GAME NOTES: Pitt to Face Duquesne in City Game Friday
12/1/2016 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Game Notes (PDF)
Press Conferences: Stallings l Jones l Young
Pitt (6-1, 0-0 ACC) vs. Duquesne (3-5, 0-0 Atlantic 10)
Friday, Dec. 2, 2016 • 7:00 p.m. • ACC Network Extra
Pittsburgh, Pa. • PPG Paints Arena (19,100)
The Opening Tip
• Pitt faces Duquesne Friday, Dec. 2 in the City Game at PPG Paints Arena. Tip-off is slated for 7 p.m. with the game broadcast on ACC Network Extra and the WatchESPN app.
• The Panthers have won 15 consecutive games against Duquesne with the past six wins coming at PPG Paints Arena (formerly the CONSOL Energy Center).
• Michael Young has led Pitt in scoring in six of its seven games this season, including each of the past six contests. He enters the game ranked seventh in the country in scoring at 23.6 points per game.
Last Time Out
• Pitt posted an impressive 73-59 road win over Maryland Tuesday in an ACC-Big Ten Challenge contest. The Panthers jumped out to a 45-24 halftime lead and held a double-digit lead for over 23 minutes of the contest.
• Michael Young recorded his fifth straight 20-point game to pace the Panthers. He finished with 25 points and nine rebounds, while going 9-of-10 from the free throw line.
• Jamel Artis added 22 points, six rebounds, three assists and two steals in the win. He got the Panthers off to a terrific start with 15 points in the opening half, including 11 points during a 30-8 run to close the half.
• Cameron Johnson also scored in double figures in the win. He finished with 11 points in a career-high 35 minutes of action.
• Pitt shot 66.7 percent (18-of-27) from the field in the opening half of play, while also scoring 16 points off 10 Maryland turnovers. The Panthers scored on 14 of their final 18 possessions in the opening half.
By the Numbers
• Pitt and Duquesne played the first basketball game at PPG Paints Arena (formerly CONSOL Energy Center) Dec. 1, 2001. The Panthers came away with an 80-66 victory as Ashton Gibbs scored a team-high 22 points.
• Pitt is 121-66 (.647) all-time against teams currently in the Atlantic 10 conference. The Panthers have won 13 consecutive regular season contests versus A-10 opponents.
• Pitt's 391 wins since the start of the 2001-02 season are the 10th-most in the NCAA. The Panthers have 14 20+ win seasons in that span.
• Pitt has allowed a season-low in points in each of the past six games since allowing 90 points in the season opener. The Panthers held Maryland to 59 points on 34.4 percent (21-of-61) shooting in their last outing.
• Michael Young has topped the 20-point mark in each of the past five games, marking the first time in his career he has recorded five consecutive 20-point games. The last Pitt player to score 20 or more points in six straight games was Brian Shorter during the 1989-90 season.
• Michael Young (23.6 ppg.) and Jamel Artis (19.7) rank first and second in the ACC in scoring. The duo has combined for 50 or more points in a game twice this season and both players have topped the 20-point mark in the same game five times.
• Either Jamel Artis or Michael Young have led the Panthers in scoring in 34 of the past 40 games, including all seven games this season.
• Pitt has four rotation players - Sheldon Jeter, Cameron Johnson, Ryan Luther and Michael Young - from the Greater Pittsburgh area. The quartet combines to average 46.9 points and 23.3 rebounds per game.
• Seniors - Jamel Artis, Sheldon Jeter, Chris Jones and Michael Young - have accounted for 69.5 percent (390-of-561) of Pitt's scoring through five games. The group combined for 75 points in the season opener and 68 points in a come-from-behind win over Marquette.
• Michael Young ranks second in the ACC and seventh in the country in KenPom.com offensive rating at 122.7 points per 100 possessions (minimum 28% of possessions used).
• Chris Jones leads he ACC in assist-to-turnover ratio (5.50:1). He has recorded 22 assists with just four turnovers through the first seven games of the season. He entered the year with a career 1.76:1 assist-to-turnover ratio.
• Michael Young (23.6 ppg.) and Jamel Artis (19.7) comprise the leading scoring tandem in the ACC at 43.3 points per game. The duo has delivered 54.0 percent (303-of-561) of the team's scoring through seven games.
• Cameron Johnson is averaging 14.0 points and 4.3 rebounds per game over the past three contests. He is 9-of-16 (.563) from behind the arc in that span. Johnson was recently named an Allstate NABC Good Works Team nominee.
• Michael Young is one of four players in the NCAA averaging over 20.0 points, 8.0 rebounds and 2.5 assists per game. He is joined on the list by Evan Bradds (Belmont), Patrick Cole (NC Central) and Dedric Lawson (Memphis).
• Pitt's backcourt group of Jamel Artis, Cameron Johnson, Chris Jones, Justice Kithcart and Jonathan Milligan have combined for 75 assists and 31 turnovers (2.42:1 assist-to-turnover ratio). The Panthers are replacing four-year starter James Robinson, who concluded his career as the NCAA record holder with a 3.45:1 assist-to-turnover ratio.
• Ryan Luther is second on the team with a +35 scoring margin over 145 minutes of action. Pitt is a +9.62 points per 40 minutes with Luther in the game. He has been the first player off the bench five times and is averaging 6.3 points and 3.9 rebounds per game.
• The Panthers are averaging 19.3 made free throws per game and have made more free throws (135) than their opponents have attempted (105) on the year. Pitt leads the ACC in free throws made per game, while ranking fifth in free throw percentage (.730).
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