Cardiac Hill reacts to the Pitt Panthers' fortunes this season, as the Panthers were passed over not only for the NCAA Tournament (as was expected), but also for the NIT. Pitt then, for some reason, elected to play in the CBI, even though little good can come of it.
The NIT all seemed like a reasonable possibility, but in actuality, was probably more distant than Pitt fans wanted to admit. When I saw a team like Valparaiso who was 22-11 wind up with a No. 7 seed, I knew that Pitt getting in wasn't likely. One thing I've learned about the NIT is that the field is actually better than we generally think.
Not that Panthers fans are going to get worked up about any of this. More than anything, what happened Sunday night, with the double rejection and then the decision to play in a tournament that even Duquesne didn't want to be a part of, simply demonstrates how poorly the Panthers' season has gone. At this point, the exact results aren't that important; the damage had already been done.
That said, I thought that Pitt would probably make the NIT, and SB Nation Pittsburgh even had a feature ready to run Monday morning about that. Making a deep run in the NIT would have allowed the Panthers the chance to end their season with a little dignity. Even if the Panthers do well in the CBI, it will mostly just remind college basketball fans that ... Pitt played in the CBI.