Pitt on the Road to Face No. 14 Virginia Saturday on ESPN

Pitt (9-5, 5-4 ACC) at [14/15] Virginia (12-3, 8-1 ACC)
Saturday, Feb. 6, 2021 • 4:00 PM
ESPN • 93.7 The Fan
Charlottesville, Va. • John Paul Jones Arena

The Opening Tip
• Pitt faces [14/15] Virginia at John Paul Jones Arena Saturday, Feb. 6 at 4 p.m. on ESPN. The Panthers were originally scheduled to make the trip to Virginia Feb. 24 before COVID-19 issues at Florida State and Louisville prompted a series of scheduling changes by the league office.
• The Panthers have dropped 11 consecutive meetings and are 2-16 all-time against teams ranked 14th in the AP Poll. Pitt's last win over the No. 14 team in the poll was Feb. 19, 1983 against Georgetown, 65-63, at Fitzgerald Field House.
• Pitt is 3-1 on the road with wins over Northwestern, Miami and Syracuse. The Panthers have had three other road contests postponed due to COVID-19 issues.
• The Panthers are facing a ranked opponent for the second consecutive contest. Pitt last played back-to-back games against ranked foes during the 2018-19 season.
• Justin Champagnie, Xavier Johnson and Au'Diese Toney combine to average 48.4 points, 22.0 rebounds and 10.4 assists per game. The trio has registered 31 double-figure scoring games, including 13 games with 20 or more points scored, and 10 double-doubles.
• Justin Champagnie leads the ACC with eight double-doubles, including six games with 20+ points and 10+ rebounds. He is tied for eighth in the NCAA in rebounds (12.2 rpg.) and eighth in double-doubles (8).

By The Numbers
• Saturday's contest is the middle game of a three-game stretch against teams with a combined conference record of 21-7. Pitt is slated to play three of the top four teams in the ACC standings in that stretch.
• The Panthers have dropped six consecutive games against teams ranked in the top 15 of the AP Poll. Pitt's last victory over a top-15 foe was a 75-62 win over No. 11 Florida State Jan. 14, 2019.
• Pitt is tied for 17th in the NCAA rebounds per game (40.5 rpg.) and has outrebounded 10 of its 14 opponents. The Panthers are 7-3 on the season and 21-10 under Jeff Capel when outrebounding the opposition.
• Pitt ranks second in the ACC (22nd nationally) in offensive rebounds (13.0 orpg.) and third in offensive rebound percentage (.342). The Panthers have a +72 scoring margin in second chance points for the season.
• The Panthers rank second in the ACC in three-point field goal defense (.302) and has held nine opponents to under 30 percent shooting from beyond the three-point arc.
• Au'Diese Toney is averaging 12.5 points per game on 11-of-15 (.733) shooting from the field in two career games against Virginia.
• Justin Champagnie is one of three players (along with Derek Culver, West Virginia and Kofi Cockburn, Illinois) from a major conference school averaging a double-double for the season. He is one of three players in the NCAA averaging better than 18 points and 10 rebounds per game.
• Au'Diese Toney has scored in double figures 10 times with seven games with 15 or more points scored. Pitt has won the past six games when Toney tops the 15-point mark. The Panthers are 22-11 over the past three seasons, including an 8-2 mark in 2020-21, when Toney scores 10 or more points in a game.
• Abdoul Karim Coulibaly is averaging 7.8 points and 4.4 rebounds per game, while going 13-of-24 (.542) from the field and 12-of-16 (.750) from the foul line over the past five games.
• Xavier Johnson is 36-of-42 (.857) from the foul line in conference play. He ranks sixth in the ACC in free throw percentage (.797 - 59-of-74) for the season.
• Justin Champagnie is attempting to become the first Panther to average a double-double for the season since DeJuan Blair (2008-09). Pitt has not had a player average better than 18 points and 10 rebounds per game since Billy Knight (1973-74).
• Au'Diese Toney is averaging a career-best 14.6 points and 6.0 rebounds per game. He is tied for 10th in the ACC in offensive rebounds (2.46 orpg.) and leads the conference in free throw attempts per game (5.9 ftpg.).
• Xavier Johnson has recorded seven or more assists in six of the past seven games and nine times overall. He leads the ACC and ranks 14th nationally in assists (6.1 apg.). Johnson is attempting to become the first Panther to average more than 6.0 assists per game since Tray Woodall (2010-11).
• Justin Champagnie has recorded a double-double in five of the past six games. He is averaging 20.7 points, 12.0 rebounds, 1.8 blocks and 1.7 steals per game in that span.
• Ithiel Horton is averaging 11.1 points per game, while shooting 40.0 percent (22-of-55) from three-point range in conference play. He has made three or more three-point field goals in five of Pitt's nine ACC contests.
• Femi Odukale is averaging 6.6 points, 2.9 rebounds and 2.4 assists in 18.3 minutes per game over the past eight contests. He recorded seven points and four rebounds in his first career start Wednesday against No. 16 Virginia Tech.

This Game Is No Secret
• College Insider, Inc. created "Eracism," a social inclusion movement committed to bringing forth change through education, awareness, and action with current and former college basketball coaches leading the way.
• "This Game is No Secret" weekend (Feb. 5-7) pays homage to Coach John McLendon and brings attention to the "Secret Game" in 1944. Additional information on the initiative is available at https://adobe.ly/3jmtk1V.

Pitt on the Road to Face No. 14 Virginia Saturday on ESPN

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Players Mentioned

Justin Champagnie

Abdoul Karim Coulibaly

Ithiel Horton

Xavier Johnson

Femi Odukale

Au'Diese Toney