GREENSBORO, N.C. — Pitt cruised to a 59-41 victory over sixth-seeded Iowa State on Friday afternoon at the Greensboro Coliseum to advance to the second round of the NCAA Tournament. The Panthers improved to 24-11 on the year and will take on third-seeded Xavier in the Midwest bracket on Sunday with a game time still yet to be announced by the NCAA.

The Panthers opened the game on a 22-2 run, then had to overcome a sluggish end of the first half, but eventually managed to pull away in the second half thanks to the team’s best defensive performance of the season.

Pitt holding Iowa State to 41 points was the first time all year an opposing team failed to score 50 points against the Panthers. Iowa State shot 23% from the field, committed 8 turnovers, and scored only 18 points in the second half.

Iowa State did not make a single basket until 9:55 remaining in the first half.

Pitt senior guard Nelly Cummings scored a team-high 13 points, including 11 in the second half to help his team surge away from the higher-seeded Cyclones. Cummings scored Pitt’s first six points out of halftime and hit an exclamation point three-pointer with 1:02 left to make it 59-37 as chants of ‘Let’s go Pitt’ echoed the Coliseum.

Pitt once again started freshman Guillermo Diaz Graham for the second straight contest, but the team did have Federiko Federiko available on Friday. Diaz Graham once again rose to the occasion. The freshman big man finished with nine points, eight rebounds, and three blocks. Diaz Graham had to play through foul trouble, and Iowa State made its late first half push with him on the bench.

Federiko’s status was yet again a game time decision heading into this one, but the sophomore center did manage to play some against Iowa State. He logged 11 minutes and finished with one point and one rebound and was largely a non-factor.

After missing their first shot of the game, the Panthers went onto make their next five attempts from the floor and thanks a strong effort at the free-throw line, built a 22-2 advantage. Iowa State opened the game 1-of-14 shooting the ball, but managed to clamp down on defense and storm back into the game.

Pitt only made one field goal in the final 13 minutes of the first half, and Iowa State produced a 21-7 spurt to make it a respectable 30-23 at the break following such a poor start. The Cyclones Gabe Kalscheur scored eight points in the first half, but the senior guard also picked up his third foul before halftime.

Fouls were a big story in this one. The two teams combined for 41 fouls and 48 free throw attempts. No players fouled out, though two Pitt players finished with four and eight of the nine Iowa State players to log minutes had multiple fouls.

Iowa State grabbed some momentum with that end of the first half run, but a poor effort out of halftime doomed the Cyclones. Iowa State started 1-for-15 from the floor in the second half. Cummings' three-pointer with 15:15 left in the game put the Panthers up by double digits, and the lead never dipped below that mark.

Pitt had a late 10-0 run in the second half, which was started by a Jorge Diaz Graham to a Guillermo dunk and was ultimately punctuated by a Nike Sibande four-point play. Pitt took it from a 40-30 advantage to 50-30 in the span of a little over three minutes to put the game out of reach.

Iowa State only made five field goals in the second half, and two of them came in the final minutes when the game was well in hand for the Panthers. For as much of the story was about Pitt’s defense and Iowa State’s struggles, the Panthers had a tough go at it on offense as well.

Pitt shot just 34% from the floor. Jamarius Burton, Pitt’s first team All-ACC pick, scored 11 points, but nine came from the free throw line. The Panthers went 6-of-19 from three, but made up for it with a 25-of-29 clip from the free throw line.

Pitt is now in the second round of the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2014. The Panthers will be looking to make it to the Sweet 16 for the first time since 2009, but will need to overcame a tough Xavier team. The Panthers knocked off Xavier in the 2009 NCAA Tournament, while the Musketeers got revenge in 2010. Xavier is coached by former Pitt point guard Sean Miller.