Following a tough defeat on Saturday, the Pitt Panthers return to action tonight in a pivotal ACC home game with Wake Forest. Pitt will be celebrating the anniversary of the famed Jerome Lane dunk against Providence 35 years ago with Bill Raftery's legendary 'Send it in Jerome!' call. While commemorating one of the most iconic plays in program history will fill the time in the pregame and on the broadcast, this contest itself is huge for this current Panthers team.
Pitt comes into this game with a 6-3 ACC record and at the halfway point of conference play. Jeff Capel's team still appears to be on the right side of the bubble. In order to stay in that NCAA Tournament conversation, scoring a win over Wake Forest would be a big boost to their resumé.
The Demon Deacons have an identical 6-3 ACC record to this point. Wake Forest is 14-6 overall and is coming off a 76-67 loss to Virginia last time out. Steve Forbes is in his third year guiding the program. Last season, Wake Forest achieved a 25-win season, but they were left out of the NCAA Tournament and made it to the quarterfinals of the NIT.
This Wake Forest team looks like one poised that can cross that barrier and make the Big Dance this season. The Demon Deacons have four players in double figures led by potential ACC Player of the Year candidate Tyree Appleby, who is averaging 17.9 points and 6 assists per game.
Wake Forest leads the all-time series 7-5 and won last year's meeting convincingly by a score of 91-75. Can Pitt score a big ACC home win over a fellow 'bubble' team? The Panther-Lair.com staff gives their picks.
Stephen Gertz (14-6): Because this game is at home, I am taking the Pittsburgh Panthers as I recently watched the Wake Forest Demon Deacons hand the Clemson Tigers their first ACC loss in Winston-Salem, NC. I do think this will be close though. While this Wake Forest team may not be turning as many heads as last year's team, Steve Forbes has once again done a nice job coaching a group of players that could still finish in the top third of the conference standings. They really shoot the ball well from the outside, led by Tyree Appleby, Domari Monsanto, Andrew Carr, and Daivien Williamson. I like to think that after the Florida State game, Pitt will be dialed in to defend the three-point line. Granted, the Seminoles hit some highly-contested shots in that one. On offense, the Panthers can not afford to go through long droughts again, but I expect them to hit open shots this time around. The Demon Deacons are not a good defensive team and I think that is what gives them the slightest of edges along with being at home.Prediction: Pitt 72, Wake Forest 69
Houston Wilson (13-7): Pitt has a sneaky big game tonight against Wake Forest as they begin a stretch against some of the top teams in the ACC. Like Jeff Capel, Steve Forbes has done a tremendous job in the transfer portal and has them succeeding expectations so far this year. Wake is also a deep team that will play a lot of guys which has helped them this year. Ultimately I think Pitt pulls it out but this could go down to the final possession.
Prediction: Pitt 73, Wake Forest 70
Matt Steinbrink (10-10): As the sample size grows on the 2022-23 season, we can see more trends and make more evaluations based on what we are seeing. What we have at this point in the season is two very solid teams that are developing and fighting for every single win. These two teams are very comparable and have produced very similar results this season. Wake leads the overall series 7-5, but there are not any significant trends to it. Having this one at the Pete should provide a slight edge to the Panthers, but they just lost there to Florida State in surprising fashion. Both teams shoot a lot of threes and rely on that part of the game. Whichever team shoots it better from behind the arc will likely win this game, but it will also be important for Pitt not to fall behind. They have gone through too many droughts this season and fell behind in holes that have been difficult to climb out of in games. The rebounding has also come to bite the Panthers here in the last few weeks. If they can just be competitive in that area and hang with Wake from deep, I think they can win the game with Burton being the difference. But this Wake team has four players averaging double figures and a dangerous scorer off the bench. They are just a very solid team that is coached well with four players that have made 23 threes or more. There is no doubt that Pitt can win this game, but it feels like a bad matchup.Prediction: Wake Forest 75, Pitt 70
Jim Hammett (12-8): This is just such a big game for Pitt, and really this program hasn't had many of those this late in the season recently. Pitt is coming off a weird performance on Saturday. The Panthers jumped all over Florida State to start each half, but then let the Seminoles back into the game both times. Pitt needs to find a way to feed off the energy of the home crowd and use it to their advantage. The Panthers have lost two big home games in a row, and they need to show up tonight to defend their home court. Period. Wake Forest is a pretty good team and Steve Forbes has done an awesome job since taking over the program. They are also fighting and clawing to be in the NCAA Tournament, and they have a good cast of players this season to make it happen. Appleby is as good of a guard in the league, but my biggest concern tonight for Pitt is Damari Monsanto. Florida State's Darin Green is one of the top outside shooting threats in the league, and he gave Pitt plenty of problems the other day. Well Monsanto might be even more dangerous as an outside shooting threar with 60 made threes on the year as he shots them at a 41% clip. Pitt needs to do a better job of defending the three-point line, and also making some deep shots themselves. That was where the game against Florida State was lost, but I think Pitt rebounds tonight and does a better job in that department.Prediction: Pitt 77, Wake Forest 72
Chris Peak (13-7): I could say this is a big one for Pitt, but the reality is, every game from here on out is a big one for Pitt. Tonight’s showdown with Wake Forest is game No. 10 of the Panthers’ ACC schedule, marking the midpoint of the conference slate, and while Pitt has been pretty good through the first half so far, there’s no denying that this feels like a big moment. Wake Forest is 6-3 in ACC games, just like Pitt, and the Deacons also lost their last game - a home defeat at the hands of Virginia. Wake Forest has the ACC’s second-leading scorer in Florida transfer Tyree Appleby, an attacking guard who has attempted and made more free throws than anyone in the conference. The Deacons also have the league’s leading three-point shooter in ETSU transfer Damari Monsanto. With Appleby, Monsanto and British import Cameron Hildreth in the back court, Wake Forest is one of the top-scoring teams in the ACC, and that’s concerning for Pitt. The Deacons can score, which means if the Panthers go cold - which they are too often prone to doing - their guests this evening have the ability to build a lead that the hosts can’t overcome. I’m going to bet on Pitt avoiding the long drought tonight, but only slightly. This is a key game, and the Panthers need a positive boost heading into the second half of the ACC slate. I think they get it.Prediction: Pitt 76, Wake Forest 73
