DAYTON, Ohio — Pitt forward Federiko Federiko will not play in Tuesday night’s Pitt game against Mississippi State in the First Four of the NCAA Tournament, the team announced.
On Monday night, Pitt head coach Jeff Capel said that Federiko would be a game-time decision due to his injury suffered against Georgia Tech in last week’s ACC Tournament.
“He’s still nursing that knee,” Capel said. “He hurt it against Georgia Tech, he tried to play against Duke the next day. We didn’t like the way that he was moving, which is why we held him once we got down. So he’ll be a game-time decision.”
Guillermo Diaz-Graham will start in his place at the five.
Federiko played 26 minutes in that game, going 7 for 7 from the field and scoring 19 points. In Pitt’s next game against Duke, Federiko played 12 minutes and scored just four points.
Federiko is averaging seven points and more than five rebounds per game in his first season with the Panthers.
Behind Federiko, Pitt has to rely on fellow young bigs Guillermo and Jorge Diaz-Graham. Mississippi State’s leading scorer Tolu Smith stands at 6-foot-11, 245 pounds and will be a force for the Panthers to stop all night.
