
Panthers Return to Action Saturday Against Drexel
11/27/2020 11:23:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Pitt (0-1, 0-0 ACC) vs. Drexel (0-0, 0-0 CAA)
Saturday, Nov. 28, 2020 • 1:00 PM
ACC Network Extra • 93.7 The Fan
Pittsburgh, Pa. • Petersen Events Center
The Opening Tip
• Pitt hosts Drexel at the Petersen Events Center Saturday, Nov. 28 (1 p.m. - ACC Network Extra) in the first meeting all-time between the two schools. Kevin Wheeler and Julius Page will call the action on ACCNX.
• Pitt dropped its season opener Wednesday evening, while Drexel had its opener against Penn State postponed due to COVID-19 protocols.
• The Panthers are 157-11 all-time at the Petersen Events Center in non-conference play, including a 72-5 mark in the month of November.
• Pitt is 21-6 against teams outside the Atlantic Coast Conference under head coach Jeff Capel with a 4-1 mark following non-conference losses.
• Pitt returns three starters from a year ago in Justin Champagnie, Xavier Johnson and Au'Diese Toney. The trio combined for 41 points, 19 rebounds and 11 assists in the season opener. Toney finished with a team-high 20 points on 8-of-11 shooting from the field, including a career-best 4-of-6 from three-point range.
• The Panthers, coming off the worst shooting season in program history, struggled from the field in the opener. Outside of Toney's 8-of-11 effort, the rest of the team went 19-of-57 (.333) from the field.
• Pitt has not dropped consecutive non-conference games since Dec. 3-8, 2018.
By The Numbers
• Pitt was picked 13th in the Atlantic Coast Conference by the league's media. The Panthers return 10 letterwinners and three starters from a team that finished 16-17 overall a year ago.
• The Panthers welcome seven newcomers to the roster, including a five-player freshmen class - Max Amadasun, Noah Collier, John Hugley, William Jeffress and Femi Odukale - that ranked No. 22 (No. 5 in the ACC) in the country by Rivals.
Jeffress, Hugley, Collier, Odukale and redshirt sophomore Ithiel Horton made their Pitt debuts against Saint Francis with the group combining for 20 points and 17 rebounds in the opener.
• Justin Champagnie has scored in double figures in 24 of 34 career games and is averaging 12.7 points and 7.0 rebounds for his career.
• Xavier Johnson is 94 points shy of becoming the 47th player in program history to reach the 1,000-point plateau. Johnson is averaging 13.5 points with 51 double-figure scoring efforts in 67 career games.
• Au'Diese Toney enters the season with career averages of 8.6 points and 5.2 rebounds per game with 24 double-figure scoring efforts for his career. In Wednesday's opener, he posted the fourth 20+ point game of his career finishing with 20 points on 8-of-11 shooting from the field.
• Redshirt sophomore Ithiel Horton went 1-of-3 from three-point range and finished with five points in his first game in a Panther uniform after sitting out last season due to NCAA transfer rules. He averaged 13.2 points, 3.1 rebounds and 1.6 rebounds per game, while shooting 40.9 percent (79-of-193) from three-point range as a freshman at Delaware during the 2018-19 season.
• Pitt's post trio of John Hugley, Abdoul Karim Coulibaly and Terrell Brown combined for 16 points, 15 rebounds and three blocked shots against Saint Francis.
• Xavier Johnson is one of two returning players, along with Kihei Clark of Virginia, in the ACC to average at least 10.0 points, 3.5 rebounds and 4.5 assists per game last season. Johnson had nine points, five rebounds and 10 assists in the season opener.
• Transfer Nike Sibande averaged 15.1 points and 5.1 rebounds, while making 186 three-point field goals in 97 career games at Miami [Ohio]. His waiver for immediate eligibility is still in process as the Panthers enter their second game of the season.
• Terrell Brown ranks fourth at Pitt with 158 career blocks and is 12 shy of tying Sam Clancy for third overall in the Panther record books. He is averaging 5.0 points, 3.8 rebounds and 1.61 blocks in 98 career games (45 starts).
• John Hugley, a consensus top 100 prospect and the 80th-ranked player in the class of 2020 by Rivals, is Pitt's highest ranked recruit since 2012 (Steven Adams [5] and James Robinson [59]). He posted a team-high eight rebounds and added seven points in the opener.
• William Jeffress made his college debut at 17 years, 5 months and 22 days old, becoming the youngest ACC player to make their college debut since Brad Daughtery of North Carolina in 1982. He came off the bench to register seven points, four rebounds, one assist and one steal.
• Pitt committed 23 turnovers against Saint Francis, second-most under head coach Jeff Capel. The Panthers committed 24 turnovers in a road loss to West Virginia during the 2018-19 season.
• The Panthers recorded 22 offensive rebounds against Saint Francis, the most in a game under head coach Jeff Capel. Pitt closed the game with a 47-38 rebounding advantage but only held a 16-13 edge in second chance points.
