Why did Pittsburgh not make 2024 March Madness? Exploring potential reasons behind Panthers' snub

There are a lot of emotions that happen throughout Selection Sunday, and the Pittsburgh Panthers felt the agony of not hearing their name called.

Coming off a 22-11 record and losing in the Atlantic Coast Conference Tournament semifinals, the Panthers will not be one of the 68 teams competing for the 2024 National Championship.

Why did they not get chosen to make the NCAA Tournament? Let's take a look at some possible reasons:

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Why did Pittsburgh not make 2024 March Madness?

Coach Jeff Capel said in a release explaining how the team fell short of their "goal" of playing the NCAA tournament despite faring well in conference play:

"We ultimately fell short of our goal of reaching the NCAA Tournament, despite ranking favorably in the computers, performing well in conference play with a fourth-place finish and an ACC Tournament Semifinal appearance, and playing our best basketball over the last eight weeks of the season."

To be fair, Capel was right in some aspects, as the team had a NET rating of 40, which should have gotten the Pittsburgh Panthers into March Madness. However, when diving into their quadrant victories, it begins to tell a different story.

The Pittsburgh Panthers played well but struggled against some of the toughest opponents. They had a 4-6 record in quadrant one and a better 5-3 in quadrant two.

With an 0-2 record against North Carolina and taking advantage of lesser competition made things a bit difficult for them.

Another potential reason for their snub is just how the cookie crumbled in terms of at-large bids. There were a ton of upsets in the conference tournaments around the country that the at-large bids went to teams projected to win their tournament.

Programs like Tennessee, Purdue, Alabama, Auburn, Duke and Kentucky were unable to win their conference tournaments and keeping teams on the bubble on the outside looking in.

The Pittsburgh Panthers officially ended their season on Sunday, as they are not going to be competing in the NIT. However, they had an outstanding season and should be excited to continue building off their 22-win season.