6 biggest snubs from the March Madness bracket in 2024

Pittsburgh Panthers

The ACC nearly had a sixth team in the field as Pittsburgh was revealed to be the fourth team out of the field on the CBS Selection Show. The fact that the Panthers were this low on the chart means they were knocked out of the mix pretty early as either the American or A-10's bid thief clipped them from the field.

There is plenty to like on Pitt's resume, which featured a NET of 40, a 4-6 record in Quad 1 games and a road win at Duke, albeit one where the Blue Devils were down two starters. Taking care of fellow bubbler Wake Forest on Thursday appeared to be enough to set the Panthers up for a shot at an at-large, although they will likely regret failing to take down North Carolina in the ACC Tournament semifinals.

One factor that worked against Pitt in a big way was their non-conference schedule, which ranked 343rd in the country. Head coach Jeff Capel notably complained about how Big 12 teams gamed the NET by scheduling cupcakes to blow out but he couldn't exactly make that argument when his team willingly played North Carolina A&T, Binghamton, Florida Gulf Coast, Jacksonville, Canisius, South Carolina State and Purdue-Fort Wayne.

Having that weak a non-conference slate combined with a pair of Quad 3 losses low-lighted by a defeat at the hands of eight-win Missouri put Pitt behind the eight ball. With the amount of bid thieves in play the deck was stacked against the Panthers.