Pitt Back at the Petersen Events Center Sunday
12/5/2015 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Game Notes (PDF)
Pitt (5-1) vs. Central Arkansas (1-6)
Sunday, December 6, 2015 • 12:00 p.m. • ESPN3
Pittsburgh, Pa. • Petersen Events Center
THE OPENING TIP
• Pitt (5-1) returns to the Petersen Events Center Sunday, Dec. 6 to host Central Arkansas (1-6). Tipoff is slated for noon with ESPN3 broadcasting the contest.
• Jeff Hathhorn (play-by-play) and Curtis Aiken (analyst) will call Sunday's action on ESPN3. Bill Hillgrove (play-by-play) and Dick Groat (analyst) will have the radio call on the Pitt IMG Sports Network.
• The Panthers are 59-3 in the month of December at the Petersen Events Center.
LAST TIME OUT
• Pitt recorded its 15th straight win over Duquesne with a 96-75 showing at the CONSOL Energy Center Friday evening.
• Michael Young recorded his third double-double of the season with 20 points and 11 rebounds, while Sterling Smith added his first double-double as a Panther with 16 points and 11 rebounds.
• James Robinson knocked down four first half three-point field goals en route to his third straight double-figure scoring game. The senior guard finished with 18 points, eight assists and two steals.
• Jamel Artis (14) and Sheldon Jeter (12) also scored in double figures as Pitt scored a season-best 96 points.
• The Panthers scored 57 points in the opening half of play, tied for the most points in a half under Jamie Dixon. Pitt was 19-of-28 (.679) from the field in the opening half of play.
• The Panthers were also an impressive 24-of-28 (.857) from the foul line in the win.
BY THE NUMBERS
• Pitt is 17-4 in the month over the past four seasons. Jamie Dixon owns a 74-11 mark in the month of December for his career.
• The Panthers are 121-5 against non-conference opponents at the Petersen Events Center.
• Pitt is 268-59 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 40 consecutive games as a unit. Robinson has started 108 of 109 career contests, while Young has started every game (76) of his career.
• James Robinson owns a career 3.68:1 assist-to-turnover ratio, tops in ACC history (minimum two years and 300 assists). Robinson has recorded more assists than turnovers in 102 of 109 career games. He has 31 assists and four turnovers through six games this season.
• Jamel Artis has scored in double-figures in the first half four times on the year. He is averaging 10.3 points on 23-of-36 (.639) shooting in the opening half of play.
• Pitt's post rotation of Michael Young, Ryan Luther, Sheldon Jeter, Alonzo Nelson-Ododa and Rafael Maia combines to average 36.8 points and 23.7 rebounds per game, while shooting 56.6 percent (82-of-145) from the field.
• Pitt's bench has been productive, averaging 31.5 points per game, in the early part of the season. The Panthers have had seven double-figure scorers off the bench. Sheldon Jeter has three double-digit scoring efforts, while Chris Jones scored a season-high 15 points off the bench against Cornell.
• James Robinson currently ranks eighth at Pitt with 469 career assists. He has recorded at least one assist in 68 straight games, the fourth-longest streak in program history. With an assist against Central Arkansas, he will match Levance Fields for the third-longest streak at Pitt.
• James Robinson has scored in double-figures in each of the past three games and is averaging 17.7 points and 7.3 assists, while shooting 15-of-27 (.550) from the field and 9-of-15 (.600) from three-point range in that span. He has scored in double-figures in four straight games once in his career.
• The Panthers have shot 50.0 percent or better from the field in three of the past four contests. Pitt is 131-5 under Jamie Dixon when shooting 50.0 percent or better from the field.
• Pitt leads the ACC in assists (21.0 apg.) and free throw percentage (.789), while also ranking second in three-point field goal percentage (.408) and assist-to-turnover ratio (2.00:1).
• Sterling Smith has three three-point field goals in three of the past four contests. He is 9-of-14 (.643) from behind the arc and averaging 9.3 points per game in that span.
• Pitt has made 10 three-point field goals in three of the past four games and is shooting 45.3 percent (34-of-75) from beyond the three-point line in that span. The trio of Jamel Artis, James Robinson and Sterling Smith is a combined 26-of-46 (.565) from three-point range over the past four games.
• Sunday's game marks Pitt's third game in a six-day span. The Panthers will play just two games in a 13-day window following the Central Arkansas contest.
• Rafael Maia made his first start of the season in the win over Duquesne. He finished with nine points, two rebounds, two assists, one block and two steals in the contest. Maia started all 80 games during his career at Brown.
• Pitt starters - Jamel Artis, Michael Young, Rafael Maia, James Robinson and Sterling Smith - were a combined 24-of-37 (.649) from the field, including 10-of-11 (.909) from three-point range, in Friday's win over Duquesne.
• Michael Young has scored in double-figures in all six games this season. The longest double-digit scoring streak of his career is seven games.
• Sterling Smith needs 23 points to reach the 1,000-point plateau in his career. He scored 934 points in three seasons at Coppin State.
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