Saturday, Nov. 28, 2020 • 1:00 PM
ACC Network Extra • 93.7 The Fan
Pittsburgh, Pa. • Petersen Events Center
The Opening Tip
• Pitt hosts Drexel at the Petersen Events Center Saturday, Nov. 28 (1 p.m. - ACC Network Extra) in the first meeting all-time between the two schools. Kevin Wheeler and Julius Page will call the action on ACCNX.
• Pitt dropped its season opener Wednesday evening, while Drexel had its opener against Penn State postponed due to COVID-19 protocols.
• The Panthers are 157-11 all-time at the Petersen Events Center in non-conference play, including a 72-5 mark in the month of November.
• Pitt is 21-6 against teams outside the Atlantic Coast Conference under head coach Jeff Capel with a 4-1 mark following non-conference losses.
• Pitt returns three starters from a year ago in Justin Champagnie, Xavier Johnson and Au'Diese Toney. The trio combined for 41 points, 19 rebounds and 11 assists in the season opener. Toney finished with a team-high 20 points on 8-of-11 shooting from the field, including a career-best 4-of-6 from three-point range.
• The Panthers, coming off the worst shooting season in program history, struggled from the field in the opener. Outside of Toney's 8-of-11 effort, the rest of the team went 19-of-57 (.333) from the field.
• Pitt has not dropped consecutive non-conference games since Dec. 3-8, 2018.
By The Numbers
• Pitt was picked 13th in the Atlantic Coast Conference by the league's media. The Panthers return 10 letterwinners and three starters from a team that finished 16-17 overall a year ago.
• The Panthers welcome seven newcomers to the roster, including a five-player freshmen class - Max Amadasun, Noah Collier, John Hugley, William Jeffress and Femi Odukale - that ranked No. 22 (No. 5 in the ACC) in the country by Rivals.
Jeffress, Hugley, Collier, Odukale and redshirt sophomore Ithiel Horton made their Pitt debuts against Saint Francis with the group combining for 20 points and 17 rebounds in the opener.
• Justin Champagnie has scored in double figures in 24 of 34 career games and is averaging 12.7 points and 7.0 rebounds for his career.
• Xavier Johnson is 94 points shy of becoming the 47th player in program history to reach the 1,000-point plateau. Johnson is averaging 13.5 points with 51 double-figure scoring efforts in 67 career games.
• Au'Diese Toney enters the season with career averages of 8.6 points and 5.2 rebounds per game with 24 double-figure scoring efforts for his career. In Wednesday's opener, he posted the fourth 20+ point game of his career finishing with 20 points on 8-of-11 shooting from the field.
• Redshirt sophomore Ithiel Horton went 1-of-3 from three-point range and finished with five points in his first game in a Panther uniform after sitting out last season due to NCAA transfer rules. He averaged 13.2 points, 3.1 rebounds and 1.6 rebounds per game, while shooting 40.9 percent (79-of-193) from three-point range as a freshman at Delaware during the 2018-19 season.
• Pitt's post trio of John Hugley, Abdoul Karim Coulibaly and Terrell Brown combined for 16 points, 15 rebounds and three blocked shots against Saint Francis.
• Xavier Johnson is one of two returning players, along with Kihei Clark of Virginia, in the ACC to average at least 10.0 points, 3.5 rebounds and 4.5 assists per game last season. Johnson had nine points, five rebounds and 10 assists in the season opener.
• Transfer Nike Sibande averaged 15.1 points and 5.1 rebounds, while making 186 three-point field goals in 97 career games at Miami [Ohio]. His waiver for immediate eligibility is still in process as the Panthers enter their second game of the season.
• Terrell Brown ranks fourth at Pitt with 158 career blocks and is 12 shy of tying Sam Clancy for third overall in the Panther record books. He is averaging 5.0 points, 3.8 rebounds and 1.61 blocks in 98 career games (45 starts).
• John Hugley, a consensus top 100 prospect and the 80th-ranked player in the class of 2020 by Rivals, is Pitt's highest ranked recruit since 2012 (Steven Adams [5] and James Robinson [59]). He posted a team-high eight rebounds and added seven points in the opener.
• William Jeffress made his college debut at 17 years, 5 months and 22 days old, becoming the youngest ACC player to make their college debut since Brad Daughtery of North Carolina in 1982. He came off the bench to register seven points, four rebounds, one assist and one steal.
• Pitt committed 23 turnovers against Saint Francis, second-most under head coach Jeff Capel. The Panthers committed 24 turnovers in a road loss to West Virginia during the 2018-19 season.
• The Panthers recorded 22 offensive rebounds against Saint Francis, the most in a game under head coach Jeff Capel. Pitt closed the game with a 47-38 rebounding advantage but only held a 16-13 edge in second chance points.
Players Mentioned
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