Pitt Completes Impressive Comeback Against Buffalo

The Pitt Panthers defeated the Buffalo Bills by a comfortable 80-61 margin, a good win on it's own, but especially considering they trailed 32-45 at halftime. This is Pitt's biggest comeback since being down to Duquesne also by 13 in the 2009-10 season.

In the second half, the Panthers went on an incredible 48-16 run. They held the Bulls to just three made shots and one made three-pointer in the second half. One of Buffalo's main downfalls was their fouling, as they committed 33 personal fouls and let three different Pitt players to finish with ten or more free throw attempts.

Georgia Tech transfer Baye Ndongo was the standout, putting up a monster 23 points and 21 rebounds, nine of them being offensive. It's the first 20-20 game for a Pitt player since Julian Champagnie in 2020, and it was also Ndongo's first career game with more than 20 rebounds.

The freshman Chase Foster had his second straight game with 20 or more points, tying Ndongo for the most shot attempts with ten in another confident game. Foster scored 17 of his 20 points in the second half alone, also almost getting a double-double with nine rebounds.

Chase Foster. Buy Stock Now.
— Jon Rothstein (@JonRothstein) November 6, 2026

Sign of Improvement?

Head coach Jeff Capel is on one of the hottest seats in college basketball, and the first half showed why. Capel has never had the most inspiring offense, always lacking actual plays in favor of letting the guards on the court make all the decisions. That can lead to sloppy offenses against teams that are supposed to be easy opponents.

Last season, Pitt lost to the likes of Hofstra and Quinnipiac at home, and this game was looking like another one of those. But, Capel managed to get the Panthers to rally back and end up winning by 19 points. Maybe Pitt shouldn't have been trailing by double digits in the first place, but it does show some growth to turn the game around like that.

Pitt head coach Jeff Capel — Nov 2, 2026; Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA; Pittsburgh Panthers head coach Jeff Capel (left) reacts on the sidelines against the Rider Broncs during the second half at Petersen Events Center. Mandatory Credit: Charles LeClaire-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

Real Big Man

Ndongo is already looking like Pitt's best big man in years. All respect to Cam Corhen, who had to play heavy minutes as basically Pitt's only center that Capel trusted last year. But, Ndongo also played 33 minutes this game and came out with a 20-20 performance.

Pitt's other center from the transfer portal, Armani Mighty, only played five minutes in the game. Mighty's main appeal was being SoCon Defensive Player of the Year, so it's interesting he only got a few minutes in the second half.

Regardless, Pitt clearly has something special with their big man group, which made the difference in this game. Pitt's next game will be their first away game and Power Four opponent, as it'll take on its rivals Penn State in Philadelphia on Nov 8.

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