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DAYTON, Ohio -- Pitt is moving on after a thrilling 60-59 victory over Mississippi State in the First Four of the NCAA Tournament on Tuesday night.
The Panthers won after a back-and-forth contest that ended when the Bulldogs' Shakeel Moore missed a three-pointer and D.J. Jeffries couldn't score on the rebound as time expired.
"They played like they didn't want to go home either," Pitt's Blake Hinson told a radio audience after the game when asked about Mississippi State. "We just went about our business."
There were more than 20 lead changes in the game.
It's the first NCAA Tournament win since 2014 for Pitt, as the Panthers return to the tournament for the first time in seven years.
The 11th-seeded Panthers will advance to a first-round matchup against No. 6 Iowa State (19-13) in the Midwest Region. Tipoff is set for Friday afternoon in Greensboro, North Carolina.
A jumper by Jamarius Burton gave Pitt the lead with 10 seconds to go, and Guillermo Diaz Graham had a huge block on the other end with 3 seconds left to keep Pitt in front.
Nelly Cummings scored 15 points to lead Pitt (23-11), which survived a late 7-0 run by the Bulldogs.
Greg Elliott had 13 and Hinson added 12. Nike Sibande, the ACC sixth man of the year, contributed 11 off the bench.
The Panthers had to play without starting big man Federiko Federiko, who was injured in the Atlantic Coast Conference Tournament last weekend. Starting in place of him was the 7-foot-1 Diaz Graham.
He only scored three points, but was a rebounding and defensive presence for the Panthers against the much bigger Bulldogs team.
"To get called into action in this game on such short notice, for him to battle and understand the moment, that's just a credit to him," Pitt assistant coach Milan Brown said of the freshman Diaz Graham. "He knew that he might not be as big as some of their bigs, but he knew that he could beat them, and defend them, with his feet and that is what he did."
The Bulldogs, who statistically are the worst three-point shooting team in Division I basketball this season, hit four right off the bat at the start of the game, but wound up hitting just 2-of-18 for the rest of the way.
PITTSBURGH (23-11): G.Diaz Graham 1-8 0-1 3, Burton 3-5 0-0 6, Cummings 6-13 1-2 15, Elliott 3-9 5-7 13, Hinson 4-9 2-3 12, Sibande 4-9 1-2 11, J.Diaz Graham 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 21-54 9-15 60.
MISSISSIPPI ST. (21-13): Jeffries 3-8 0-0 9, Smith 5-11 3-4 13, Davis 7-13 0-1 15, Moore 5-11 2-2 14, Matthews 1-3 0-0 2, T.Stevenson 1-4 0-0 2, McNair 1-5 0-0 2, Jones 0-3 0-0 0, Murphy 1-2 0-0 2, Reed 0-3 0-0 0. Totals 24-63 5-7 59.
Halftime--Pittsburgh 35-34. 3-Point Goals--Pittsburgh 9-19 (Hinson 2-3, Sibande 2-3, Cummings 2-4, Elliott 2-6, G.Diaz Graham 1-3), Mississippi St. 6-23 (Jeffries 3-6, Moore 2-7, Davis 1-4, McNair 0-1, Murphy 0-1, Reed 0-1, Jones 0-3). Rebounds--Pittsburgh 25 (G.Diaz Graham, Elliott, Sibande 5), Mississippi St. 42 (Jeffries 13). Assists--Pittsburgh 10 (Cummings 4), Mississippi St. 14 (Davis, Moore 5). Total Fouls--Pittsburgh 12, Mississippi St. 18.