Morgantown, WV (My Sportsbook) - The fourth-ranked Pittsburgh Panthers travel to Morgantown to take on the West Virginia Mountaineers in a Big East showdown at WVU Coliseum today.
The Panthers rebounded nicely from their first loss of the season, as they trounced eighth-ranked Syracuse, 78-60, on Monday. Pitt, which was coming off a 69-63 setback at Louisville, improved to 27-9 under Jamie Dixon in games following a loss. Now at 17-1 overall and 5-1 in the Big East, the Panthers return to the road, where they have gone 3-1 thus far.
As for WVU, it enters the tilt on a high note, knocking off 12th-ranked Georgetown, 75-58, in surprisingly easy fashion on the road this past Thursday. It was the third straight win by the Mountaineers, who stepped up to 14-4 overall and 3-2 in conference play. The squad now returns back home, where it has won six of seven outings this season.
Today's game marks the 176th meeting between Pitt and WVU in a series that has been dubbed the "Backyard Brawl." WVU holds a 93-82 lead in the rivalry, but the Panthers have won four the last five meetings between the programs.
The Panthers shot an efficient 53.3 percent from the field and dominated the boards, 40-28, as they topped Syracuse on Monday. The team also went 5-of-15 from long range, in addition to forcing 14 turnovers. Sam Young led the charge for Pitt with 22 points and six rebounds. DeJuan Blair notched his 12th double-double of the campaign with 20 points and 12 rebounds, while Levance Fields added 15 points and six assists. On the season, Young leads the Panthers in the scoring department at 18.6 ppg and he is also grabbing 5.6 rpg. Blair puts forth 14.6 ppg and he is one of the top rebounders in the nation, pulling down a hardy 12.8 rpg. Fields chips in with 10.4 ppg and he has been in charge of setting up Young and Blair, dishing out a team-high 7.0 apg. Overall, the Panthers are outscoring opponents by a healthy 17.8 ppg and they are also outrebounding foes by 9.9 rpg.
WVU forced Georgetown into 19 turnovers and it turned those miscues into 21 points in a rout on Thursday. The Mountaineers won the battle on the boards, 39-31, and shot a solid 48.4 percent from the floor in the victory. Leading the way was Da'Sean Butler, who turned in 27 points and eight boards. Darryl Bryant added 13 points and five rebounds, while Alex Ruoff and Wellington Smith each chipped in with 10 points. On the season, Butler paces WVU in scoring at 16.9 ppg and he is also collecting 6.1 rpg. Ruoff nips at his heels with 16.1 ppg, and Bryant follows with 10.6 ppg. The Mountaineers as a team, are scoring 73.4 ppg and allowing just 58.9 ppg, while outrebounding opponents by 6.7 rpg.
