(SP) – Basketball analyst Charles Barkley attempted to handicap the 2017 NCAA Tournament field for CBS on Sunday evening and said he is confident that Pitt will lose in the 1st Round.
“I just don’t think they’re built for a long tournament run,” Barkley told his colleagues. “Sure, they had a good year in the Big East, but I really think we’ll see them get knocked out early.”
The Panthers finished their season 16-17 and 4-14 in the ACC and missed the Tournament for the third time in the past 16 years — a fact that Barkley was informed of on the air by Greg Gumbel.
“Well, fine,” responded Barkley. “That backs up exactly what I’m saying then. Pitt won’t get out of the 1st Round.”
Fellow analyst Kenny Smith then challenged Barkley on his college basketball knowledge: “You didn’t watch a single minute of college basketball before you showed up today, did you?”
“Watch out for a 12-seed to upset a 5-seed,” Barkley responded, looking down at a note card. “Gonzaga probably doesn’t have what it takes to win it all. North Carolina, Kansas, Duke and Kentucky are good at college basketball.”
“Good stuff, Charles,” said Gumbel. “We’ll be back after these messages.”
“College basketball has two 20-minute halves,” Barkley was heard saying as the broadcast went to break.
Also see … ESPN fires Joe Lunardi after discovering he has been practicing bracketology without a license
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