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 a corner 3-pointer with two seconds remaining and DJ Jeffries’ finishing 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 as the 11th seed and advanced to face No. 6 Iowa State on Friday. in Greensboro, North Carolina
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.
Texas A&M-Corpus Christi 75, Southeast Missouri State 71
Isaac Mushila had 15 points and 12 rebounds as Texas A&M-Corpus Christi defeated southeastern Missouri State 75-71 Tuesday night for the first NCAA tournament victory in program history.
Texas A&M-Corpus Christi went 4-for-4 at the free throw line in the final 15 seconds to freeze the game and help the Islanders advance to play top-seeded Alabama in the South Region.
The 16th-seeded Islanders (24-10), winners of the Southland Conference, returned to the Top Four for the second straight season and led by nearly 23 seconds.
Southeastern Missouri State (19-17) erased a 10-point deficit and tied it at 64 when Chris Harris made both free throws with 3:07 remaining.
Trevian Tennyson hit a layup on the glass to give Texas A&M-Corpus Christi a 72-69 lead with 22 seconds remaining, but Phillip Russell drove in a layup at the other end to bring the Redhawks within one.
Jalen Jackson made two free throws with 14 seconds remaining to extend the lead to 74-71, and Russell fell short on a good look at a 3-pointer with 1.5 seconds to go.
Mushila grabbed the rebound and made one of two free throws for the final margin.
Jackson led the Islanders with 22 points, going 14 of 18 at the free throw line. Ross Williams added 13 points, Tennyson scored 12 and De’Lazarus Keys grabbed 10 rebounds.
Harris scored 23 points before fouling out for southeastern No. 16 seed Missouri State, the Ohio Valley Conference tournament champion. The Redhawks were 9-for-20 from the free throw line and were shooting 47% from the field.