Pitt basketball continues its 2024-25 regular season against Murray State after a strong opening performance.
With the first game of the season under their belts, the Panthers are right back it Friday night. Pitt hosts Murray State at the Petersen Events Center in what should be another exciting contest. The Panthers won the only previous matchup against the Racers 70-49 in December 2003.
General Information:
Teams: Pitt (1-0) and Murray State (1-0)
Tip-Off Time: 7 p.m. EST
Watch:Â ACC Network Extra
Listen:Â 93.7 The Fan
What to know about Murray State:
Murray State put on a clinic at both ends of the court against NAIA opponent, Bethel. The Racers are feeling confident after their 113-37 victory, but they know it’s only going to get tougher from here.
Five different players scored 10+ points for Murray State, including Kylen Milton who led the way with 19. The Racers shot 61.5% from the floor and 56% from three point range.
The lineup for Murray State is an experienced group of players. Milton and Terence Harcum are dynamic playmakers who can score 15+ points on any given night. JaCobi Wood has a vision to find open teammates while Nick Ellington is a physical threat in the post.
Defensively, the Racers were strong against Bethel, but they didn’t have much of a test. Bethel shot just 25% from the field and 14% from behind the arc. However, this was a game Murray State knew it was going to win two minutes into the first half. However, this Murray State group won’t be an easy test for Pitt.
Much like Radford, Murray State is very physical. They have size down low and aren’t afraid to do some dirty work to box out. Expect that to be a huge part of the gameplan for the Racers.
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As for the Panthers, they are fresh off of a 96-56 win over Radford. That game was much closer in the early goings than it should have been, and Jeff Capel admitted postgame that his team was playing anxious until there was about five minutes left in the first half.
Jaland Lowe set a new high 21 points and led the way for Pitt while Ishmael Leggett stepped up and added 19. These two are the new dynamic duo for the Panthers in the back court.
Capel liked most of what he saw Monday night against the Highlanders with the team passing the ball well. Pitt totaled 18 assists as a result of some quick ball movement.
Brandin “Beebuh” Cummings made his long-awaited Panthers debut and didn’t disappoint in that regard. He posted 11 points and added a trio of assists.
“We know he’s a dawg,” said Leggett after the Radford game. “Whoever’s in front of him on the offensive or defensive side, he’s going to take that matchup personally.”
The one area the Pitt basketball struggled with at times against the Highlanders was rebounding. There were several moments where the Panthers were second to react on both ends of the court. While you can attribute some of it to shaking off the rust, Pitt knows it won’t be able to win basketball games without getting better on the glass.
This matchup with Murray State allows the Panthers to build on Monday’s strong performance while fine tuning some things in the rebounding department. As long as Capel’s group avoids another slow start, it’s another opportunity to put one in the win column.
[…] against Murray State, he filled in well when Lowe was dealing with foul trouble. Lowe was also very complimentary of him after the Radford […]