Panthers Host Nicholls State Saturday at Noon

Pitt (1-0, 1-0 ACC) vs. Nicholls State (0-1, 0-0 Southland)
Saturday, November 9, 2019
12:00 PM • ACC Network Extra
Pittsburgh, Pa. • Petersen Events Center

The Opening Tip
• Pitt opens non-conference play against Nicholls State Saturday, Nov. 9 at the Petersen Events Center (12 p.m. - ACC Network Extra).
• Saturday's contest is the first meeting between the two schools. Pitt is 8-2 all-time against teams currently in the Southland Conference.
• The Panthers had four double-figure scorers in Wednesday's season opening win over ACC foe Florida State. Xavier Johnson, Terrell Brown and Ryan Murphy each scored 13 points to lead Pitt in the contest.
• 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 252-59 (.810) all-time at the Petersen Events Center. The 252 home wins since the building opened for the 2002-03 season ranks as sixth most in the NCAA in that span.
• 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 is 70-2 all-time in the month of November at the Petersen Events Center, with the lone losses coming against Long Beach State, 86-76, Nov. 16, 2011 and Montana, 83-78 (OT), Nov. 13, 2017.
• Jeff Capel has guided his teams to a 113-35 (.764) home record during his coaching career. His teams have won 11 or more home contests in each of his 10 seasons as a head coach.
• 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 accounted for 36 of the team's 63 points in the season opener.
• 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, contributed six points and three rebounds in the opener.
• Trey McGowens matched a career high with seven rebounds in Wednesday's win over Florida State. He also posted a team-high five assists in the contest.
• Terrell Brown is one blocked shot shy of moving into the top 10 in Pitt career blocks chart. He has 107 blocks in 65 career games.
• 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 became the first Pitt player to earn All-ACC Freshman Team honors. He set Pitt freshman records for scoring, double-figure scoring games, 20-point scoring games and free throws made.
• Trey McGowens set a Pitt freshman record last season with 33 points in a Jan. 9 win over Louisville. He finished the season with three of the top five freshman scoring games in program history and is the only Pitt freshman to record two 30-point games in a season.
• Xavier Johnson drew three offensive fouls in the season opener and has drawn 28 offensive fouls in 34 career games.
• Pitt went 16-of-51 (.314) from the field in its season opening win over Florida State. The 16 made field goals were the fewest made field goals in a win by the Panthers since last season when they made 16 field goals in a 75-62 win over the Seminoles.
• The post tandem of Terrell Brown and Eric Hamilton combined for 19 points on 6-of-7 shooting from the field and 7-of-9 from the foul line against Florida State. The duo added six rebounds, including five offensive boards in the win.
• Justin Champagnie recorded eight points and five rebounds over the final 13 minutes of action in the win over the Seminoles. He made a three-point field goal with 4:37 remaining in the contest to give Pitt a lead it would not relinquish.

Last Time Out
• Pitt opened the season with a 63-61 win over ACC opponent Florida State Wednesday at the Petersen Events Center. The Panthers overcame a nine-point second half deficit to improve to 17-1 in home openers at the Pete.
• Pitt had four double-figures scorers against the Seminoles as Xavier Johnson, Terrell Brown and Ryan Murphy each scored a team-high 13 points.
• Brown went 4-of-4 from the field and 3-of-4 from the foul line to score 11 points in the second half of play. He had a three-point play with 2:00 remaining to give the Panthers a 59-56 lead.
• Murphy went 3-of-6 from three-point range and 4-of-4 from the foul line to register his sixth Division I double-figure scoring game. He matched a career high with four rebounds and added three assists in the win.
• Johnson tallied 13 points, six rebounds and two steals against the Seminoles. He has now scored in double figures in 29 of 34 career games.
• Trey McGowens stuffed the stat sheet with 10 points, seven rebounds and five assists, while Justin Champagnie had eight points and six rebounds in his Pitt debut.
• Pitt used a 12-0 run in a 2:33 span (12:35-10:02) to erase a nine-point second half deficit. The Panthers went 3-of-3 from the field and 4-of-4 from the foul line during the run.

Panthers Host Nicholls State Saturday at Noon

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Players Mentioned

Terrell Brown

Justin Champagnie

Eric Hamilton

Xavier Johnson

Trey McGowens

Ryan Murphy