The stories for today are about what you would expect in this game. Pitt is looking for revenge.
“We feel like we owe them quite a bit,” Pitt sophomore forward Levon Kendall. The Panthers lost to the Mountaineers on Feb. 5. “We want to really stick it to them.”
WVU had been reeling at that point, and then with the win against Pitt was the start of them winning 4 of 5 games.
The other standard is Pitt not taking WVU lightly this time.
Immediately after the loss in Morgantown, Pitt players said they lost the game because they took the Mountaineers lightly. It was a lesson learned, and something the Panthers are guarding against in the sequel.
“It’s not that we weren’t ready,” Kendall said. “We just made some mental mistakes. We feel like we should be able to beat them. It was a tough loss to take with it being a rivalry thing. We’re looking for some revenge.”
Pitt lost the game at West Virginia because Kevin Pittsnogle, a reserve forward, had the game of his life. Pittsnogle started because D’or Fischer was sick. He responded by scoring a career-high 27 points.
Pittsnogle, a 6-foot-11 junior, made 4 of 9 from 3-point range. As a team, West Virginia was 13 for 40 from behind the arc. Pitt forward Chevon Troutman said limiting Pittsnogle is the most important objective the Panthers have for this game.
“If he comes out and gets hot, it’s going to be a problem,” Troutman said. “If not, we probably should be able to pull this one out.”
Either Kendall was the main guy available to the media this week, or he was the only one with good quotes.
As for Pittsnogle. That game also turned his season around. As is the standard when these two meet, is discussing how Pittsnogle was also recruited by Pitt.
Down in Hoopie Land, this game is part of the whole “bubble watching.” For WVU, this game is vital. Of course it is their biggest rivalry game, but it is the toughest remaining game on their schedule. If they lose it would likely mean needing to win out the rest of the games and winning at least 2 games in the BE Tournament. The latter being very difficult as they would likely end up facing BC in the 2nd round. Winning tonight would at least give them an argument if they go out in the second round.
Like last time, it can be expected that WVU will be looking to bomb 3s early and often. For Pitt, the guards have to resist the urge to try and answer every 3 with one of their own. Pitt ended up taking 20 3-point shots in the loss last time. They need to be patient with the offense and control the pace.
I guess we’ll find out how Pitt’s perimeter defense plays tonight.
