Panthers Face West Virginia in First Road Test Friday

Friday, November 12

Morgantown, WV

8:30 PM

Pitt

West Virginia

Panthers Face West Virginia in First Road Test Friday

11/11/2021 12:52:00 PM | Men's Basketball

Game Notes Watch (ESPNU)

Pitt (0-1, 0-0 ACC) at West Virginia (1-0, 0-0 Big 12)
Friday, Nov. 12, 2021 • 8:30 PM
Morgantown, W.V. • WVU Coliseum
ESPNU • 93.7 The Fan

THE OPENING TIP
• Pitt heads to Morgantown, W.V. for the latest installment of the Backyard Brawl Friday, Nov. 12. Tipoff from WVU Coliseum is set for 8:30 p.m. on ESPNU.
• Friday's contest marks the 188th meeting since the first season of Pitt Basketball (1905-06). The Backyard Brawl is the most played series in program history for the Panthers.
• The Panthers have dropped the past four meetings in the series but are 11-9 overall in the past 20 contests against West Virginia.
• John Hugley (27) and Femi Odukale (20) became the first pair of Pitt players to top the 20-point mark in the season opener since Michael Young and Jamel Artis accomplished that feat to open the 2016-17 season.
• Pitt was set to return three of its top six scorers from last season in the backcourt trio of Ithiel Horton (8.9 ppg., 43 3FG), Nike Sibande (6.9 ppg., .436 3FG pct.) and Femi Odukale (6.6 ppg.). Sibande was lost for the season after suffering a torn ACL in a Nov. 1 and Horton was suspended just prior to the start of the season.
• Pitt's three Division I transfer additions - Jamarius Burton (Wichita State/Texas Tech), Mouhamadou Gueye (Stony Brook), and Dan Oladapo (Oakland) have combined for 1,760 points, 1,109 rebounds, 437 assists, 162 blocks and 147 steals over 209 career games.
• The Panthers look to rebound from a season opening loss and attempt to avoid the second 0-2 start to a season in the past 25 seasons.

BY THE NUMBERS
• Pitt has won two of the past three Backyard Brawl meetings at the WVU Coliseum. Friday's contest will be just the second trip for the Panthers to the venue in the past 10 seasons.
• John Hugley returns for the 2021-22 season after missing the final 15 games last season due to suspension. In the season opener, he posted his first career double-double with 27 points and 10 rebounds.
• Femi Odukale has scored 20 or more points in each of the past three games in a Pitt jersey. He posted a career-best 28 points last season in the ACC Tournament against Miami, while scoring 20 points in Pitt's exhibition game win over Gannon as well as the season opener versus The Citadel.
• John Hugley (27) and Femi Odukale (20) combined for 75 percent (47-of-63) of the team's scoring in the season opener. The tandem went 18-of-34 (.529) from the field, while the rest of the team combined to go 5-of-26 (.192) from the field.
• Pitt is currently playing without its top five scorers from a season ago with a season-ending injury to Nike Sibande, a suspension of Ithiel Horton, the departure of Justin Champagnie to the NBA and two offseason transfers. Femi Odukale (6.6 ppg.) and John Hugley (5.1 ppg.) are the only returning players to average better than 5.0 points per game last season.
• Mouhamadou Gueye was named America East Defensive Player of the Year last season at Stony Brook after ranking fifth in the NCAA with 3.1 blocks per game. He also averaged 9.7 points and 7.1 rebounds per game a year ago. Gueye had eight rebounds in the season opener and has now grabbed five or more rebounds in 43 of 55 career games.
• Jamarius Burton has been sidelined since undergoing a procedure on his left knee Oct. 8. The Charlotte, N.C., native is averaging 7.0 points, 3.0 rebounds and 2.8 assists per game over 90 career games at Wichita State and Texas Tech. The combo guard averaged a career-best 10.3 points per game as a sophomore at Wichita State during the 2019-20 season.
• The Panthers, one of the top rebounding teams in the ACC last season, will need to replace 72.6 percent (27.8 of 38.3) of its rebounding from a year ago. John Hugley is the leading returning rebounder at 4.3 rpg., while newcomers Dan Oladapo and Mouhamadou Gueye combined to average 15.9 rebounds per game last season at the Divsion I level. Hugley (10) and Gueye (8) combined for 18 of the team's 43 rebounds in the opener.
• Femi Odukale is averaging 15.1 points and 4.4 rebounds per game, while shooting 49.4 percent (38-of-77) from the field in seven career games when playing over 25 minutes.
• The Panthers played the season opener with one scholarship guard due to injuries to Jamarius Burton and Nike Sibande along with the suspension of Ithiel Horton. Walk-on Onyebuchi Ezeakudo stepped up to post career highs in minutes (23), rebounds (3) and assists (3) against The Citadel.
• Pitt is looking to avoid a sixth consecutive losing season in 2021-22. The Panthers have not posted six straight sub-.500 seasons since a span from 1947-52.
• Pitt is 23-7 (.767) against teams outside the Atlantic Coast Conference under head coach Jeff Capel.
• 90 of the previous 187 games in the Pitt-West Virginia series have been decided by fewer than 10 points.

PANTHER SPOTLIGHTS
• John Hugley posted 27 points and 10 rebounds in the season opener to become just the third Panther to record 25+ points and 10+ rebounds in the opening game of the season since 1986-87.
• Femi Odukale has scored 15 or more points in four of seven career games when playing 25 or more minutes. He tallied 20 points on 8-of-14 shooting in 36 minutes in the season opener.