Panthers Play West Virginia in the Backyard Brawl Friday

Friday, November 15

Pittsburgh, PA

8 PM

Pitt

West Virginia

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Panthers Play West Virginia in the Backyard Brawl Friday

11/14/2024 11:24:00 AM | Men's Basketball

Game Notes ACC Network Extra Live Stats Buy Tickets Press Conference

Pitt (3-0, 0-0 ACC) vs. West Virginia (2-0, 0-0 Big 12)

Friday, November 15, 2024 • 8:00 PM

Pittsburgh, Pa. • Petersen Events Center

ACC Network Extra • 93.7 The Fan

THE OPENING TIP

Pitt (3-0) hosts West Virginia (2-0) in the next edition of the Backyard Brawl Friday, Nov. 15 at the Petersen Events Center. Friday's rivalry game is available to watch on ACC Network Extra with Jason Earle and Nick Rivers calling the action.
Friday's matchup will be the 191st meeting since the inaugural season of Pitt Basketball (1905-06). The Backyard Brawl is the most played series in program history for the Panthers. The two rivals also played games in 1904 and 1905 before basketball became a varsity sport at Pitt.
Pitt's starting backcourt of Ishmael Leggett (19.7 ppg.), Jaland Lowe (16.7 ppg.), and Damian Dunn (14.0 ppg.) combines to average 50.3 points per game on 53.7 percent (51-of-95) shooting from the field.
Ishmael Leggett has scored 19 or more points in each of the first three games of the season and leads the Panthers in scoring (19.7 ppg.), rebounds (8.0 rpg.), and field goal percentage (.688).
The Panthers have topped the 80-point mark in all three games this season and in six of their past seven games at the Petersen Events Center. Pitt has won 18 consecutive games and is 41-2 under Jeff Capel when scoring 80 or more points in a game.
Pitt is averaging 87.3 points per game, while shooting 51.1 percent (94-of-184) from the field. The Panthers rank 27th nationally (third in the ACC) in KenPom's adjusted offensive efficiency at 115.0 points per 100 possessions.

BY THE NUMBERS

Jaland Lowe scored 20 or more points in each of the first two games of the season and is averaging 16.7 points, 3.3 rebounds, 4.7 assists, and 2.7 steals per game. He is 15-of-15 (1.000) from the foul line and enters Friday's contest with 17 consecutive makes from the charity stripe.
Cameron Corhen has scored in double figures in all three games and is averaging 12.3 points and 7.0 rebounds, while shooting 65.4 percent (17-of-26) from the field. He recorded his third career double-double (13/10) in last Friday's win over Murray State and has now scored in double figures 27 times in his career.
Damian Dunn, a two-time All-AAC selection at Temple, is averaging 14.0 points and 2.7 assists per game, while shooting 53.8 percent (14-of-26) from the field for the Panthers. He has scored in double figures in all three games with a season-best 19 points in last Friday's win over Murray State.
Guillermo Diaz Graham is averaging 9.0 points and 7.7 rebounds in 25.2 minutes per game. He has recorded 10 points and nine rebounds in two of Pitt's three games. Last season, Diaz Graham came off the bench to score 15 points on 6-of-7 shooting from the field, including 3-of-4 from three-point range, in a road win over West Virginia.
Amsal Delalic made his season debut Monday after being sidelined for the six weeks with a right-hand injury. The 6-8 freshman guard posted three points, one rebound, and two assists in nine minutes of action. Delalic played professionally with Borac Nektar competing in both the Bosnian - Division I and Adriatic Liga 2 from 2021-24. Last season, he scored 483 points and shot 82-of-205 (.400) from three-point range with 25 double-figure scoring efforts in 35 games.
Brandin Cummings has provided a spark off the Pitt bench and is averaging 5.7 points and 1.7 assists in 15.0 minutes per game. A three-time all-state selection and younger brother of 2023 Pitt standout Nelly Cummings, Cummings posted 2,222 points with 271 three-pointers during his high school career at Lincoln Park in Midland, Pa.
The Panthers return four of their top six scorers from a year ago with the backcourt tandem of Ishmael Leggett and Jaland Lowe leading the way. Leggett and Lowe are off to a strong start to the 2024-25 season combining to average 36.0 points, 11.3 rebounds, 7.3 assists, and 4.7 steals per game.
The Panthers have three 1,000-point scorers on the roster in Ishamel Leggett (1,385), Damian Dunn (1,330), and Zack Austin (1,128).
Pitt has five players 6-10 or taller on the roster for the first time in program history. The Panthers starting frontcourt Cameron Corhen (6-10) and Guillermo Diaz Graham (7-0) combines to average 21.3 points and 14.7 rebounds per game.
Pitt has outscored the opposition 60-22 in points off turnovers through the first three games. The Panthers are averaging just 8.7 turnovers per game after finishing last season among the ACC leaders in that category as well.
Pitt is averaging 39.7 points in the paint through three games. The Panthers scored 50 points in the paint in the season opening win over Radford, matching the most in a game under head coach Jeff Capel. The Panthers also scored 50 points in the paint in wins over Central Arkansas and New Orleans during the 2018-19 season.
The Panthers are shooting 61.6 percent (69-of-112) on its two-point field goal attempts this season. Ishmael Leggett (17-of-22) and Cameron Corhen (17-of-25) are a combined 34-of-47 (.723) from inside the three-point arc.

PANTHER SPOTLIGHT – ZACK AUSTIN

Zack Austin has been an impact player off the Pitt bench through the first three games of the season. The 6-7 forward is averaging 5.0 points, 4.5 rebounds, and 3.3 blocks in 24.2 minutes per game.
Austin leads the ACC with 3.3 blocks per game and has recorded nine of his 10 blocks over the past two games. He is coming off a 10-point, 5-rebound, 4-block effort in the win over Gardner-Webb and matched his Pitt high with five blocked shots to go along with eight rebounds against Murray State.
Austin has 1,128 points, 575 rebounds, 189 blocks, and 160 three-pointers in 99 career games. He is one of nine players in NCAA history to register 1,000 points, 575 rebounds, 175 blocks, and 150 threes in a career.