PITTSBURGH — The Pitt Panthers have suffered back-to-back losses for the primary time since November and escaped the hardest a part of their schedule with two wins over ranked opponents, a one-point loss to the league’s No. 1 group and a eight-point street loss at No. 24 Duke.
This has traditionally been a hazard zone for groups led by Jeff Capel. Now’s the time to start out stacking the wins if the Panthers need to keep away from a second half collapse. Beginning with a mid-afternoon shutout towards the Yellow Jackets, the Panthers’ subsequent three opponents maintain a mixed 15-35 file. Pitt examined its mettle towards among the finest groups within the ACC and did about in addition to may very well be hoped for, however now it is time to deal with enterprise earlier than the roster will get more durable.
Details about the sport
Opponent: Georgia Tech (Eight-Eight general, 1-5 ACC)
Time: Three:00 PM EST
Location: McCammish Pavilion; Atlanta, Georgia
Broadcast: ACC Community and 93.7 The Fan
odds
The Panthers are favored by 1.5 factors over the Yellow Jackets. Pitt is -134 on the cash line and the Yellow Jackets are at +112. The over/below level whole was set at 142.
Three tales
Swarm jackets
Georgia Tech has fallen on onerous occasions since successful the ACC Event in 2021, however one factor is for positive about Josh Pastner’s groups — they’ll defend their tail, and that goes for this season. The Jackets are 104th nationally in defensive effectivity, 81st in efficient discipline aim proportion protection and 22nd in Three-point protection.
Pitt struggled mightily offensively — particularly within the second half — at Cameron Indoor Stadium earlier this week. The Panthers admitted of their postgame press conferences that they had been too stagnant and relied too typically on isolation performs. Ball motion will likely be key for a Pitt group that’s undefeated and is averaging 71.Four factors per sport when recording 13 or extra assists.
A rebound sport from Nelly Cummings – who had a zero:Four help/turnover ratio towards Duke – would do wonders for the Panthers. He and Jamarius Burton have carried out a superb job distributing and taking good care of the ball over the past seven weeks, however they had been sloppy in Durham.
Rebounding and Rebounding
If the Panthers need to get again to their successful methods, they will have to start out on the glass. Two video games in a row, Pitt has been dominated on the boards – -31 in whole rebounding margin and -13 in offensive rebounding, with most of that injury coming towards the Blue Devils.
Successful the glass defensively helps Pitt develop its offensive sport and prevents burnout from lengthy possessions. In the meantime, rebounds on offense have the identical impact on the opponent and permit the Panthers to get extra open seems from deep battles for the ball.
It is a Georgia Tech roster that has solely two gamers taller than 6’9 and just one – 6’10 ahead Rodney Howard – is averaging over 10 minutes per sport. Pitt is unlikely to face groups as massive, robust and athletic within the frontcourt as Duke and Clemson, and so they might want to take benefit in the event that they need to get again within the win column.
Scroll to Proceed
Street warriors
Pitt has loved the comforts of house for many of this season. The Panthers have performed 10 of 17 video games on the Petersen Occasions Heart and gained eight of their ten house contests. The street was much less forgiving.
Pitt is Three-Four with the Petes, with the purpose differential sitting at a shaky -5 by way of the seven video games. The Panthers put up some good competitors on the street, however did not look too good doing it. They obtained blown out by Michigan and misplaced a nailbiter to VCU in Brooklyn and suffered dominance within the paint at Vanderbilt, almost blew a double-digit lead at Syracuse and truly misplaced a double-digit result in the Blue Devils.
Half of the remaining 14 video games will likely be outdoors of Pittsburgh, that means the Panthers and their expertise might want to conjure up extra stamina to allow them to remedy their journey woes.
You’ll want to bookmark Contained in the Panthers for the most recent information, unique interviews, recruiting protection and extra!
Pitt is dedicated to climbing the most recent recruiting rankings
Pitt HC Jeff Capel affirms ACC media protection
Pitt LB Tylar Wiltz accepts invitation to Tropical Bowl
Pitt at Duke Takeaways: Panthers Miss Golden Alternative
Pitt at Duke: Sport information, odds, three tales
Report: RB Vincent Davis enters switch window