Preview: Pitt Faces Virginia Tech in ACC Opener

PITTSBURGH -- The Pitt Panthers will face off on the road vs. Virginia Tech on Dec. 7, marking their first match in the ACC.

Pitt suffered just their second loss of the season in a 90-57 blowout at Mississippi State on Dec. 4 in the ACC/SEC Challenge. The 33-point loss ranks tied for the worst under head coach Jeff Capel, as they lost 91-58 to Wake Forest on Feb. 20.

The Panthers shot just 31.3% from the field, while the Bulldogs made 57.8% of their shots. They also led the Panthers in a number of categories, including rebounds, 49-27, defensive rebounds, 33-13, points off turnovers, 15-4, second chance points, 24-12, bench points, 36-27, and points in the paint, 52-14.

After an emphatic buzzer-beating win against Ohio State on the road on Nov. 29, it's possible that Pitt was still thinking about that victory before heading into their matchup vs. Mississippi State.

Who can blame them? Pitt was ranked inside the AP Top 25 for the first time since the 2022-23 season when they held the No. 25 ranking for the final week of the regular season. Their No. 18 ranking is the highest since they were No. 18 for one week in the 2013-14 season, starting Jan. 27.

The Panthers were fifth in the NET Rankings before the loss to the Bulldogs They've since fallen to 12th.

No matter, Pitt gets a chance to prove an off-shooting and poor-rebounding night against Mississippi State is not the norm with a conclusion to their road trip at Virginia Tech.

Pitt vs. Virginia Tech Preview

The Panthers are catching the Hokies at a good time for their ACC opener, as their foe ranks the lowest of all ACC Teams in the NET Ranking at No. 231 with a 3-5 record.

After winning their opening three games, Virginia Tech has lost five straight, all at home. None of the losses were particularly close either. Their best showings in that stretch were a pair of 10-point losses to Jacksonville, a Quad 4 loss, and South Carolina.

Virginia Tech falls short in several facets, but offense, especially shooting, is the main struggle. The Hokies have only two players who average double-digit points in graduate student forward Mylyjael Poteat and junior forward Toibu Lawal each average 11.4 points per game.

The Hokies looks to exceed the 19-13 record it has finished the last two seasons with under sixth-year head coach Mike Young. A main reason for the Hokies' offensive struggles is guard Hunter Cattoor graduating and taking his 13.5 points per game and 40.5% accuracy from deep with him.

Virginia Tech also lost guard Sean Pedulla to Ole Miss for his senior season. Pedulla, another high-quality three-point shooter, started every game he played in for the program over his sophomore and junior seasons and averaged 15.7 points per game over that stretch.

They looked to bring in guard Hysier Miller from Temple to fill the scoring voids left my Cattoor and Pedulla, but would release him prior to the season starting due to an on going gambling scandal during Miller's time at Temple.

Thus, Poteat has received his first opportunity as a starter. Poteat averaged over 10 minutes per game in his first two seasons at Rice and played 68 total games over the next two seasons at Virginia Tech.

Poteat has already tripled his previous number of starts this season and is averaging career-highs in points, rebounds (5.5), assists (1.8) and minutes (24.5). Poteat is strictly an inside player standing at six-foot-nine. In his 122 career games, Poteat has only attempted two three-pointers.

Lawal is in his first season with the Hokies after spending his first two with VCU. Similar to Poteat, Lawal is getting his first real starting experience with Virginia Tech. Lawal is also a non-shooter but shoots 36.8% from deep on 19 career attempts.

Lawal recorded a career-high 23 points in Virginia Tech's season opener against Deleware State but has hovered around 10 points per game since then. Lawal also leads the Hokies with seven blocks on the season.

On the season, the Hokies' average 68.6 points per game, tied for the 301st in Division I, and shoot 31.5% from deep, 266th in Division I, both poor marks.

Given the Panthers are coming off a terrible shooting night, the Hokies are likely the perfect opponent to defeat on the road even if those shooting struggles don't subside.

Sophomore guard Jaland Lowe led the Panthers with 19 points against the Bulldogs but shot 7-for-21 from the floor. Senior guard Ishmael Legget, the Panthers' leading scorer on the season with 17 points per game, shot an uncharacteristic 3-for-14 in the defeat.

A 33-point blowout is never good, but for Pitt who just came off an emotional road victory against Ohio State, it could turn into positive momentum if they can get right against a sliding Virginia Tech team.

How to Watch: Pitt vs. Virginia Tech

Pitt plays Virginia tech at 2:00 p.m. on Dec. 7 at Cassell Coliseum in Blacksburg, Va. The game is viewable on ESPNU.

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