Pitt basketball continues its season with the Backyard Brawl at home Friday night.
Monday night’s win over Gardner-Webb was another learning experience as the Panthers got their first look at a zone defense. They take that experience into a heated rivalry with the Mountaineers.
General Information:
Teams: Pitt (3-0) and West Virginia (2-0)
Tip-Off Time: 8 p.m. EST
Watch: ACC Network Extra
Listen: 93.7 The Fan
What to Know About West Virginia:
The Darian DeVries era is officially underway in Morgantown, and the Mountaineers have won their first two games. With wins over Robert Morris (87-59) and UMass (75-69), West Virginia makes the trip up Interstate 79 looking to prove a point.
To call this game a rivalry is an understatement. These two schools could not despise each other more than they already do, and bragging rights are on the line once again. The Panthers won last year’s matchup 80-63 at the West Virginia Coliseum.
Tucker DeVries is the star of the show for the Mountaineers with 17.5 points per game. The former Drake star is the reining Missouri Valley Conference Player of the Year and MVC Tournament MVP. Pitt fans can expect Jaland Lowe to be face guarding him for most of the game.
Darian DeVries added talent from the Big 10 and Big 12 as he added Amani Hansberry and Sencire Harris from Illinois along with Javon Small from Oklahoma State. All three of them have a point to prove, and Hansberry has started this season strong. The former Fighting Illini forward is averaging 12.5 points per game and nine rebounds per game with the Mountaineers.
The Panthers have struggled in the rebounding department this year, and Hansberry has the potential to cause problems in the post. Guillermo Diaz Graham and Cam Corhen will need to bring their A-game Friday night.
Latest on Pitt Basketball:
In some recruiting news, Pitt has officially signed 4-star guard Omari Witherspoon out of St. John’s College Prep. If that school sounds familiar to you, it’s because it is the same school that produced Ishmael Leggett. Jeff Capel is excited for the young guard to make his mark next season.
“Omari is an exciting young player who has made a big jump in his play and in the recruiting rankings in the past year,” said Capel. “He is an intense competitor and versatile guard with the ability to impact the game in a variety of ways. We are excited to have him in our program and look forward to watching him continue to grow and develop.”
This comes just days after the Panthers lost out on Pittsburgh-native Meleek Thomas. The five-star guard committed to Arkansas Monday night.
For the current Panthers team, they’re looking to build on Monday night’s win over Gardner-Webb. It wasn’t pretty at times as Pitt went through some major scoring droughts. While that was primarily because the Runnin’ Bulldogs switched to a zone defense, the Panthers know it has to improve.
Capel confirmed Monday night after the win that the Panthers were going to rely heavily on the three main guards (Lowe, Leggett and Damian Dunn). The trio has gotten off to a strong start in the 2024-25 season, and they know their performance is going to dictate how the season ends for the team.
Pitt basketball is also going to continue to call on Zack Austin when necessary. He started a handful of games last season, but he is thriving in his new role as one of the first players off the bench for the Panthers. If Corhen and Guillermo Diaz Graham have issues defending Hansberry, expect Capel to waste little time getting Austin on the court.
[…] had a bad night, it pulled down the entire team. This Pitt team is different and showed in the Backyard Brawl that it will step up when […]