It's been a rough season for Pitt basketball, and the Panthers have only played a single game.
After losing two starting guards to injury in Jamarius Burton and Nike Sibande, then losing another in Ithiel Horton to suspension, Pitt got embarrassed by The Citadel in a 15-point loss at home. That led to four-star combo guard and 2022 recruit Judah Mintz de-committing from Pitt the day after, and leaving the program without any commitments on its upcoming class.
Now, the Panthers go up against a Bob Huggins' Mountaineers for for their first road game of the season in a game that looks like it could blow the doors off Pitt in the first half. Not because West Virginia is a world-beating program last year, even though it did make the NCAA Tournament last year and finished ranked No. 13 by the Associated Press, but because Pitt hasn't shown much to prove it can hang with established programs.
• What: Pitt (0-1, 0-0 ACC) vs. West Virginia (1-0, 0-0 Big 12)
• When: 8:30 p.m. Eastern
• Where: WVU Coliseum
• TV: ESPNU
• Radio: 93.7 The Fan
• Satellite: Sirius XM (Internet) 986
• Boxscore: Sidearm Sports
• Media notes: Pitt | West Virginia
Top storylines
The brawl returns: Pitt and West Virginia skipped a season in 2020, but the Backyard Brawl returns after a year's break. The Panthers and Mountaineers faced off three times between 2017-2019 with West Virginia winning each game, and capping a four-game win streak that stems back to 2012.
Pitt has the slight advantage of 11-9 in the last 20 matchups of the series, but West Virginia holds series record at 99-88 over Pitt.
Both programs are in completely different phases, as West Virginia has Huggins in his 15th season with the program with five NCAA Tournament appearances over the past seven seasons, and has been ranked in the AP's top 25 at some point of each of those seasons.
Pitt is in its fourth season with Jeff Capel as head coach, and the Panthers haven't had a winning season since Jamie Dixon's last season in 2015-2016. Capel has had success in bringing in talented recruits, but hasn't been able to keep them around long enough to develop a strong team for an entire season.
Last season, the Panthers also had an embarrassing loss to open the season at the Petersen Events Center with an 80-70 loss to Saint Francis (Pa.) But that loss would be followed by Pitt going 8-1 over the next nine games to have a good start to the season before falling apart to finish 10-12 on the year.
Pitt is a team that has no idea what its identity should be in the middle of its second attempt at a rebuild in the Capel era. West Virginia is a team that's a lot closer to knowing its identity this season and won't hesitate to play its style of basketball while the Panthers are wondering what their style should even be this season.
It sets the stage for Pitt's young team taking some serious lumps if they don't come out a lot stronger than they were just three days ago.
Produce against power five talent: The two bright spots on the Panthers' roster in the embarrassing home opener loss was how John Hugley IV led the team with a double-double of 27 points and 10 rebounds, and Femi Odukale scored 20 points with four assists. They were the only players for the Panthers who looked capable of competing against ACC talent.
But again, that was against The Citadel. The Bulldogs had nobody that could be physical with Hugley in the post and while their guards were effective shooters they weren't the kind of defenders who could press Odukale like recruits that land at programs like West Virginia.
Both Hugley and Odukale are the two brightest spots from Capel's 2020 recruiting class. If the Panthers are to build for their future, it will be around those two guys with other players improving to be consistent starters.
Make no mistake, Pitt needs other players to step up. But it also needs to see Hugley and Odukale show they can be playmakers and catalysts for scoring runs against comparable opponents.
Players to watch
William Jeffress: Jeffress is the other big name from Capel's 2020 class, but he hasn't showed the kind of promise as a scorer yet that Hugley and Odukale have in their games. Against The Citadel, Jeffress got the start at guard despite being a forward for most of last season.
He's a heck of an athlete with speed and explosiveness to go with his 6-foot-7, 205 lbs. frame. But he hasn't combined that with an offensive presence. He only hit 1 of 10 shots Tuesday night, with his only field goal of the game coming with 50 seconds left.
This season is going to be about Pitt building its young players for the future. Jeffress has to be one of those players who develops for that future at 18-years old. Don't look for him to be a star performer in this game, but do watch to see what steps he can take forward as an offensive threat.
Nate Santos: The true freshman led the Panthers with six attempted three pointers against The Citadel Tuesday night, and the one he hit accounted for half of the Panthers' three-pointers in the game. That indicates that Capel is looking to him to be a sharpshooter.
Santos stands at 6-foot-7, 215 lbs. and comes with the profile of a lengthy sharpshooter from Loomis Chaffee School in Conn. The loss of Horton after his suspension puts Pitt without a dedicated shooter from the perimeter to space defenses out. Santos' presence may be more about volume of shooting than pure accuracy, but that's what's needed at this stage of Pitt's re-build.
Look to see if he shows confidence as a shooter throughout the night, and if he can find his spots on the court to hit big shots and help Pitt's overall shooting percentage.
Behind enemy lines
Returning talent: The Mountaineers return three players who have received Big 12 accolades either last season or with preseason expectations in the conference. Sophomore forward Jalen Bridges was named to the Big 12's All-Freshman team last season and senior guard Ryan McNeil was named All-Big 12 Honorable Mention, while fifth-year senior guard Taz Sherman was named Preseason All-Big 12 Honorable Mention.
Sherman is West Virginia's highest scorer of its returning players after averaging 13.4 points per game last year. Watch out for him to facilitate more scoring opportunities as the Mountaineers averaged 41.4 two-point shot attempts last year, the 28th-most in the country. That's a result of West Virginia's offense being well-oiled and coached to have a rhythm in most games.
Pitt got jumped all over by The Citadel for the Bulldogs' ability to get up three-point shots. If it allows West Virginia to get that kind of rhythm early, the game will be over before it even begins.
Big boards: Capel needs his forwards to be able to control the paint and limit rebounding for opponents. That didn't really happen against The Citadel when Pitt allowed nine offensive rebounds that led to 16 second chance points and only outrebounded the Bulldogs 43-39.
That was supposed to be a game where Pitt dominated the boards, not won marginally. The Mountaineers won't be so easy to push around. Their 13.4 offensive rebounds per game last season was the eighth-highest in the country last year, and forwards 6-foot-7 Bridges and 6-foot-10 Isaiah Cotrell won't be so easy to push around.
Those rebounds are also another reason West Virginia got so many shots off last season. If Pitt can see Hugley and Mouhammadou Gueye limit the Mountaineers' second chances, it would go a long way to evening the odds.
Prediction: West Virginia 75-55
The Mountaineers should annihilate the Panthers considering the continuity they've shown in recent years. Pitt needs to work to find out what its strengths can even be this season, which is what Panthers fans should look to see in this game.
If Pitt hangs in there and fights with West Virginia, it would be an impressive showing after all it's gone through in the past month and how it played just three days ago. Look for West Virginia to get its fifth straight win in the rivalry. If Pitt can come out of this game with progress showing from its younger players like Hugley, Odukale and Jeffress.
Do that, and there's more positives to take away for the Panthers. But combine a beatdown with no signs of growth and it can continue what's arguably been the worst week for Pitt basketball in recent history.