March 10, 2026; Charlotte, North Carolina, USA; Players rejoice when they see guard D’Amarcho Minor (7) hit a follow-up shot with 1 second left in the second half at the Pittsburgh Panthers’ Spectrum Center. Mandatory Credit: Bob Donnan-Imagn Images CHARLOTE — Damarco Minor blocked his own missed shot with less than a second left, giving Pitt a surprising 64-63 win over Stanford in its first game of the Atlantic Coast Conference tournament Tuesday afternoon.
The winning basket was the third shot on the Panthers’ final possession, a win despite Stanford’s strong late comeback.
Barry Dunning Jr.’s 16 points, Roman Ciulepa’s 14 points, Cameron Cohen’s 12 points and Omari Witherspoon’s 11 points 15th-seeded Pitt (13-19) will face seventh-seeded North Carolina State in the second round on Wednesday. Minor’s basket was his second field goal in 10 attempts.
Dunning added a game-high eight rebounds, three steals and two blocks.
Pitt, which has won four of its last six games, was the last team in a field of 15 to qualify for Saturday’s regular-season finale at Syracuse, needing overtime to qualify.
Freshman Ebuka Okorie led 10th-seeded Stanford (20-12) with 14 points. Benny Gealer had 11 points and AJ Rohosy added 10 for the Cardinal.
It was a disastrous result for the Cardinal, who ended the regular season with four straight wins and was considered a bubble team in the NCAA Tournament.
Stanford went on a 10-2 run with a basket by Donavin Young to take a 60-59 lead with 1:40 left. Dunning hit a 3-pointer to give the Panthers the lead back until the final minute.
Gealer’s 3-point attempt failed on Stanford’s ensuing possession. Witherspoon missed the front end of a first-and-1 free throw opportunity and Okorie converted a 3-point play at the 26.2-second mark to put Stanford back in front before the final sequence.
Minor drove into the lane and fired a floater. The ball bounced off the rim and he was there for the Panthers’ 20th offensive rebound and his first offensive board and a quick throwback.
Pitt took advantage of a 41-28 rebounding advantage. Stanford, which shot 8-for-20 on 3-pointers, committed 10 turnovers.
Pitt had its largest lead of the game, 31-23, at halftime.
–Bob Sutton, Field Level Media
