BLACKSBURG – Playing at home for the second straight game, the Virginia Tech men's basketball team will play host to Pitt on Saturday at 6 p.m. ET at Carilion Clinic Court at Cassell Coliseum.
The Hokies (14-10, 5-8 ACC) will go up against the Panthers (15-10, 6-8) for the first time this season, and both being teams are coming off losses.
Tech has a slim 8-7 advantage in its all-time series with Pitt, winning the last four contests in a row dating back to 2016. The Hokies are 5-1 in Blacksburg with the lone loss in 2003. The last time these two teams faced off, the Hokies got a big-time game from Kerry Blackshear Jr. (now at Florida) with a 29-point outing to lead Tech to a 70-64 win.
Tech coach Mike Young has never faced Pitt's Jeff Capel and is 0-2 all-time versus Pitt, losing a close one (63-60) in 2009 and double-digit loss in the most recent game (81-63, 2012).
The matchup will be broadcast on ACC Network, with Mike Monaco (play-by-play) and Paul Biancardi (analyst) on the call, while Jon Laaser (play-by-play) and Mike Burnop (analyst) will broadcast on Virginia Tech Sports Properties.
GAME INFORMATION
Sat. | 6 p.m. ET vs. Pitt | Stats | Watch | Radio | Notes
The last time out, Tech got up by 12 points in the first half, then got down by four with a minute to go but got it to OT versus Boston College (12-13, 6-8). However, it fell to BC by four. The Hokies controlled the paint, outscoring the Eagles 34-22, but allowed 11 3-pointers and 26 trips to the free-throw line for BC.
When Landers Nolley II racked up 29 points against Boston College last Saturday, it marked his ninth 20-point game this year, the fourth-most in the ACC. He currently ranks second in the country among freshmen nationally in scoring with 17.7 points per game.
The game tomorrow will also be social media night and the Hokie Celebration will take place beforehand.
SCOUTING PITT
• The Panthers are coming off a 20-point loss at home to Clemson (12-12, 6-8) on Wednesday, falling 72-52 to snap their four-game home winning streak. The 52 points marked their fewest since Dec. 6 (Louisville). Pitt had two players score in double figures – Justin Champagnie (11 points) and Toney Au'Diese (10).
• Jeff Capel enters his second season as the head coach in Pittsburgh, following a seven-year stint as an assistant at Duke where helped the Blue Devils to a national title in 2015. With the Panthers, Capel led Pitt to an eight-game win improvement his first year.
• Pitt is paced by Xavier Johnson, who averages a top-50 assists per game mark nationally and is fifth-best in the ACC with a 5.2 clip. He can score, too, averaging the third-most points on the team with 11.8 and has scored in double figures in three of his last four games.
• A few things the Panthers do well are committing very few fouls a game, ranking 39th in the country and sixth in the ACC with 15.4 a contest, and their turnover margin of 3.7 ranks 21st in the land and second in the conference.
