Pitt basketball ends its five-game stretch at the Petersen Events Center with the Greenbrier tip-off against VMI.
The Panthers are looking to stay undefeated Monday night after Friday’s win in the Backyard Brawl. Fresh off of a big win over West Virginia, it’s important for Pitt to not underestimate the Keydets and finish off the stretch of home games undefeated.
General Information:
Teams: Pitt (4-0) and VMI (4-1)
Tip-Off Time: 7 p.m. EST
Watch: ACC Network Extra
Listen: 93.7 The Fan
What to Know About VMI:
VMI has had a strong start to the season and is fresh off of a win in the third-place game of the Greenbrier Tip-Off in the River Division. The Keydets beat Charleston Southern 80-69 and used their second-half performance to secure the 11-point victory.
Augustinas Kiudulas is the player to watch for VMI. The sophomore Lithuanian forward is averaging 21.8 points, eight rebounds and one block through the first five games of the season. He’s also shooting at an impressive clip of 46.6% from the field.
As a team, the Keydets are sharpshooters. Seven players are shooting at least 40% on field goals this season. VMI’s offense averages 86 points per game.
For Pitt basketball to pull away with a win tonight, defense is going to have to be the deciding factor. The Panthers were strong defensively against West Virginia, but they need to consistently play at that level. That has been one of the biggest question marks in the early goings of the season for Jeff Capel’s team.
Cam Corhen and Guillermo Diaz Graham will once again have their hands full with Kiudulas. They kept Amani Hansberry in check against the Mountaineers and will need to do so again Monday night.
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Diaz Graham had his best performance of the season in the Backyard Brawl with a double-double in the form of 10 points and 10 rebounds. The Spanish forward is a huge element of the Panthers’ frontcourt this year and is going to see extended minutes as long as he can avoid foul trouble.
Jaland Lowe will be looking for a bounce-back game against the Keydets. He finished with less than 10 points Friday night and only shot 2-11 from the field; half of his points came from free throws.
Luck wasn’t on Lowe’s side Friday night, but Capel has said on many occasions that he doesn’t mind players continuing to shoot to try and build their confidence. His only request is for it to “be a good shot.”
The win over West Virginia was also the first time all season that the Panthers dominated the rebound battle. It was a concerning issue for Capel and coaching staff through the first three games of the season. Now, the focus becomes ensuring the team can play at that level on a nightly basis.
This game against VMI is important to Pitt as it is currently 19th in the KenPom rankings and 40th in NET Rankings. The non-conference schedule only gets tougher from here, so the Panthers need to continue to show the committee they made a mistake last year. It’s a season-long audition, and VMI is the next box to check off on the resume for Pitt.
[…] it was able to improvise and do so very early on in the game. With VMI’s star forward, Augustinas Kiudulas, dealing with foul trouble for much of the game, the Panthers worked the ball inside and played […]