Pitt HC Jeff Capel Offers Injury Update on Two Key Contributors

Pitt snapped a four-game losing streak with a win against Miami on Saturday afternoon at the Petersen Events Center, and it came without a couple of key contributors.

Jeff Capel offered some insight into the future of the two players who missed the win against the Hurricanes.

Jaland Lowe, who picked up a knock in a loss against SMU earlier this week, has a good chance to return against Syracuse on Tuesday. And Damian Dunn, who broke his elbow in a loss against North Carolina on Feb. 8, has been ruled out for the season.

“[Damian is] out for the season,” Capel said after the win against Miami. “He won’t play again this season, has a fractured elbow. And so he won’t play, I think the timeline for that is 6-8 weeks, it’s non-surgical. We just found that out.

“I don’t know about Jaland, I would think that there’s a really good chance that he’d play on Tuesday, but I’m not exactly sure yet. We’ll probably, I’m assuming we’ll get him evaluated tomorrow. He’s done a lot of the non-contact stuff in practice, he’s done extra work as far as shooting, he just hasn’t been able to do contact stuff. He’s had no setbacks from doing the running and the shooting and all of that stuff, there’s nothing with some of the concussion things with loud noises, or bright lights that gives him headaches, so he’s been good there. I would anticipate he would be able to go on Tuesday but I’m not exactly sure.”

Dunn — a 6-foot-5 guard from Kinston, N.C. — has likely ended his college career. He arrived at Pitt with one season of college eligibility and battled through a plethora of injuries this season.

In 16 games this season, he averaged 9.9 points, 2.7 rebounds and 1.9 assists per game on 43/41/80 shooting splits.

He spent the first four seasons of his collegiate career at Temple, last season at Houston and this season with the Panthers. He could always challenge for an added season of eligibility, but his career is likely over.

Lowe — a 6-foot-2 guard from Missouri City, Tx. — is missing the first real basketball of his collegiate career.

He’s averaging 16.5 points, 4.1 rebounds and 5.3 assists per game on 38/29//87 shooting splits, showcasing the up-and-down nature of his sophomore season.

Pitt will be back in action against Syracuse at the Petersen Events Center on Tuesday night, sitting at 15-10 (6-8 ACC). The four-game losing streak seriously hurt the Panthers’ shot at the NCAA Tournament, but with six regular season games remaining — and the ACC Tournament — the Panthers can still push for a spot.