It’s difficult to say that the outcome Pitt’s season opener against The Citadel at the Petersen Events Center on Tuesday night was a complete surprise.

After all, the Bulldogs came to town with an uptempo offense, a bunch of three-point shooters and a forward who understood how to get to - and play around - the basket.

The Panthers, on the other hand, came into Tuesday night and the 2021-22 season severely limited. A team that was expected to be offensively-challenged at full strength entered the building at significantly less than full strength, having lost three guards for varying amounts of time.

Texas Tech transfer Jamarius Burton is out for the short term after having a surgical procedure on his knee last month. Senior guard Nike Sibande is out for the season after suffering a torn ACL in Pitt’s exhibition game against Gannon last week. And junior guard Ithiel Horton was suspended indefinitely after he was arrested on a number of charges over the weekend.

Those three absences left Pitt with nine scholarship players for Tuesday night’s game. Eight of those scholarship players actually saw the floor for the Panthers but only six played more than six minutes, with walk-on Onyebuchi Ezeakudo chipping in 23 minutes - fifth most on the team.

With all of those elements at play, then, the result was not surprising. But that doesn’t make the outcome any less stark:

The Citadel 78, Pitt 63

And somehow a 15-point margin belied just how far ahead the Bulldogs were.

Pitt scored first to open the game on a long jump shot by Femi Odukale, but 26 seconds later, Jason Roche hit a three-pointer to give The Citadel the lead, and the Bulldogs never trailed again. The Citadel finished with 13 three-pointers - 11 more than Pitt hit - but the Bulldogs weren’t just better from deep. They ran better offense, they packed in on defense and they overall looked like a more effective outfit.

Pitt’s best players in the game were guard Femi Odukale and center John Hugley. Odukale scored 20 points on 8-of-14 shooting, while Hugley recorded his first career double-double with 27 points and 10 rebounds (both were career highs). But even those two players had blemishes; despite combining to score 47 of Pitt’s 63 points, Odukale and Hugley also combined to hit just 10-of-22 free throws.

Still, they did more to help the Panthers’ cause than their teammates. The seven players who saw the court for Pitt other than Odukale and Hugley combined to make just five field goals, including one three-pointer.

Although, to be fair, the Panthers only hit two three-pointers as a team; Odukale had one and Nate Santos, who was thrust into the starting lineup and played 28 minutes in his college debut, had the other.

Now Pitt, at 0-1, will get ready for a trip to Morgantown on Friday. The Panthers will face West Virginia for an 8 pm tipoff at the Coliseum.