections out there.

From here, there are no guarantees for the Panthers - not even the first-round game against Wichita State will be easy. Even if they are able to win that game, upsetting No. 1 Gonzaga won't be a walk in the park. Pitt is already appearing as a trendy upset pick to get to the Sweet 16, but man, with a tough first-round game, they'll have their hands full just trying to get to a matchup against the Zags.

I just don't get the seed. At all. When teams like UCLA pick up a six seed, no reasonable person (at least not on the selection committee), would rank them that much higher than the Panthers - it just doesn't make any sense. Pitt has eight losses - we all get that. But when you lose to teams like Louisville, Syracuse, Notre Dame, Marquette (twice) ... man.

Besides that, though, it's just great to have the Panthers back in the Big Dance. A year off really shows just how difficult it is to watch without Pitt being involved.

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