On the last day of the regular season, by the skin of its nose, Pitt kept its men’s basketball season going and qualified for the ACC Tournament.

That came via topping Syracuse on the road in overtime, 71-69, on Saturday. Following the game, coach Jeff Capel commended his team’s effort.

“You guys are amazing,” he told the team in the locker room. “To continue to fight, continue to believe, continue to show up — all of those things. It all showed up (vs. Syracuse). … We showed toughness and that’s who you dudes are as individuals. That’s who you are and that’s who we’ve become as a team. We get to stay alive.”

The Panthers (12-19) earned at least one more game as the 15th and final seed in the annual league tournament and play No. 10 Stanford (20-11) at 2 p.m. Tuesday in Charlotte, N.C.

Pitt and Stanford met once during the regular season, a 75-67 Cardinal victory at home Feb. 25.

How that game went should offer a source of encouragement for Pitt, which started fast far away from home, led at halftime and remained in front until the 4:19 mark of the final half.

Pitt proved it could hang with the Cardinal, who now prepares for the challenge of cross-country travel as the Panthers had to deal with a few weeks ago.

In the rematch, Pitt will collide with dynamic Stanford freshman point guard Ebuka Okorie, who edged Duke’s Cameron Boozer to finish as the ACC’s top scorer with 23.1 points per game.

To say Okorie single-handedly powered his team to victory over Pitt would not be an exaggeration.

While quiet in the first half, Okorie scored 28 of his 34 points in the final 20 minutes.

With impunity, Okorie made shots from places of his choosing, going 11 of 19 from the floor, including 3 of 6 from behind the arc. He also snagged six rebounds while leading the Cardinal with six assists.

When he drove to the rim and drew contact, Okirie made the most of his free throws, sinking all nine attempts.

Disrupting Okorie will be a top priority for the Panthers, who are certainly aware of some uncertainty regarding Capel’s future as the offseason approaches.

“You can’t let that guy get going, and once he gets going, he’s hard to stop,” Panthers associate coach Tim O’Toole said of Okorie on 93.7 The Fan.

While the Panthers will continue to deploy a thin rotation at the ACC Tournament, they have weapons of their own to try to counter Okorie.

Senior forward Cam Corhen has averaged 18.2 points over his last six games, in which he’s shot 56% from the field.

Australian forward Roman Siulepa wrapped his regular season as the ACC’s top offensive rebounder during conference play, averaging 3.8 per game and 69 total.

Sophomore transfer Nojus Indrusaitis, who hit the game-winner against Syracuse with about five seconds to play in overtime, upped his nightly contribution to 8.7 points per game over Pitt’s 18 league contests.

Overall, Pitt has played competitively since Feb. 21, going 3-2 to wrap the regular season, with its losses coming to Stanford and Florida State, a 75-74 decision last Wednesday.

Having manufactured a bit of momentum at an opportune time, the Panthers enter the ACC Tournament hoping to keep their season alive a bit longer.