PITTSBURGH — On Saturday afternoon, Pitt coasted to an 82-56 victory over North Florida behind a career-performance from Federiko Federiko, who scored 22 points to pace the Panthers down low.
Federiko turned in another solid game inside, hitting ten of his 14 field-goal attempts in yet another efficient non-conference showing. The Finnish big man swatted away three shots from North Florida, increasing his block total to 20 on the year.
Along with Federiko, Pitt’s leading scorer on the year Blake Hinson shined in the mid-range game, hitting eight of his nine two-point attempts in an 18-point performance that looked easy. Guard Jamarius Burton added 13 points in the win, scoring in double digits once again. He has now scored at least ten points in every game he has played this season (10).
With a 3-for-4 night from beyond the arch, Greg Elliott has now knocked down 16 of his last 25 three-point attempts across his last five games. Elliott logged his first double-double on the year, finishing with 11 points and ten rebounds in the winning effort.
Pitt out-rebounded the Ospreys 43-27 in the win.
For North Florida (3-7), Jarius Hicklen and Carter Hendricksen combined for 27 to lead the team. Jose Placer added 12 points in the loss. As a team, the Ospreys shot 38% from the field and hit just six of their 25 three-point attempts.
Pitt’s John Hugley (8 ppg, 3.6 rpg) did not play due to personal reasons.
With the lopsided win, the Panthers have no won seven of their last eight games. Pitt is now 8-3-1 against the spread, and has covered the spread in each of its past seven games.
The Panthers (8-4) will return to the court on Dec. 20 at 9 p.m. to take on Syracuse in their second conference matchup of the year. The Orange currently sit at 7-4 on the year with a victory over Notre Dame in their lone ACC contest. That game will be televised on ESPNU.
Team started slow but looked solid on defense. On to Conference.
Yawn