The Ivy League was the last conference to have a postseason tournament around a decade ago. They were also standouts, as only four of the eight programs would make the conference tournament. However, over the past few years, several other leagues have trimmed the field for their conference tournaments, including the ACC.
Starting last year, only 15 of the 18 teams would qualify. This year, there looks to be four candidates for those three bottom spots, barring a complete collapse from Stanford and/or Wake Forest.
Two of those teams face off on Saturday in Pittsburgh (9-17, 2-11 ACC), with Notre Dame (12-14, 3-10) hosting. With Georgia Tech and Boston College also having two wins in league play, this is a prime opportunity for the Irish to get a two-game lead in the standings with just four games to go in the regular season.Â
Notre Dame is coming off an 89-74 win over Georgia Tech, led by a career-high 37 points from Cole Certa, along with 20 points from Braeden Shrewsberry. Both players played all 40 minutes for the Irish due to the lack of backcourt depth. Marcus Burton has been out indefinitely for a while, while five-star freshman guard/wing Jalen Haralson (15.5 ppg) has missed the last game with an ankle injury.
Pittsburgh is also dealing with injury issues, with Brandin Cummings (12.5 ppg) officially out for the season after undergoing a procedure on his ankle. The Panthers have lost five straight games, with four of them coming against ranked opponents. The schedule, starting with Notre Dame this weekend, eases up, giving them a chance at winning some games.
If Pittsburgh loses this game, they’ll have to win on the West Coast road trip next week to have any hope of getting out of the bottom three of the ACC. There’s also the status of head coach Jeff Capel, whose seat will only get hotter if they happen to lose out.Â
This is an important game for both teams, but if Pittsburgh loses, we likely know who’ll take part in the ACC Tournament and whose seasons will end on March 7.