After a downward spiral, the Pitt Panthers have seemed to snap out of it. Pitt has won back-to-back games, including a 73-65 takedown of North Carolina on Tuesday night. Now, the Panthers will be looking to turn that into a three-game winning streak today.
Jeff Capel’s squad will carry a 14-6 (5-4) record into Winston-Salem today for a noon showdown against Wake Forest, with coverage on ESPN2. Like the previous two seasons, the Panthers and Demon Deacons appear to be on a similar path, as teams chasing to make the NCAA Tournament.
Fifth-year head coach Steve Forbes has his team off to a 15-6 start this season, as the Deacs are just ahead of Pitt in the ACC standings with a 7-3 mark in conference play. However, Wake Forest has lost back-to-back games, with a 72-59 defeat to Louisville on Tuesday night.
Wake Forest has been a constant threat on the bubble in recent years, but have yet to break through to making the Big Dance under Forbes. The Demon Deacons hold the No. 70 spot in the NET rankings today, which again puts this team down a bit in the bubble conversations, as compared with Pitt’s No. 33 current NET ranking.
In college basketball, familiarity is hard to come by these days, but Wake Forest certainly does have a sense of it with this year’s team. The backcourt is anchored by two veteran seniors: Hunter Salis (18.6 PPG) and Cam Hildreth (13.1). Plus one time major Pitt target, Efton Reid, is back for a second season in Winston-Salem.
Pitt and Wake Forest met three times last season, with the Panthers winning two of those matchups. The win for Wake Forest came at home, with a 91-58 drubbing of the Panthers. The Demon Deacons have had their way with Pitt at home, as the Panthers are 0-6 all-time in Joel Coliseum.
Can Pitt end its Winston-Salem blues and pick up a key ACC road win? The Panther-Lair.com staff gives their picks below.
Stephen Gertz (14-6, 6-14 ATS) - Another must win game for the Pittsburgh Panthers (14-6, 5-4) and their opponent. Pitt will be trying to bolster their resume with a potential Quad 1 win on the road, while the Wake Forest Demon Deacons (15-6, 7-3) are trying to end their two-game losing streak. Among Power Four teams, Wake Forest is the worst three-point shooting team at 28.2%. That should prove to be a significant advantage for the Panthers so long as they contest outside shots. As a result, the Demon Deacons live off two-point shots and the free throw line. Both Hunter Sallis and Cameron Hildreth seem due for some positive regression. But I think Ishmael Leggett can help limit Sallis while Pitt needs to avoid allowing Hildreth to get to the charity stripe where he does most of his damage. I think it is important that Zack Austin and Cam Corhen at least draw even with Efton Reid III (size) and Tre’Von Spillers (good defender). Wake Forest is one of the better defensive teams in the ACC, so the Panthers are going to need to avoid turnovers and must be efficient with their possessions. In the end, I think Pitt has more weapons against a Demon Deacons team that struggles to score outside of three players.
Prediction: Pitt 70-67
Jim Hammett (16-4, 10-10 ATS) - Pitt just has not played well in Winston-Salem since joining the ACC. I don't know what it is about Joel Coliseum, but Pitt has had some really bad clunkers in that building. Last year's 31-point loss to Wake Forest on the road may have taken the cake, however. The line is close here from Vegas, at Pitt +2.5 so I'm thinking it will be a bit closer than what occurred 12 months ago.
I think the key today, and in any road game, is to not dig a hole early and let the crowd get into it. At times, this Pitt team has struggled the most this season in the game's opening minutes. Wake Forest is not a good shooting team from the outside, but Pitt still needs to be mindful of not letting Cam Hildreth and Hunter Sallis get confidence early by hitting open shots. If Pitt can weather the opening few minutes, then I like their chances, but it will still be a slugfest for 40 minutes. Wake Forest is next to last in the ACC in scoring at 69.4 points per game, but still have managed to win 15 games to this point. The Deacs are comfortable playing in grind-it-out type games. Pitt showed on Tuesday, in holding to North Carolina to 21 second half points, that it can also play that way too. I like Pitt in one that comes down to the wire.
Prediction: Pitt 69-68
Matt Steinbrink (14-6, 6-14 ATS) - Pitt has some momentum now coming off of a win over North Carolina. A win at Wake Forest today would be even more significant. This is a matchup of two teams very close in talent. Wake’s main issue this year has been shooting the three. If they shoot it decent at all today, they probably win. With how bad they have been there though, it forces them to be really good everywhere else. They have been that for the most part this season. Wake is just so much better at home and Pitt has not won there. Sometimes it can just come down to these little hidden ghosts in a series. This is a winnable game, but the Panthers have had a terrible time on the road in this series.
Prediction: Wake Forest 75-71
Houston Wilson (15-5, 9-11 ATS) - Pitt has another chance to bolster its NCAA tournament resume with a road win against Wake Forest today. Avoiding a slow start will be crucial as a lot of Pittt's struggles seem to come after slow starts. Winning on the road won’t be easy, and the opening ten minutes could set the tone for the rest of the game. I think it is tough to bet against Wake Forest at home.
Prediction: Wake Forest 81-75
Chris Peak (15-5, 9-11 ATS) - Somewhere in here, Pitt has to win one of these Quad 1 games. I just don’t know if it’s going to be today at Wake Forest. The Panthers have never beaten the Demon Deacons on the road, and while the first few games in the series were close, Pitt’s last two losses at Wake have come by a combined 49 points. This year’s Wake team is interesting - they’re not great three-point shooters but they’re one of the best defensive teams in the ACC. Hunter Sallis will be another challenge for Pitt’s defenders, and Tre’Von Spillers is one of the top rebounders in the conference. That said, Wake isn’t too productive on the glass overall, so maybe Pitt can stay competitive with the boards. It just seems unlikely that this will be the game where the Panthers avoid a slow start - one of their worst habits - so even if they have another good second half, they will probably dig a hole that’s too deep to overcome on the road.
Prediction: Wake Forest 71-64
