Yahoo Sports college basketball writer Nick Bromberg recaps 11-seed Pittsburgh’s win over 6-seed Iowa State in the first round of the 2023 NCAA Tournament.
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Nick Bromberg: Iowa State avoided NCAA Tournament infamy on Friday in a 59 to 41 loss to Pitt. The No. 6 seed Cyclones shot just 23% from the field, and were a few baskets away from challenging the modern men’s NCAA tournament record for worst shooting percentage in a single game.
Iowa State did not score its first field goal until there was less than 10 minutes left to go in the first half. and Pitt had a 22 to 2 lead. It was an absolutely pathetic start. Yet Iowa State came back and cut Pitt’s lead to 7 at halftime.
Then things got worse in the second half. The Cyclones made just two of their first 25 shots from the field in the second half as Pitt built a 20-point lead before making three of their last four shots from the field in the final minute when the game was out of reach.
Iowa State finished the game with only 14 made baskets on 60 attempts, and was just 2 of 21 from 3. In case you’re wondering, the modern men’s NCAA tournament record for worst shooting performance belongs to Butler. The Bulldogs allowed less than 19% of their points in their national title loss to UConn in 2011.
Pitt, meanwhile, is one win away from becoming the fifth team to advance to the Sweet 16 with play. The Panthers didn’t shoot too well on Friday, but they did enough, and they also ensured that at least one team from the first four games reached the second round in all but 2011 of the region. A tournament since expanded to 68.
