Pitt On the Road to Face No. 4 Duke Tuesday on ESPN

[rv/rv] Pitt (12-2, 3-0 ACC) at [4/4] Duke (12-2, 4-0 ACC)

Tuesday, Jan. 7, 2025 • 7:00 PM

Durham, N.C. • Cameron Indoor Stadium

ESPN • 93.7 The Fan

THE OPENING TIP

Pitt (12-2, 3-0 ACC) travels South to face No. 4 Duke (12-2, 4-0 ACC) at Cameron Indoor Stadium Tuesday, Jan. 7. Tipoff is set for 7:00 p.m. with Dave O'Brien and Cory Alexander calling the action on ESPN.
The Panthers are 6-10 all-time against teams ranked fourth in the AP Poll.
Pitt ranks No. 15 in the NCAA NET with three Quad 1-2 wins (West Virginia, vs. LSU, at Ohio State). Duke is No. 2 in the NET rankings.
The Panthers have won eight consecutive regular season ACC contests. Pitt's eight-game win streak in ACC play is its longest since joining the conference and its most in league play since a 10-game stretch in Big East play from Feb. 27, 2010 through Jan. 22, 2011.
The Panthers are 14-3 in their past 17 ACC contests dating back to last season.
Pitt has won 16 true road games since the start of the 2022-23 season, tied for fourth most among high major teams (ACC, Big East, Big Ten, SEC, Big 12). The Panthers posted an 80-76 win over the Blue Devils at Cameron Indoor Stadium last season.
The Panthers' starting backcourt of Ishmael Leggett and Jaland Lowe combines to average 35.2 points, 10.8 rebounds, 8.8 assists, and 3.6 steals per game. The duo has combined for 24 double-figure scoring games, including 10 games with 20 or more points scored. Leggett (17.8 ppg.) and Lowe (17.4 ppg.) rank fifth and tied for seventh, respectively, in the ACC in scoring.

BY THE NUMBERS

Ishmael Leggett is averaging 19.5 points per game, while shooting 60.9 percent (28-of-46) from the field over his past four games. He is 22-of-28 (.786) on his two-point attempts and 16-of-19 (.842) from the foul line in that span.
Jaland Lowe is filling the stat sheet this season averaging 17.4 points, 4.7 rebounds, and 6.1 assists per game. He is one of two players in the NCAA averaging at least 17.0 points, 4.5 rebounds, and 6.0 assists per game on the season.
Pitt is one of two programs (joined by Rutgers) in the NCAA with two guards averaging 17.0 points and 4.5 rebounds per game or better. Ishmael Leggett (17.8 ppg., 6.1 rpg.) and Jaland Lowe (17.4 ppg., 4.7 rpg.) have anchored the Panther attack through the first 14 games of the season.
Zack Austin entered the starting lineup prior to the Virginia Tech game (12/6) and is averaging 13.8 points and 4.0 rebounds in the past five games. He is 23-of-40 (.575) from the field, including 11-of-22 (.500) from three-point range, in that span.
Cameron Corhen has scored in double figures nine times and is averaging 10.9 points and 5.7 rebounds per game, while shooting a team-high 68.1 percent (64-of-94) from the field. He also leads the Panthers with 24 dunks and 32 offensive rebounds.
Guillermo Diaz Graham has come on over the past three games averaging 8.7 points, 4.7 rebounds, 2.7 assists, and 1.7 blocks per game, while going 10-of-15 (.667) from the field, including 5-of-10 (.500) from three-point range.
Zack Austin has been on a tear over the past eight games averaging 12.7 points per game, while shooting 51.3 percent (20-of-39) from three-point range. He has made two or more threes six times, including a pair of games with five made threes, in that span.
Jaland Lowe has 36 assists over the past four games, including a pair of games with 10+ assists. He is tied for second in the ACC at 6.1 assists per game. Lowe is also second in the conference in free throw percentage (.889 - 64-of-72).
Jorge Diaz Graham has come off the bench to make a three in four consecutive games. He is 6-of-7 (.857) from deep in that stretch and is shooting 57.9 percent (11-of-19) from three-point range for the season.
Brandin Cummings is averaging 14.8 points per game on 63.3 percent (19-of-30) shooting from the field, including 10-of-15 (.667) from three-point range, over the past four games.
Pitt leads in the ACC in field goal percentage (.495) and effective field goal percentage (.569), while ranking third in scoring (84.1 ppg.) and free throw percentage (.777).
The Panthers rank 17th nationally (second in the ACC) in KenPom adjusted offensive efficiency at 119.1 points per 100 possessions. Duke enters Tuesday's contest ranked ninth in adjusted offensive efficiency and third in adjusted defensive efficiency.
Pitt is 12-0 on the season when winning or tying the rebounding battle. The Panthers were outrebounded by a combined 22 boards in their two losses this season.
The Panthers are currently averaging 8.8 three-pointers per game, while shooting 35.9 percent (123-of-343) from beyond the arc for the season. Pitt has averaged 9.0 or more threes per game and shot better than 35 percent from long range in each of the past two seasons.
Pitt is averaging 93.8 points per game, while shooting 56.6 percent (128-of-226) from the field, including 46.2 percent (42-of-91) from three-point range over the past four contests.

