University of Pittsburgh Athletics
Men's Basketball Hosts Manhattan on Wednesday Night
12/16/2014 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
| GAME 10: MANHATTAN (2-6, 1-1 MAAC) at PITT (6-3, 0-0 ACC) | | ||
| Date | Wednesday, December 17, 7:00 p.m. (ET) | ||
| Location | Petersen Events Center (12,508) / Pittsburgh, Pa. | ||
| Television | ESPN3 (Tim Neverett and Curtis Aiken; Producer: Brian Seip) Watch Live on ESPN3 | ||
| Television Replay | Thursday, December 18, 3:00 p.m. ET on ROOT Sports Pittsburgh | ||
| Radio | 20 affiliates of the Pitt IMG Radio Network, 93.7 FM in Pittsburgh (Bill Hillgrove, Dick Groat) | Listen Live | ||
| Game Day Information | Game Day Central | Pitt Digital Guide | ||
| Game Notes | Pitt Game Notes | Manhattan Game Notes | ||
| Online | ESPN3 Game Watch | Gametracker | Live Stats | ||
| Team Information | PITT: Roster | Schedule | Preseason Prospectus | 2014-15 Media Guide MANHATTAN: Roster | Schedule | Manhattan MBB Webpage |
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| Promotions | N/A | ||
| Social Media | @HailtoPittHoops - Twitter / Instagram / Facebook |
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PITTSBURGH—Pitt (6-3) plays its second game in four days when its hosts Manhattan (2-6) on Wednesday, Dec. 17. Tipoff is at 7 p.m. ET.
The game will be aired on ESPN3 with Tim Neverett (play-by-play) and Curtis Aiken (color commentary) making the call. Brian Seip will handle all production.
For the second straight contest, Pitt returns to the Petersen Events Center following a one-month, six-game stretch that included four neutral site games, two away contests (at Indiana, at Hawaii) and three games as part of the EA Sports Maui Invitational, which Pitt finished in third place with a 2-1 record. Since the arena opened in 2002, that six-game stretch represents the longest regular season span away from the Petersen Events Center for the Pitt Basketball program. Pitt enters a five-game Holiday homestand where it hosts St. Bonaventure (58-54 win on Dec. 13), Manhattan (Dec. 17), Oakland (Dec. 20), Holy Cross (Dec. 23) and Florida Gulf Coast (Dec. 30). All of those opponents have earned earned NCAA Tournament berths in recent history.
A win over Manhattan would give Pitt its 27th consecutive home win vs. a non-conference opponent. Pitt has the nation’s sixth longest non-conference home win streak intact (see chart page 3). Pitt enters the game with a 113-3 record vs. non-conference opponents at the Petersen Events Center. Pitt has also won 134 of its last 138 home games against regular season non-conference opponents. Since the Petersen Events Center opened in 2002, Pitt has accumulated a 54-1 record in November contests and 55-2 record in December games.
Pitt enters the game after defeating its second Atlantic-10 opponent in a row: St. Bonaventure 58-54 on Saturday. Pitt limited the Bonnies to 36 percent shooting (18-50 FG) and used 52 percent (12-23) second half shooting to register the win. Offensively, Michael Young and Jamel Artis each led Pitt with 14 points apiece, with Young grabbing a career-high 17 rebounds. It was Young’s second career double-double. Chris Jones also added 11 points and guards James Robinson and Josh Newkirk each finished with nine points apiece.
Manhattan represents Pitt’s second opponent in its five-game homestand. The Jaspers captured the MAAC Tournament title and earned an NCAA Tournament berth in 2013-14 with a 25-8 overall record and 15-3 MAAC regular season record. Coached by former Louisville assistant Steve Masiello, the Jaspers are led by Emmy Andujar (12.5 ppg./8.3 rpg.), Shane Richards (11.5 ppg., 18 3FGM) and Ashton Pankey (10.9 ppg./5.6 rpg.). Assistant coach Rasheen Davis is a former Pitt video coordinator (2008-09).
Pitt returns three starters–senior off guard Cameron Wright, point guard Robinson and power forward Michael Young– and eight of its top 10 scorers from a 2013-14 team that finished 26-10 overall, 11-7 and in fifth place in its first year in the ACC and earned a 12th NCAA Tournament appearance in the last 13 seasons. Through the season’s first eight games, the Panthers are a different team without two of their most experienced players: Wright and Durand Johnson. Wright played one minute of Friday’s Duquesne game and Durand Johnson has been suspended for the season.
In mid-October, Pitt was picked by Atlantic Coast Conference media members to finish sixth among 15 schools in its annual preseason poll.
Pitt has won 124 of its last 175 overall games, 129 of its last 179, 273 of its last 366 contests, 118 of its last 179 league regular season games and 160 of its last 176 non-conference games.
WEDNESDAY’S TOP STORYLINES
•Pitt hosts its second game in four days at the Petersen Events Center after going nearly a month and six contests without playing a home game.
•Pitt is in its 13th season in the Petersen Events Center and carries a 196-27 record (.879) in the arena. In December games played at the Petersen Events Center, Pitt owns a 55-2 record.
•On a 26-game home win streak vs. non-conference opponents, Pitt owns a 113-3 overall record and .974 winning pct. vs. non-conference opponents in the PEC. The Panthers have also won 134 of their last 138 home games against regular season non-conference home opponents.
•When comparing ACC basketball programs over the last 13 years, Pitt ranks second in the ACC in overall winning percentage (5th nationally, 351-109, .763), league winning percentage (152-70, .685), homecourt winning percentage (.878) and NCAA Tournament appearances (12).
Jamie Dixon APPROACHING 300 CAREER WINS
Pitt head coach Jamie Dixon needs only six victories to become just the second head coach in school history to surpass 300 career wins. His accomplishment will also rank among the all-time NCAA Division I records for fastest to 300 career wins in both number of games and total seasons (12, will tie for third all-time). On the total number of games chart, he is on pace to surpass 300 victories faster than NCAA Division I coaching legends Arkansas’ Nolan Richardson, North Carolina’s Dean Smith, Arkansas’ Eddie Sutton, Indiana’s Bob Knight and Georgetown’s John Thompson. See chart on page 11.
In only his 12th season as a head coach, Dixon owns a 294-99 career record following 393 career games. He has a career winning percentage of .748. He trails Hall of Fame Pitt coach H.C. “Doc” Carlson, who won 367 games in 31 seasons and 615 total contests from 1922-53.
PETERSEN EVENTS CENTER APPROACHING 200-WIN MILESTONE
Pitt needs just four home wins to record victory No. 200 in the Petersen Events Center. Pitt has a 196-27 overall record in the 13-year old Petersen Events Center.
PITT-MANHATTAN SERIES
Pitt and Manhattan meet for the third time in men’s basketball. Pitt owns a 2-0 record vs. Manhattan in the previous two meetings: Dec. 29, 1957, a 71-63 win in the ECAC Holiday Festival at Madison Square Garden and on Nov. 20, 1991, a 72-61 win at Fitzgerald Field House. Pitt is 15-6 all-time vs. Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference opponents (Canisius 1-2, Fairfield 1-0, Iona 1-1, Loyola, Md. 1-0, Manhattan 2-0, Marist 2-0, Niagara 1-2, Rider 2-0, Siena 3-1, St. Peter’s 1-0).
