Panthers Open 2022 at Louisville Wednesday

Pitt (5-8, 0-2 ACC) at Louisville (9-4, 3-0 ACC)
Wednesday, Jan. 5, 2022 • 7:00 PM
Louisville, Ky. • KFC YUM! Center
ESPNU • 93.7 The Fan

The Opening Tip
• Pitt travels to Louisville to face the Cardinals at the KFC YUM! Center Wednesday, Jan. 5. Game time is set for 7 p.m. with Mike Couzens and Randolph Childress calling the action on ESPNU.
• Pitt had its last game, Jan. 1 at Virginia Tech, postponed due to COVID issues within the Hokie program.
• The Panthers have held five of its past seven opponents to fewer than 60 points scored and are allowing just 59.3 points per game in that span.
• Pitt has held its past seven opponents to 6.7 three-point field goals per game and 32.0 percent (47-of-147) 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 four of the past five games and is averaging 11.6 points, 6.2 rebounds and 2.4 blocks per game in that span.
• John Hugley has scored in double figures a team-best nine times. He leads Pitt in scoring (14.8 ppg.), rebounds (7.9 rpg.), offensive rebounds (36), field goals (62), field goal attempts (140), free throws made (65) and free throw attempts (91).
• Jamarius Burton has scored in double figures in each of the past six games and is averaging a team-high 14.3 points and 3.8 rebounds per game in that span. He has scored 15 or more points in three of the past six contests.

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 (T-14th - 14.8 ppg.), rebounds (4th - 7.9 rpg.) and offensive rebounds (3rd - 2.77 orpg.).
• Jamarius Burton is averaging 11.5 points, 2.9 rebounds and 2.3 assists in a team-high 33.0 minutes per game in 11 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 six games and 34 times in his career.
• Mouhamadou Gueye is averaging 11.0 points, 7.0 rebounds and 2.3 blocks in eight games when playing 25 minutes or more. He has scored in double figures and blocked two or more shots in six of the eight contests.
• Pitt has played 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 16 double-figure scoring games and an average of 27.2 points per game.
• John Hugley has gotten to the free throw line 64 times in the past eight games. He leads the league in free throw attempts (7.0 ftapg.) and is second in free throws made (5.0 ftmpg.), while shooting 71.4 percent from the charity stripe.
• Femi Odukale is 40-of-56 (.714) from the foul line over the past eight games. He has made seven free throws in a game three times during that stretch. Odukale ranks second in the ACC in free throw attempts (6.9 ftapg.) and fourth in made free throws (4.3 ftmpg.) for the season.
• Ithiel Horton was reinstated to the program Dec. 30 after missing the first 13 games of the season due to suspension. He is the Panthers leading returning scorer after averaging 8.9 points and making a team-high 43 three-point field goals last season.
• Pitt's sophomore class - Noah Collier, John Hugley, William Jeffress and Femi Odukale - combines to average 34.3 points and 18.3 rebounds per game for the Panthers. Odukale (31.6), Jeffress (30.8 mpg.) and Hugley (29.4 mpg.) are three of the top four Panthers in minutes played per game and have combined to make 36 starts.
• 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-pointer.
• Pitt has more made free throws (198) than its opponents have attempted (186) on the season. The Panthers lead the ACC with 23.0 free throw attempts per game and have outscored the opposition by 70 points from the free throw line.
• The Panthers have been outrebounded just one time this season. Pitt ranks fifth in the ACC in rebounding margin (+4.85) with the starting frontcourt of John Hugley (7.9 rpg.), Mouhamadou Gueye (6.0 rpg.) and William Jeffress (4.7 rpg.) combining for 51.4 percent of the team's rebounds.
• Pitt is averaging 25.1 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 (524-of-795) of the team's points this season.
• Pitt has dropped six consecutive ACC road contests dating back to a 63-60 win at the Carrier Dome last season. Five of the six losses have been by seven points or fewer, including a pair of one-point defeats.

Panther Spotlights
• Mouhamadou Gueye is averaging 14.7 points, 7.7 rebounds and 3.0 blocks per game in the past three contests. He is 15-of-30 (.500) from the field, including 6-of-12 (.500) from three-point range, and 8-of-10 (.800) from the foul line in that span.
• Jamarius Burton has scored 15 or more points in three of the past four games. He is averaging 15.5 points, 3.8 rebounds and 1.8 steals per game, while shooting 45.1 percent (23-of-51) from the field, in that stretch.

Panthers Open 2022 at Louisville Wednesday

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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