Panthers Return to Action Tuesday at Robert Morris

Pitt (1-1, 1-0 ACC) at Robert Morris (0-2, 0-0 NEC)
Tuesday, November 12, 2019
6:00 PM • ESPNU
Moon Township, Pa. • Peoples Court at UPMC Events Center

The Opening Tip
• Pitt makes the short trip to Moon Township, Pa., to face Robert Morris in the inaugural basketball game at Peoples Court at the UPMC Events Center Tuesday, Nov. 12. Tipoff is set for 6 p.m. with the game being broadcast nationally on ESPNU.
• Pitt has won the previous 30 meetings between the two schools. Tuesday's contest marks the first road game in the series for the Panthers.
• The Panthers have four players averaging in double figures with Ryan Murphy leading the way at 20.5 points per game.
• Pitt returns a pair of double-figure scorers from last season in Xavier Johnson (15.5 ppg.) and Trey McGowens (11.6 ppg.). The sophomore backcourt tandem is the fourth leading returning scoring tandem in the ACC.
• The Panthers are looking to snap a string of 24 consecutive road losses. Pitt's last win in a true road game was Feb. 8, 2017 at Boston College (83-72).
• The Panthers were picked to finish 10th in the ACC by the league's media in attendance at ACC Media Day in Charlotte in early October.

By The Numbers
• Pitt has won all 30 previous meetings against Robert Morris with 29 of the victories coming by 10 or more points. The Panthers' 71-63 win Dec. 30, 1980 is the closest margin in series history.
• Pitt is 73-1 all-time against teams currently in the Northeast Conference. The Panthers have won each of the past three games against NEC opponents following a 59-54 loss to Wagner Dec. 20, 2011.
• Pitt, Georgia Tech and Notre Dame are the only schools in the ACC to return season leaders in points, rebounds, blocks and steals from a year ago.
• Pitt returns three of its top four scorers and 63.3 percent of its scoring (1,460-of-2,306) from last season. Returnees are accounting for 48.9 percent (65-of-133) of the Panthers' scoring through two games.
• Ryan Murphy is tied for sixth in the ACC in scoring at 20.5 points per game. He also ranks among the conference leaders in field goal percentage (10th), free throw percentage (9th), three-point percentage (6th) and three-point field goals (T-4th).
• Xavier Johnson has scored in double figures in 30 of 35 career games. He has scored 10 or more points in all 14 games against non-conference opponents since arriving at Pitt.
• Terrell Brown is averaging 10.5 points, 4.0 rebounds and 3.0 blocks per game, while shooting 88.9 percent (8-of-9) from the field. Brown has made eight consecutive shots from the field.
• Sophomore Xavier Johnson was the only player in the ACC to average at least 15.0 points and 4.5 assists per game last season. Johnson is the third leading returning scorer in the ACC after averaging 15.5 points per game a year ago.
• Graduate transfer forward Eric Hamilton joined the program after averaging 6.1 points and 4.4 rebounds per game last season at UNC Greensboro. Hamilton, who has helped teams reach postseason play in each of his previous four seasons at Wichita State and UNC Greensboro, shares the team lead with 2.5 offensive rebounds per game.
• Trey McGowens is averaging 10.0 points, a team-high 6.0 rebounds and 3.5 assists per game. He had a team-high seven rebounds and five assists in the season opening win over Florida State.
• Terrell Brown ranks seventh at Pitt with 112 career blocked shots. He is three blocks shy of passing Gary McGhee for sixth on the all-time list.
• The Panthers led the ACC with 16.5 made free throws per game and made 20 or more free throws in a game 11 times a year ago. Pitt made 22 free throws in the season opener and improved to 8-4 under Jeff Capel when making 20 or more free throws in a game.
• Xavier Johnson has drawn five offensive fouls through two games and has drawn 30 offensive fouls in 35 career games.
• The post tandem of Terrell Brown and Eric Hamilton combines to average 15.0 points and 6.5 rebounds per game, while going 11-of-13 (.846) from the field.
• Pitt reserves are averaging 37.5 points per game and accounting for 56.4 percent of the team's scoring. Ryan Murphy (20.5 ppg.) and Terrell Brown (10.5 ppg.) are both averaging double figures in scoring off the bench.
• Pitt is shooting 59.4 percent (19-of-32) from inside the three-point arc in the second half of play. The Panther made 14-of-20 second half two-point attempts against Nicholls State.

Last Time Out
• Pitt committed 21 turnovers and was outscored by 21 points from beyond the three-point arc in a 75-70 loss to Nicholls State Saturday, Nov. 9.
• The Panthers fell behind 9-1 early in the contest and trailed by 10 at the half until mounting a second half charge. Pitt had a chance to take the lead or tie the contest two times in the final 30 seconds of play but committed turnovers on both possessions.
• Ryan Murphy led the Panthers with a career-high 28 points to go along with five rebounds, three assists and two steals. He went 10-of-17 from the field, including 4-of-7 from three-point range, and 4-of-6 from the foul line in the loss.
• Terrell Brown went 4-of-4 from the field and finished with eight points, five rebounds and five blocked shots. He moved into the top 10 at Pitt with 112 career blocks.
• Xavier Johnson and Trey McGowens each recorded 10 points and five rebounds in the contest.
• Pitt shot 56.7 percent (17-of-30) from the field in the second half of play, while limiting Nicholls State to 33.3 percent (11-of-33) shooting after halftime.
• Nicholls State went 11-of-24 from three-point range as Kevin Johnson and D'Angelo Hunter combined to go 7-of-14 from beyond the arc.
• Pitt posted a 40-20 edge in points in the paint.

Panthers Return to Action Tuesday at Robert Morris

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Players Mentioned

Terrell Brown

Eric Hamilton

Xavier Johnson

Trey McGowens

Ryan Murphy