Pitt Hosts Eastern Washington in Gotham Classic
12/10/2015 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Men's Basketball | Rafael Maia Press Conference - December 9, 2015
Men's Basketball | Sterling Smith Press Conference - December 9, 2015
Pitt (6-1) vs. Eastern Washington (5-4)
Friday, December 11, 2015 • 7:00 p.m. • ESPN3
Pittsburgh, Pa. • Petersen Events Center
THE OPENING TIP
• Pitt (6-1) hosts 2015 NCAA Tournament qualifier Eastern Washington (5-4) Friday, Dec. 11 at the Petersen Events Center. Tipoff is set for 7 p.m. with ESPN3 broadcasting the contest. Friday's game is the first of four Gotham Classic matchups for the Panthers.
• The Panthers are 60-3 in the month of December at the Petersen Events Center.
• Pitt has scored 90 or more points in a game four times this season and leads in the ACC in scoring at 87.4 points per game.
LAST TIME OUT
• Pitt registered a 53-point win over Central Arkansas Sunday, Dec. 6. The Panthers scored 100 points in the win, matching the second-most in a game under Jamie Dixon.
• Damon Wilson came off the bench to score a career-high 20 points on 7-of-9 shooting, while Jamel Artis (17) and Chris Jones (13) also scored in double figures.
• The Panthers had 11 different players score in the contest with nine players scoring at least six points in the win.
• Pitt shot 54.4 percent (37-of-68) from the field to improve to 132-5 under Jamie Dixon when shooting 50.0 percent or better from the field.
• The Panthers distributed a season-high 29 assists against the Bears with James Robinson and Chris Jones leading the way with five apiece.
• Pitt's reserves combined for a season-high 51 points off the bench in the win.
• The Panthers' 53-point margin of victory is tied for the third-largest in program history and is the largest in the ACC this season.
BY THE NUMBERS
• Pitt is 18-4 in the month of December over the past four seasons. Jamie Dixon owns a 75-11 mark in the month for his career.
• The Panthers are 122-5 against non-conference opponents at the Petersen Events Center.
• Pitt is 269-59 against unranked opponents under Jamie Dixon.
• Michael Young is the only player in the ACC to rank among the conference leaders in scoring, rebounds, offensive rebounds, defensive rebounds, field goal percentage and assists.
• The trio of Jamel Artis, James Robinson and Michael Young has started 41 consecutive games as a unit. Robinson has started 109 of 110 career contests, while Young has started every game (77) of his career. Artis has started each game since the start of the 2014-15 season.
• James Robinson owns a career 3.73:1 assist-to-turnover ratio, tops in ACC history (minimum two years and 300 assists). Robinson has recorded more assists than turnovers in 103 of 110 career games. He has been turnover-free in six of Pitt's seven games and is second in the NCAA with a 9.00:1 assist-to-turnover ratio this season.
• Jamel Artis has scored in double-figures in the first half of a game five times this season. He is averaging 10.2 points on 26-of-41 (.634) shooting from the field, including 10-of-14 (.714) from three-point range, in the opening half of play.
• Pitt's bench has been productive, averaging 34.3 points per game with a season-best 51 points in Sunday's win over Central Arkansas. The Panthers have had nine double-figure scorers off the bench. Sheldon Jeter has three double-digit scoring efforts, while Chris Jones and Damon Wilson each have a pair of games with 10 or more points scored.
• James Robinson currently ranks eighth at Pitt with 474 career assists. He has recorded at least one assist in 69 straight games, tied for the third-longest streak in program history.
• Sterling Smith needs 14 points to reach the 1,000-point plateau in his career. He scored 934 points in three seasons at Coppin State.
• The Panthers have shot 50.0 percent or better from the field in four of the past five contests and are tied for third in the ACC with a .499 field goal percentage.
• Sterling Smith has knocked down three three-point field goals in four of the past five contests. He is 12-of-19 (.632) from behind the arc and averaging 9.2 points per game in that span. Smith is second in the ACC with a .609 (14-of-23) three-point field goal percentage.
• Pitt leads the ACC in scoring (87.4 ppg.), assists (22.1 apg.), assist-to-turnover ratio (2.12:1) and defensive rebounds (30.3 drpg.), while also ranking second in three-point field goal percentage (.417), free throw percentage (.771), field goal percentage defense (.370), three-point field goal percentage defense (.306) and scoring margin (+24.4).
• Pitt starters - Jamel Artis, Michael Young, Rafael Maia, James Robinson and Sterling Smith - are a combined 43-of-70 (.614) from the field, including 16-of-20 (.800) from three-point range, over the past two games.
• Pitt has registered 20 or more assists in a game five times and has assisted on 71.1 percent of its field goals. The Panthers lead the NCAA in assist-to-turnover ratio (2.12:1), while ranking second in assists per game (22.1) and assists per possession (.314) and third in assists per field goal made (.711).
• Pitt is coming off the highest scoring pair of games under Jamie Dixon. The Panthers averaged 98.0 points per game, while shooting 54.8 percent (68-of-124) from the field in wins over Duquesne and Central Arkansas. Pitt's first half numbers are even more impressive in that span at 53.5 points on 61.7 percent (37-of-60) shooting.
• Damon Wilson came off the bench to score 20 points in Sunday's win over Central Arkansas. It was the 13th 20-point game off the bench by a freshman in program history.
• Pitt currently has 11 players averaging at least 10.0 minutes per game with James Robinson playing a team-high 26.7 minutes per contest.
• Pitt is averaging 43.4 points per game on 51.9 percent (111-of-214) shooting from the field in the opening half of play through seven games.
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