The Pitt basketball returns to action tonight as they get set to host William & Mary in a non-conference game. The Panthers enter this game with a 3-3 record and have won back-to-back games, including an 83-61 decision over Fairleigh Dickinson on Tuesday night.
In that game, the Panthers shot a scorching 20-of-26 from the field in the second half and made all 17 baskets inside the three-point line. Jamarius Burton led a group of five double figure scorers with 18 points. John Hugley added 17 points while Jorge Diaz Graham, Blake Hinson, and Nelly Cummings all provided 11 points each.
Pitt will look to go for its first three-game winning streak of the year tonight, but William & Mary will be standing in the way of that. The Tribe are 3-3 on the season and are led by fourth-year head coach Dane Fischer. William & Mary was picked towards the bottom of the CAA and enter the game with a No. 311 ranking according to KenPom.com.
Gabe Dorsey, a 6'6" sophomore, leads William & Mary in scoring. He pours in 11.3 points per game. The Tribe also features former Pitt forward Noah Collier in their lineup, who is posting career highs in both scoring (9.7) and rebounding (7.7).
Can Pitt extend this modest winning streak? The Panther-Lair.com staff gives their picks.
Stephen Gertz (5-1): Doubling down on my preseason prediction that the Pittsburgh Panthers will win six non-conference games, all against mid-majors. That would include the William & Mary Tribe today. While not quite as bad as Alabama State or Fairleigh Dickinson, they are bad defensively so they are unlikely to punish Pitt's high turnover rate - 22% of their possessions end in a turnover - and they allow teams to convert over 53% of their two-point field goals and nearly 40% of their three-point attempts. That bodes well for a Panthers team that converted 17 of 17 field goals in the second half against the Knights on Tuesday and also likes to fire away from the outside. William & Mary does rebound 32.4% of their own misses and are shooting a very efficient 42.2% on triples, so Pitt does need to crash the glass and guard the perimeter well. I think the Panthers will put it together tonight at home to capture what I believe to be their lone three-game winning streak of the year.
Prediction: Pitt 75, William & Mary 63
Jim Hammett (5-1): Pitt has bounced back nicely after a poor road trip to Brooklyn last week with a pair of wins over Alabama State and Fairleigh Dickinson. In both games, Pitt started slow in the first half, but came alive after halftime to secure some easy wins. I think the Panthers can continue that trend tonight. This is an important game, not because WIlliam & Mary is a tough opponent, but rather because Pitt has some looming games against Northwestern, NC State, and Vanderbilt on the horizon. This team needs to continue to stack wins when they can and grow together, because at some point they'll need to start showing more when the competition gets better.
Prediction: Pitt 78, William & Mary 60
Matt Steinbrink (4-2): The Tribe enter this game out of the Colonial Conference at 3-3 overall. They have played an ACC team in Virginia Tech, losing 94-77. Their leading rebounder is former Panther Noah Collier. It is a balanced team that has six players average between 8.7 and 11.3 points. William and Mary is a solid team that will play a sound scheme, but there is not enough firepower to legitimately take this one.
Prediction: Pitt 80, William & Mary 70
Houston Wilson (4-2): Pitt is riding a two-game winning streak coming into their game against William and Mary tonight and has a good opportunity to extend that tonight against the Tribe. Like the past two games, this Pitt roster is simply more talented than William and Mary. It is important for Pitt to keep on getting these wins against teams they should beat and that should happen tonight. I have Pitt winning.
Prediction: Pitt 79, William & Mary 66
Chris Peak (4-2): My confidence about Pitt has less to do with tonight's matchup and more to do with what I've been seeing from the Panthers. Primarily, I'm seeing a core develop, with Nelly Cummings, Jamarius Burton, Blake Hinson and John Hugley playing together and developing as a cohesive unit. As that continues, I think the team's success will only continue to increase. As far as the matchups, William & Mary's opponents have attempted 130 three-pointers this season - more than 20 per game - and are making 35.4% of them. That number was even higher in the Tribe's lone game against an ACC team this season: Virginia Tech shot 16-of-32 from three to beat William & Mary, including a sparkling 11-of-16 mark In the first half. I think Pitt fires up a ton of three's tonight and makes a decent amount of them as the core continues to gel.
Prediction: Pitt 82, William & Mary 69
