Pitt Sticking With Jaland Lowe in Starting Lineup
PITTSBURGH -- The Pitt Panthers are expected to get starting shooting guard Ishmael Leggett back for a marquee matchup with No. 11 Duke at the Petersen Events Center, but won't start him.
Pitt will instead roll with the same starting lineup that they used when they beat Lousiville on the road, with Leggett sidelined by a shoulder injury. The usual suspects - Blake Hinson, Zack Austin, Bub Carrington and Guillermo Diaz Graham - are all back as starters and they'll be joined by freshman Jaland Lowe, making his second straight start against a blue blood powerhouse.
“He gives us something that no one else does as far as a guy that can penetrate, that can probe, that can find guys. He has a really good feel," Pitt head coach Jeff Capel said in the days prior to tip-off. "So even before Ish went down in the last game, which was the only game he didn’t play, Jaland was still getting minutes. Against North Carolina, we went with three guards but a big part is Jaland is just playing better and he provides something we feel like no one else does.”
Lowe stepped in to make his first career start and played well, scoring nine points on 3-6 shooting from the field, grabbing three rebounds and dishing three assists to just one turnover in an 83-70 win. He will move back to the bench with Leggett back in the fold after making the first start of his career against Louisville.
Lowe's been on a hot streak as of late, averaging 9.3 points, three rebounds and three assists to just one turnover over his last three games while knocking down 42.9% of his 3-point shots and 45.5% of his field goals.
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