lair – Pitt survives and advances with 60-59 win over Mississippi State

DAYTON, Ohio — Jamarius Burton hit a go-ahead basket with :10 seconds remaining to give Pitt a thrilling 60-59 NCAA Tournament victory over Mississippi State on Tuesday evening. The Panthers fended off a last possession by Mississippi State in which the Bulldogs got off three shots attempts, and survived to advance to the first round on Friday against sixth-seeded Iowa State in Greensboro.

The win represented the Panthers first NCAA Tournament victory since the 2014 season and the first under fifth-year head coach Jeff Capel. The First Four matchup lived up the billing of two evenly matched teams.

The game featured 21 lead changes and both teams held the lead for at least 15 minutes in this one. From the 8:52 mark in the first half until Blake Hinson’s three-pointer with 3:08 left in the game, neither team held a lead of greater than three points. Hinson’s three pointer brought the house down with a strong Pitt contingent and gave the Panthers a 58-52 advantage.

The Bulldogs then ran off seven straight points to take the lead at 59-58, but with the game on the line Burton’s number was called and he delivered to punch his team’s ticket to the next round and collect their 23rd win of the season.

“When I had the ball in my hands the last 30 seconds or so, I just told myself I was built for it, and I just got to a spot and let it go, and I had complete confidence in myself,” BUrton said. “That was pretty much everything that went down.”

It was clear Burton would have the ball in his hands, like he has many times this year, but it was only his third made basket of the game. He finished with 6 points in 19 minutes due to foul trouble, but delivered down the stretch on the biggest possession of the game.

The Bulldogs were hot out of the gates and made four of their first five three-point attempts, and built a 14-8 advantage, but a subsequent 10-0 run for Pitt gave the Panthers an 18-14 lead, before the game turned into a chess match for the remainder of the contest.

The…


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Author : Panther-lair

Publish date : 2023-03-15 04:50:09

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