Pitt on the Road to Face North Carolina Wednesday

[rv/rv] Pitt (15-7, 8-3 ACC) at [rv/rv] North Carolina (15-6, 7-3 ACC)
Wednesday, February 1, 2023 • 7:00 PM
Chapel Hill, N.C. • Dean E. Smith Center
ACC Network • 93.7 The Fan

THE OPENING TIP
• Pitt is on the road to face North Carolina Wednesday, Feb. 1 at the Dean E. Smith Center. Tipoff is set for 7 p.m. with Wes Durham and Dan Bonner calling the game on the ACC Network.
• Pitt has won four of the past five meetings against North Carolina, including a 76-74 decision this season at the Petersen Events Center.
• The Panthers are 5-2 in true road games, including a 4-1 mark in ACC play. Pitt is one of three ACC teams (along with Clemson and Virginia) with a winning record on the road.
• Pitt ranks 62nd in the latest NCAA Net rankings. The Panthers are 3-2 in Quad 1 games with wins at Northwestern, at NC State, and against Virginia. Pitt also has Quad 2 wins over ACC opponents Miami, North Carolina, Wake Forest, and at Syracuse.
• Blake Hinson has posted 20 double-figure scoring games, including 13 games with 15 or more points and six 20+ point games. He is the only player in the ACC averaging 16.0 or more points (16.4 ppg.) and 6.0 or more rebounds per game (6.5 rpg.) with 50 or more three-point field goals (57 3FG).
• Jamarius Burton is averaging 17.9 points, 4.5 rebounds, and 5.3 assists per game in conference play. He is shooting 51.7 percent (76-of-147) from the field and 90.7 percent (39-of-43) from the foul line in ACC play.
• Greg Elliott is averaging 15.3 and 4.5 rebounds, while going 15-of-29 (.517) from three-point range, over the past four games. He has a career-best 50 threes and is shooting 40.7 percent from beyond the arc on the season.

BY THE NUMBERS
• Pitt has won 14 of its past 18 games with its 14 wins since Nov. 20 tied for 14th most (tied for 8th most among power conference teams) in the NCAA in that span.
• The Panthers' backcourt quartet of Jamarius Burton, Nelly Cummings, Greg Elliott, and Nike Sibande has combined for 5,265 points in 13,756 minutes over 530 career games. Pitt is one of four programs (along with UAB, Chattanooga, and Texas) in the NCAA with four or more players with 130+ games played.
• Pitt is 11-2 on the season when winning the rebounding battle. The Panthers rank third in the ACC in rebound margin (+3.27) but have a -7.0 rebound margin in their seven losses. North Carolina enters Wednesday's matchup second in the ACC in rebound margin (+5.05).
• Pitt is tied for second in the ACC in three-point field goals (9.14 3pg.) with Blake Hinson (2.59 3pg. - 5th) and Greg Elliott (2.27 3pg. - T-9th) both ranking among the league leaders in threes per game. A year ago, the Panthers were 14th in the ACC at just 5.38 three-point field goals per game.
• The Panthers and NC State are the only teams in the ACC with two players with 50 or more threes on the season. Blake Hinson (57) and Greg Elliott (50) each have 50 or more made threes while Nelly Cummings has 36 three-point field goals. The transfer trio is attempted to become the eighth trio at Pitt to each make 40 or more threes in a season.
• The Panthers have had a 20+ point scorer in five consecutive games with four different players scoring 20 or more points and leading the team in scoring in that span.
• Blake Hinson leads the Panthers in scoring (16.4 ppg.), rebounds (6.5 rpg.), double-doubles (4), double-figure scoring games (20), 20+ point games (6), three-point field goals (57). Pitt has not had a single player lead the team in points, rebounds, and three-point field goals in a season.
• Jamarius Burton is one of three players in the NCAA averaging at least 16.0 points, 4.5 rebounds, and 4.5 assists per game, while shooting over 50 percent from the field. He is looking to become just the fourth player in program history to average 15+ points, 4+ rebounds, and 4+ assists per game for a season.
• Federiko Federiko is shooting a team-high 64.4 percent (56-of-87) from the field, while also leading the Panthers in offensive rebounds (55), blocks (39), and dunks (23).
• Nelly Cummings is tied for eighth in the ACC in assists (4.4 apg.) and fourth in assist-to-turnover ratio (2.26:1). Pitt is 10-2 on the season when he records five or more assists in a game.
• Blake Hinson is averaging 20.3 points and 7.0 rebounds per game, while going 17-of-34 (.500) from three-point range in that span.
• The Panthers' starting backcourt of Nelly Cummings and Jamarius Burton has combined for 2,661 points, 774 rebounds, 739 assists, and 226 steals in 271 career games. The tandem is combining to average 26.3 points, 7.4 rebounds, and 9.2 assists per game.
• Federiko Federiko is contributing 9.7 points, 9.6 rebounds, and 3.0 blocks per 40 minutes played. He has played 20 or more minutes in a game 15 times, including each of the past 12 games.
• Nike Sibande has been Pitt's first sub in every game (21) he hasn't started this season. He has scored in double figures nine times and is averaging 13.8 points, 7.2 rebounds and 2.8 assists per 40 minutes played.
• Greg Elliott is shooting a team-high 40.7 percent (50-of-123) from three-point range, second best in the ACC among players with 2.0 made threes per game.
• Jamarius Burton is averaging 8.0 assists per game over the past five contests. He ranks fourth in the ACC with 4.8 assists per game on the season.

PANTHER SPOTLIGHTS
• Blake Hinson has made 17 threes over the past three games and now ranks fifth in the ACC with 57 three-point field goals and fourth in three-point percentage (.383) on the season.
• Jamarius Burton (16. 1 ppg., 4.8 rpg., 4.8 apg.)is attempting to become just the fourth player (five times) in program history to average better than 15.0 points, 4.0 rebounds, and 4.0 assists per game for a season.

Pitt on the Road to Face North Carolina Wednesday

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Players Mentioned

Jamarius Burton

Nelly Cummings

Greg Elliott

Federiko Federiko

Blake Hinson

Nike Sibande