Panthers Face Notre Dame in ACC Home Opener Tuesday Night

Pitt (5-7, 0-1 ACC) vs. Notre Dame (6-5, 0-1 ACC)
Tuesday, Dec. 28, 2021 • 8:00 PM
Pittsburgh, Pa. • Petersen Events Center
ACC Network • 93.7 The Fan

The Opening Tip
• Pitt hosts Notre Dame Tuesday, Dec. 28 at the Petersen Events Center in its ACC home opener. Tipoff is set for 8 p.m. with Doug Sherman and Chris Spatola calling the action on the ACC Network.
• Pitt is 3-5 all-time in ACC home openers, including a 1-2 mark under Jeff Capel.
• The Panthers have held five of its past six opponents to fewer than 60 points scored and are allowing just 57.8 points per game in that span.
• Pitt has held its past six opponents to 6.2 three-point field goal per game and 29.6 percent (37-of-125) shooting from beyond the arc. The Panthers' opposition made 59 threes (9.8 3pg.) over the first six contests of the season.
• Mouhamadou Gueye has scored in double figures in three of the past four games. He is averaging 11.0 points, 6.5 rebounds and 2.5 blocks per game in that span.
• John Hugley has scored in double figures a team-best eight times. He leads Pitt in scoring (14.5 ppg.), rebounds (8.1 rpg.), offensive rebounds (36), field goals (57), field goal attempts (130), free throws made (57) and free throw attempts (82).
• Jamarius Burton has scored in double figures in each of the past five games and is averaging 14.2 points and 3.8 rebounds per game in that span. Burton's teams are 24-9 all-time when he scores 10 or more points in a game.

By The Numbers
• John Hugley has scored 20 or more points four times and also has four double-doubles on the season. He currently ranks among the league leaders in scoring (16th - 14.5 ppg.), rebounds (T-4th - 8.1 rpg.) and offensive rebounds (2nd - 3.00 orpg.).
• Femi Odukale has made a three-point field goal in a game six times. He has scored in double figures in five of the six games he has made a three. Odukale is averaging 16.5 points per game in contests he makes at least one three-point field goal.
• Jamarius Burton is averaging 11.1 points, 2.4 rebounds and 2.3 assists in a team-high 32.8 minutes per game in 10 games played. He missed five weeks of preseason action as well as Pitt's first two games of the season due to injury. Burton has scored 10+ points in each of the past five games and 32 times in his career.
• Mouhamadou Gueye is averaging 10.6 points, 7.3 rebounds and 2.3 blocks in seven games when playing 25 minutes or more. He has scored in double figures in five of the seven contests, including a season high matching 15 points in each of the past two games.
• Pitt is 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. The tandem has combined for 14 double-figure scoring games and an average of 26.9 points per game.
• John Hugley has gotten to the free throw line 55 times in the past seven games. He leads the league in free throws made (57) and free throw attempts (82), while shooting 69.5 percent from the charity stripe.
• Femi Odukale is 35-of-49 (.714) from the foul line over the past seven games. He has made seven free throws in a game three times during that stretch. Odukale ranks third in the ACC in free throw attempts (76) and tied for fifth in made free throws (47) for the season.
• Pitt is averaging 24.9 points in the paint and 15.2 points from the foul line per game. Interior scoring and foul shots have accounted for 65.9 percent (480-of-728) of the team's points this season.
• Pitt has more made free throws (182) than its opponents have attempted (169) on the season. The Panthers rank second in the ACC with 23.1 free throw attempts per game and have outscored the opposition by 70 points from the free throw line.
• Pitt's sophomore class - Noah Collier, John Hugley, William Jeffress and Femi Odukale - combines to average 34.0 points and 18.7 rebounds per game for the Panthers. Odukale (30.9), Jeffress (30.3 mpg.) and Hugley (29.0 mpg.) are three of the top four Panthers in minutes played per game and have combined to make 33 starts.
• The Panthers have not been outrebounded in a game this season. Pitt ranks third in the ACC in rebounding margin (+5.75), while leading the conference in offensive rebound percentage (.341).
• Pitt ranks fifth in the ACC with 37.0 rebounds per game. The starting frontcourt of John Hugley (8.1 rpg.), Mouhamadou Gueye (6.1 rpg.) and William Jeffress (4.9 rpg.) combine for 51.6 percent of the team's rebounding average.
• Seven of the 11 meetings betweeen Pitt and Notre Dame at the Petersen Events Center have been decided by five points or fewer. The Panthers are 5-2 in those contests, including a 56-53 win under Jeff Capel March 9, 2019.

Panther Spotlights
• John Hugley has grabbed seven or more rebounds in seven of eight games when playing at least 25 minutes. He is averaging 9.4 rebounds per game (3.5 orpg.) in those contests.
• Mouhamadou Gueye is averaging 15.0 points, 9.0 rebounds and 3.5 blocks per game in the past two contests. He is 10-of-18 (.556) from the field, including 3-of-6 (.500) from three-point range in that span.

Panthers Face Notre Dame in ACC Home Opener Tuesday Night

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Players Mentioned

Jamarius Burton

Justin Champagnie

Noah Collier

Mouhamadou Gueye

Ithiel Horton

John Hugley IV

William Jeffress

Femi Odukale

Nike Sibande