PANTHER SPOTLIGHTS

Jaland Lowe is averaging 18.2 points and 7.6 assists per contest during Pitt's current five-game win streak. He has matched his career best with nine consecutive double-figure scoring games for the Panthers.
Ishmael Leggett is one of four players in the NCAA averaging at least 17.0 points, 6.0 rebounds, 2.5 assists, and 1.5 steals per game. Three of the four players on the list play for a former Mike Krzyzewski player and assistant coach.

HOOPS4ALS

The Pitt Men's Basketball program has partnered with Hoops4ALS to help raise awareness and funding for the terrible disease. The Panthers will host Boston College March 8 in a Hoops4ALS game, while its road contests at Ohio State (Nov. 29) and Duke (Jan. 7) will also be a part of the campaign.
Hoops4ALS is a group dedicated to uniting basketball coaches, players, and fans to raise awareness for Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS) — also known as Lou Gehrig's Disease — and promote research and advocacy to help those dealing with this fatal disease and to support those working to find a cure.
The Hoops4ALS committee, made up of Pitt head coach Jeff Capel III, Tom Haberstroh, P.J. Murphy, Chuck Haberstroh, Kate Fagan, Adam Wilson, Gary Godfrey and Marc J. Spears, have partnered with the ALS Therapy Development Institute (ALS TDI) to support their work to discover and develop effective ALS treatments. As the world's foremost discovery lab focused solely on ALS, ALS TDI collaborates with top researchers from around the world, including those at Duke's ALS Clinic and the University of Pittsburgh's ALS-MDA Center.
For each of the Hoops4ALS basketball games, Pitt will wear Hoops4ALS warmup shirts pregame and both coaching staffs, managers and other basketball personnel wore 'Hoops4ALS' pins. Host venues will also feature in-house announcements and scoreboard displays with an ALS TDI fundraising appeal, while ALS patients, caregivers and researchers will be recognized on court during a timeout.
In addition to the fundraising initiative, participating men's basketball programs will honor and pay tribute to those fighting ALS and those we have lost to the disease in the basketball community. In 2017, Jeff Capel Jr., a legendary coach in the basketball community, passed away due to complications related to ALS at the age of 64 while Capel III was an assistant coach at Duke.

Pitt On the Road to Face No. 4 Duke Tuesday on ESPN

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Players Mentioned

Zack Austin

Cameron Corhen

Brandin Cummings

Guillermo Diaz Graham

Jorge Diaz Graham

Ishmael Leggett

Jaland Lowe

Pitt On the Road to Face No. 4 Duke Tuesday on ESPN

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Next Event

Players Mentioned

Zack Austin

Cameron Corhen

Brandin Cummings

Guillermo Diaz Graham

Jorge Diaz Graham

Ishmael Leggett

Jaland Lowe

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