It's way too early to get excited over preseason basketball rankings, that fact is clear. Still, ESPN's Joe Lunardi has a job to do and in his summer bracketology rankings, listed Pitt as a No. 6 seed in the West Region.

That, of course, would be a huge improvement over this past season when Pitt didn't even make the NCAA Tournament. Or the NIT, for that matter.

If Lunardi's projection came true, the Panthers would be playing in an opening round matchup against Alabama in Philadelphia. After that, they could be in for a matchup against projected No. 3 seed North Carolina in the second round. Lunardi's four number one seeds are the Kentucky Wildcats, Indiana Hoosiers, Louisville Cardinals, and UCLA Bruins.

ESPN's resident Bracketologist also has local college Robert Morris making the Big Dance as a No. 15 seed.

For more on Pitt basketball, check out SB Nation's Pitt blog, Cardiac Hill.