Men's Basketball Takes On Holy Cross on Tuesday Night
12/22/2014 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
| GAME 12: HOLY CROSS (5-4, 0-0 Patriot League) at PITT (8-3, 0-0 ACC) | | ||
| Date | Tuesday, December 23, 7:00 p.m. (ET) | ||
| Location | Petersen Events Center (12,508) / Pittsburgh, Pa. | ||
| Television | ESPN3 (Tim Neverett and Curtis Aiken; Producer: Roger Lenhart). ESPN3 Game Watch. | ||
| Television Replay | Wednesday, December 24, 9:00 p.m. ET on ROOT Sports Pittsburgh | ||
| Radio | 20 affiliates of the Pitt IMG Radio Network, 93.7 FM in Pittsburgh (Bill Hillgrove and Dick Groat) | Listen Live | ||
| Game Day Information | Game Day Central | Pitt Digital Guide | ||
| Game Notes | Pitt Game Notes | Holy Cross Game Notes | ||
| Online | ESPN3 Game Watch | Gametracker | Live Stats | ||
| Series Information | Pitt and Holy Cross meet for the fourth time in series history. Pitt holds a 2-1 advantage in the series. The last time the two schools met was on Jan. 25, 1963, a 77-65 Holy Cross win in Mass. Pitt won the other two matchups, a 79-72 win on Feb. 3, 1958 and an 83-71 win on Feb. 6, 1959. Pitt is 74-54 all-time vs. Patriot League opponents. | ||
| Team Information | PITT: Statistics | Roster | Schedule | 2014-15 Media Guide HOLY CROSS: Statistics | Roster | Schedule | Holy Cross MBB Page |
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| Promotions | N/A | ||
| Social Media | @HailtoPittHoops - Twitter / Instagram / Facebook |
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PITTSBURGH--Riding a four-game win streak and 28-game home win streak vs. non-conference opponents, Pitt (8-3) plays its fourth contest in a five-game Holiday homestand as it hosts Holy Cross (5-4) on Tuesday, Dec. 23. Tipoff is at 7 p.m. ET.
The contest will be broadcast on ESPN3 with Tim Neverett and Curtis Aiken handling play-by-play and color commentary duties respectively.
For the fourth 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 is in a five-game Holiday homestand where it hosts St. Bonaventure (58-54 win on Dec. 13), Manhattan (65-56 win on Dec. 17), Oakland (81-77 OT win on 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 Holy Cross would give Pitt its 29th 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). The win would also be Pitt's 199th all-time victory at the Petersen Events Center. Pitt enters the game with a 115-3 record vs. non-conference opponents at the Petersen Events Center. Pitt has also won 136 of its last 140 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 57-2 record in December games.
Pitt enters the game after defeating Oakland 81-77 in overtime on Saturday evening. Pitt forced overtime after overcoming a seven-point deficit (70-63) with 5:05 left in the game. The Panthers then outscored Oakland 9-5 in overtime as it hit five straight free throws down the stretch to earn the win. Four Pitt players reached double figures led by Michael Young (19 points), James Robinson (18), Cameron Wright (16) and Chris Jones (16, 4-6 3FG). Pitt converted a season-high 82.8 percent (24-29) of its free throw attempts. The game featured seven ties and 23 lead changes. The game marked the second straight overtime game played between the two schools as Pitt claimed a 72-62 overtime victory over Oakland on Nov. 17, 2012.
Holy Cross enters the game with a 5-4 record. The Crusaders are coming off a 67-48 loss at Canisius. Holy Cross is led by Malcolm Miller (12.0 ppg.), Justin Burrell (11.8 ppg.) and Anthony Thompson (9.3 ppg.).
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 seven games, the Panthers have been a different team without two of their most experienced players: Wright and Durand Johnson. Wright is now back in the starting lineup, but Durand Johnson has been suspended for the season. With Wright playing, Pitt is a perfect 4-0.
TUESDAY'S TOP STORYLINES
•Pitt plays the fourth of a five-game homestand at the Petersen Events Center against Holy Cross on Tuesday at 7 p.m.
•Pitt is in its 13th season in the Petersen Events Center and carries a 198-27 record (.880) in the arena. In December games played at the Petersen Events Center, Pitt owns a 57-2 record.
•On a 28-game home win streak vs. non-conference opponents, the nation's sixth longest of its kind, Pitt owns a 115-3 overall record and .975 winning pct. vs. non-conference opponents in the PEC. The Panthers have also won 136 of their last 140 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, 353-109, .764), 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 four victories to become just the second head coach in school history to reach 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 296-99 career record following 395 career games. He has a career winning percentage of .749. 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 two more home wins to record victory No. 200 in the Petersen Events Center. Pitt has a 198-27 overall record in the 13-year old Petersen Events Center.
