The Pitt Panthers are back in action today as they host Clemson for a noon tip at the Petersen Events Center. Pitt enters this game having lost three in a row, and will be looking to get things back on track starting today.
Clemson will pose plenty of challenges. The Tigers come into this one 14-4 and have won five of their last six games. Longtime Clemson head coach Brad Brownell has his team off to a 6-1 start in ACC play, as the Tigers seems like one of the top challengers to Duke in the conference.
Pitt is very much supposed to be in that tier with Clemson, but obviously the Panthers have hit a rough patch of late. On Wednesday night, Pitt took its worse loss of the season with am 82-70 setback to Florida State on the road. Jeff Capel’s team will carry a 12-5 overall record and 3-3 mark in league play into today’s game.
It’s still the first half of conference play, which makes it early enough in the college hoops season, but today feels like a big game. Both teams rank inside the top 35 of the NET rankings and have built tournament resumes thus far, and today’s outcome could play a major factor in ACC seeding and have an affect on NCAA Tournament qualification as well.
Pitt could sure use a win, but will have to break another streak in order to make that happen. Not only are the Panthers riding an active three-game losing streak, Pitt has not had any luck at all against Clemson recently. In fact, Pitt has lost 12 games in a row to the Tigers and have not defeated them since 2014.
Can Pitt secure a much needed home ACC win? The Panther-Lair.com staff gives their picks below.
Stephen Gertz (12-5, 4-13 ATS) - I am not out on the Pittsburgh Panthers, but I also do not believe they have shown enough to convince me that they can beat the Clemson Tigers today. Even if the game is at home. I expect another script of how to frustrate Jaland Lowe and keep Ishmael Leggett out of the paint. While bounce backs from Cam Corhen and Damian Dunn are expected, Clemson is a much better team than the Florida State Seminoles. They are the best team in the country in forcing their opponents to grind out possessions and encourage a lot of one-on-one play. What that means for Pitt is a high ball screen towards the end of the shot clock and hope for the best. The Tigers are a very good three-point shooting team led by six-year senior Chase Hunter. I expect Ian Schieffelin to again give the Panthers trouble as he is the exact type of player they struggle to defend and keep off the glass. Schieffelin averaged a double double in their two meetings last season, which included a whopping 14.5 rebounds per game average. Clemson is a team full of experience, mostly home grown with a few plug-ins at key positions. Can Pitt win this game, absolutely. But I predict another slow start against a team that is much harder to come back against.
Prediction: Clemson 75-68
Jim Hammett (13-4, 8-9 ATS) - I still feel that somewhere in that locker room, Pitt has a good team, but they are in an undeniable slide right now. Pitt has lacked cohesion of late, as the lineups and usage for everyone has changes in the past week or so and the play has been disjointed because of it. The Panthers need to sort those issues out, because there are real challenges ahead and the team can't afford to add to this losing streak for much longer until it becomes a problem.
I expect Pitt to play better today and look a bit more focused than the effort that was given on Wednesday night, but I really like this Clemson team. The Tigers start four seniors and a junior and will be unbothered about playing on the road with that experience. Plus, Clemson has some really good players, specifically Ian Schieffelin. The Tigers' forward is one of the mopst relentless rebounders in the country, and for a Pitt team struggling to clean up the glass, I think that bodes poorly today.
Prediction: Clemson 78-72
Matt Steinbrink (12-5, 5-12 ATS) - The Panthers desperately need to hold court and find a way to beat Clemson at home today. The momentum is fading and you have to wonder where the confidence level is. This Clemson team is not going to jump off the page at you. However, they are extremely well coached and have a ton of experience. They are solid across each spot in the starting lineup and are playing much better than Pitt right now. Of course, that can change in 40 minutes at any point in the season. Based on what I saw at Florida State on Wednesday night, I just can’t comfortably pick Pitt in this game of mental and physical toughness.
Prediction: Clemson 79-73
Houston Wilson (13-4, 8-9 ATS) - Pitt faces a crucial test today as they take on Clemson, aiming to snap a frustrating three-game losing streak. This matchup presents an opportunity for the Panthers to secure a quality win that could strengthen their resume as the season progresses. To come out on top, they’ll need strong performances from key players, and I expect Jaland Lowe and Ishmael Leggett to rise to the occasion. Pitt gets a much needed win at home today.
Prediction: Pitt 79-76
Chris Peak (12-5, 7-10 ATS) - I almost - almost - picked Pitt today. And I do think the Panthers can win. The problem is, to win they need to do some things they haven’t done very well recently. At the top of that list is rebounding; Pitt has struggled on the glass in recent games, and there’s a direct correlation between winning the boards and winning the game. I think Clemson has a mismatch in the front court, and that’s going to make today’s game a big challenge. I absolutely think there’s a path to victory for Pitt here - primarily led by the guards playing well - but it’s hard to pick a team on a three-game losing streak to beat a team that they have struggled with pretty mightily.
Prediction: Clemson 77-68
