Pitt is off to a 5-0 start to the season, with all five wins coming at the Petersen Events Center.
Now comes the next level of challenge for the Panthers: winning on the road.
THE GREENBRIER
First, they’ll head down to The Greenbrier in White Sulphur Springs, West Virginia to take on LSU on Friday afternoon. The Tigers are 4-0 with a high-major win over Kansas State so far. They’re ranked No. 48 in Ken Pomeroy’s rankings, 32 spots lower than Pitt at No. 16.
Then comes the winner, or loser (depending on Pitt’s result against LSU) of Wisconsin Vs. UCF. The Badgers have the most impressive resume of this week’s opponents, with a win over No. 9 Arizona to their name. This week, they survived a valiant effort from Texas-Rio Grande Valley at home, winning 87-84, improving their record to 5-0 on the year. UCF owns a ranked win as well, coming over No. 15 Texas A&M. The Knights have a pair of mid-major transfers leading the way in Jordan Ivy-Curry and Keyshawn Hall. Former Panther Dior Johnson is averaging just five minutes per game for the team so far. He is 0 for 6 from the field with zero points on the season.
THE TRUE ROAD NON-CONFERENCE GAMES
Two very difficult road games await Pitt following this weekend in West Virginia: Ohio State and Mississippi State. Keep in mind — Pitt’s only road game in last year’s non-conference slate was against West Virginia. These are fantastic challenges that should help Pitt’s resume.
Pitt will head to Columbus to take on Ohio State on the road. The Buckeyes, led by fiery first-year head coach Jake Diebler, Ohio State is currently 3-1 on the season with a season-opening win over No. 19 Texas and a loss to the same Texas A&M squad that UCF took down.
Then comes Mississippi State, who is 4-0 with a win over Utah so far. Josh Hubbard is an absolute star for the Bulldogs this year, and he dropped 23 points in the win over the Utes. Chris Jans’ squad is deep, and includes a familiar name in Claudell Harris Jr., who was at Boston College in the ACC last season.
FIRST LEAGUE GAME
After the two true road non-conference matchups, Pitt will play its first ACC game of the year against Virginia Tech on the road.
The Hokies have a much different look this year, as they are without last year’s stars Sean Pedulla, Hunter Cattoor, and Lynn Kidd. This year, Mylyjael Poteat, Tobi Lawal, and Jaden Schutt (Duke transfer) are leading the way. The Hokies are currently 3-1 with three wins over mid-majors and one loss to Penn State by 20+ points.
KENPOM RANKINGS OF NEXT FIVE OPPONENTS
LSU: 48
WISCONSIN/UCF: 39/68
OHIO STATE: 21
MISSISSIPPI STATE: 28
VIRGINIA TECH: 111
well … we will know a lot more in 5 games. H2P !
You should know it now.
This stretch coming up vs those particular opponents will be cool tv. This team is balanced with a number of weapons. Damien Dunn? Who knew? I’m looking forward to these games. I think we’ll shock the world. H2P!