Pitt had won 5 straight from the ‘Eers. WVU was struggling after a good start. Coach John Beilein was under criticism in his third year at WVU for his system and whether he was even the right coach for the job (he had yet to beat Pitt or win a game in the BET). The starting center for WVU was going to miss the game because he was sick. In his place the back-up Center who only averaged about 15 minutes a game as his game seemed to regress from the previous year would start.
