Virginia Basketball vs. Pittsburgh Game Preview, Score Prediction
Virginia looks to open the new year with another ACC road win as the Cavaliers travel to the Steel City to take on the Pitt Panthers on Tuesday night. Pittsburgh is on a four-game winning streak and is 3-0 in ACC play, but UVA has won eight-straight games against Pitt, including three-consecutive at the Petersen Events Center.
Read on for a full preview of Virginia at Pittsburgh, including details on the game, an opponent scouting report, game notes, and a score prediction.
Game Details
Who: Virginia Cavaliers (10-2, 2-1 ACC) at Pittsburgh Panthers (10-4, 3-0 ACC)
When: Tuesday, January 3rd at 9pm ET
Where: Petersen Events Center in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
How to watch: ACC Network
How to stream: fuboTV (Start your free trial)
How to listen: SiriusXM 81, SXM App 81 | Virginia Sports Radio Network - click here for affiliates
All-time series: Virginia leads 19-4
Last meeting: Virginia defeated Pittsburgh 66-61 on January 19th, 2022 in Pittsburgh behind 19 points and eight assists from Reece Beekman.
Opponent Scouting Report: Pittsburgh
2022-2023: 10-4, 3-0 ACC
Notable results: vs. West Virginia 81-56 L, vs. Michigan 91-60 L, vs. VCU 71-67 L, at Northwestern 87-58 W, at NC State 68-60 W, at Vanderbilt 75-74 L, at Syracuse 84-82 W, vs. North Carolina 76-74
Pittsburgh struggled early in the season, losing three straight games in early November, including a pair of blowout losses to West Virginia and Michigan by a combined 56 points. Since that three-game skid, however, the Panthers have found a rhythm, winning nine of their last ten games, and come into this game on a four-game winning streak. Pitt sits atop the ACC standings at 3-0 after knocking off NC State and Syracuse on the road and most recently, defeating North Carolina 76-74 last Friday.
Like Virginia, Pittsburgh has a veteran-laden roster with a starting lineup entirely made up of upperclassmen and graduate students. Four Panthers are averaging in double figures, led by 6'7" forward Blake Hinson, an Iowa State transfer who, despite not playing a single game in the last two seasons due to a combination of injuries and illnesses, hasn't missed a beat to start this season, leading Pitt in scoring (17.1 ppg) and rebounding (7.3 rpg). Hinson is able to play inside and out, shooting 48.2% from the floor and 34.6% from three. The matchup to watch on Tuesday night will be Blake Hinson vs. Jayden Gardner, who had two great games against Pitt last year, including a last-second game-winner in the game in Charlottesville.
6'9" forward John Hugley was Pitt's leading scorer last season, but has struggled with injuries this season and it's unclear if he'll play against Virginia on Tuesday. In his place, Pitt has turned to 6'11" center Federiko Federiko, who has been playing very well recently, especially during the team's four-game winning streak.
6'4" graduate guard Jamarius Burton headlines an experienced and talented backcourt trio for Pitt, averaging 15.8 points per game and shooting the three at a 43.5% clip, but he has attempted only 23 three-pointers through the first 14 games of the season. Burton is joined by a pair of graduate transfers in the backcourt who are not nearly as shy in shooting the three. 6'0" Colgate transfer Nelly Cummings averages 11.1 points and 4.9 assists per game, while 6'3" Marquette transfer Greg Elliott averages 10.8 points per game and shoots 39.5% from beyond the arc. Both Cummings and Elliott are high-volume three-point shooters, willing to pull the trigger whenever they have an open look.
In addition to the Jayden Gardner-Blake Hinson matchup up front, the battle between Pitt's trio of starting guards and Kihei Clark, Reece Beekman, and Armaan Franklin should be highly entertaining.
Game Notes
- Virginia has won each of the last eight games against Pittsburgh, including both of the matchups in the 2021-2022 season.
- The Cavaliers have won 15 of the last 16 games against the Panthers and have a three-game winning streak at the Petersen Events Center.
- UVA is 12-1 against Pitt since the Panthers joined the ACC in 2013 and Tony Bennett is 12-2 all-time against Pitt.
- Virginia is ranked No. 11 in the latest AP Top 25 poll and has been ranked in every AP poll this season.
- With 326 wins at Virginia, Tony Bennett (326-119) has tied Terry Holland (326-173) for most wins in UVA program history. Bennett will become Virginia's all-time winningest coach with his next victory.
Prediction
Pittsburgh has a great deal of momentum coming into this game, having won nine of its last ten games and four in a row, including back-to-back two-point ACC wins over Syracuse and North Carolina. Meanwhile, Virginia is hoping to build its own momentum off of its very strong performance in a wire-to-wire road victory at Georgia Tech on Saturday, a game that was undoubtedly the team's best offensive showing since Las Vegas. Both teams have a great deal of experience and have largely played good basketball through the first half of the season, but UVA's edge on the defensive end gives the Cavaliers the key advantage they need to hand the Panthers their first conference loss of the season and open 2023 with a road win.
Score Prediction: Virginia 76, Pittsburgh 71
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