Jamarius Burton made a go-ahead jumper with 10 seconds remaining and Pitt outscored Mississippi State 60-59 in a back-and-forth First Four game Tuesday night that featured 21 lead changes, most in the NCAA Tournament in five years.
Mississippi State had a great chance to win late on, but Shakeel Moore missed an open 3-pointer from the corner with two seconds remaining on an in-bounds play. DJ Jeffries’ spike attempt went wide just before the buzzer.
Nelly Cummings led Pitt with 15 points. Greg Elliott scored 13 and Blake Hinson added 12 as the Panthers (23-11) won an NCAA Tournament game for the first time since 2014.
They slotted into the Midwest Region bracket as the 11th seed and advanced to face No. 6 seed Iowa State on Friday in Greensboro, North Carolina.
«We showed toughness, resilience,» Pitt coach Jeff Capel said. «We were what we’ve been all year, and it wasn’t pretty, but it was beautiful.»
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Pittsburgh’s Blake Hinson celebrates with fans after Pittsburgh defeated Mississippi State in a First Four game in the NCAA men’s college basketball tournament on Tuesday, March 14, 2023, in Dayton, Ohio. (AP Photo/Darron Cummings)
A Tolu Smith layup gave Mississippi State a 59-58 lead with 32 seconds left, but Pitt, after a three-minute scoring drought, regained the lead on Burton’s short jumper.
Guillermo Diaz Graham blocked Smith’s out-of-bounds slam layup attempt with 2.7 seconds left, setting up the final sequence.
«I made a block, I don’t even know how, with my left hand,» the exhausted 6-foot-11 freshman said. «Usually I don’t use my left hand. And I blocked it, and I knew it was a great play, so I let the energy go.»
Dashawn Davis had 15 points for the Bulldogs (21-13) and Moore scored 13.
Burton, who spent nearly seven minutes on the bench after committing his fourth foul, said he knew his last shot would go in.
«When I had the ball in my hands for the last 30 seconds, I told myself that’s what I was built for,» said Burton, who finished with six points. «And I just got to a place and let it go, and I had complete confidence in myself. That was pretty much all that happened.»
FROM THE DEEP
Pittsburgh’s Guillermo Diaz Graham reacts after hitting a three-point shot against Mississippi State during the first half of a First Four game against Mississippi State in the NCAA men’s college basketball tournament on Tuesday, March 14, 2023, in Dayton , Ohio. (AP Photo/Darron Cummings)
Three-pointers were immediately released as the teams combined for 13 in the first half.
Mississippi State, not a very good outside shooting team, made four in the first five minutes but calmed down after that. The Panthers were 8-for-13 from beyond the arc in the opening period.
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The teams connected just one each from long range in the second half.
«Every team is going to make adjustments at halftime, so I think we had to make the same kind of adjustments and figure out what type of game we were in and take what the defense was giving us,» Cummings said.
A GOOD LOOK
Mississippi State coach Chris Jans said he couldn’t dispute the decisions his players made in the final seconds.
«It was a great look,» Jans said of Moore’s 3 misses. «Luckily we got there fast enough and had at least one touch. I don’t think the second one probably came in time, but at that point it’s all you can ask for, one chance, the ball is in the air, to win a NCAA Tournament game and still have enough time to get a kick back.»
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BIG PICTURE
Pittsburgh’s Jamarius Burton reacts after scoring the game-winning shot during the second half of a First Four game against Mississippi State in the NCAA men’s college basketball tournament on Tuesday, March 14, 2023, in Dayton, Ohio. (AP Photo/Darron Cummings)
Mississippi State: Came out shooting from long range, but in the second half returned to the inside game that got the Bulldogs here. They scored 30 points in the paint.
«When you give someone a straight rebound 49-28, you usually expect to win,» Jans said. «But you have to give a lot of credit to Pitt, they obviously played well enough to win. We had trouble in the first half defending them. We just couldn’t hold the 3, and it was still a one point game.» .»
Pitt: They were better from the outside and finally managed to open up a lead against Mississippi State’s solid perimeter defense.
«The attention to detail that we had to have to maintain that throughout the game was something we talked about as soon as we found out who we were playing,» Cummings said.