The COVID-19 pandemic hit the Uniter States about two years ago, and it is still affecting our day-to-day lives, as well as the sport of college basketball.
Take for example the scheduling quirk that faces both Pitt and Virginia Tech in the next 72 hours. The Panthers will host the Hokies tonight for a 7:00 p.m. tip, and the two teams will meet again on Monday in Blacksburg.
Monday’s game was originally scheduled to be played on New Year’s Day, but due to COVID-10 protocols it was called off and given the scheduling constraints it forced the teams to meet twice in three days.
“At this point we all expect that things are unpredictable with the current pandemic,” Pitt senior forward Mo Gueye told reporters over Zoom on Friday. “The fact that games can be rescheduled at any time. We still have got to do what we do, and it’s not an excuse because every other team in the country is dealing with the same thing. It’s just something that is part of life right now.”
It is part of the game, and it has been affecting the sport of college basketball for three seasons now. Throw in Pitt’s rescheduled game with Boston College last weekend due to winter storms in the Northeast, it has created a busy week for the Panthers as they are playing their third game since Sunday afternoon.
The quick adjustments and traveling the day of the games has brought back some memories of AAU to the Pitt team.
“We were kind of joking about that against Boston College too,” Gueye said. “The fact that we flew out there the same day and played, it kind of did feel like an AAU Tournament: Get off the bus, throw your shoes on, and go play.”
The Panthers will have had two days to prepare for tonight’s game, and despite Virginia Tech’s 12-10 record, it will be a tough challenge for Jeff Capel’s team. The Hokies are one of the more dangerous three-point shooting teams in the country. Hunter Cattoor, a 6’3” junior guard, is making 47.5% of his three-point attempts this season.
Virginia Tech poured in 18 makes in an upset win over Florida State last week. Fellow guards Storm Murphy and Naheim Alleyne are also formidable outside shooters, which will give Pitt a tough assignment both tonight and on Monday.
“Virginia Tech is one of the top shooting teams in the country, so we’ve got to respect that,” Pitt sophomore center John Hugley said on Friday. “We’ve got to respect that they’ve got good shooters and two good post players, so we’ve got to respect and go out there and play our defense.”
With the tough stretch of games, Gueye said the team adjusted its practice schedule this week to keep guys fresh. The Panthers, however, are not playing their best basketball. Pitt collected some nice wins in January, but have now lost four out of five and two straight, including Wednesday’s 91-75 loss to Wake Forest.
“We went through our last game and watched the film of that,” Gueye said of Pitt’s practice this week. “The biggest thing right now is coming and playing with energy. We keep referring back to the Syracuse game and that was a game where we felt we were all on the same page and played with so much energy and we lacked that the past two games.”
Pitt will need to be on the same page not only tonight, but also on Monday against this very same Virginia Tech team.
“We acknowledge they are one of the best shooting teams in the country and we really tried to focus the past two days in practice in making sure we know our personnel and identify it and rotate fast and have each other’s back out there,” Gueye said of the Hokies.
