Men’s basketball: Panthers hit the road to face Georgetown

When the Pitt men’s basketball team tips off against the Georgetown Hoyas tonight, it will… When the Pitt men’s basketball team tips off against the Georgetown Hoyas tonight, it will mark the team’s toughest road test of the season to date.

Though the Hoyas are on a bit of a cold streak, losing three of their last four games, the Panthers’ second true road game at 7 p.m. at the Verizon Center will still be a tough one.

Georgetown, currently ranked No. 22 in the country (12-4, 1-3 Big East), is coming off a tough loss to the West Virginia Mountaineers, meaning the team is starving for a win. Meanwhile, the Panthers come into the game on a five-game winning streak since suffering a loss to Tennessee back on Dec. 11.

Since that loss, No. 5 Pitt (15-1, 3-0 Big East) has won five straight games, including big wins over Connecticut and Marquette.

Along the way, they’ve tinkered with the lineup, moving forward Nasir Robinson back into the starting five.

Robinson missed the seasons’ first three games with a knee injury, and remained on the Panthers’ bench until returning to the starting lineup against Connecticut on Dec. 27. In his first two games starting, Robinson averaged 11 points and 6.5 rebounds.

“He definitely brings a lot of energy. He has a big time motor,” Pitt guard Ashton Gibbs said after the win over Connecticut. “He gets a lot of rebounds, so having him in the starting lineup definitely helps us.”

Against Marquette on Saturday, Robinson started again but saw limited time and finished with nine points and three assists.

Along with Robinson, increased production has been seen from all of the Panthers’ big men. Notably, Gary McGhee had a five-for-five shooting night against Marquette and sophomore Dante Taylor seems to be finding his groove.

Taylor, who comes off the bench for Pitt at center, has reached double-figure scoring three times and double-figure rebounding twice this year. Of his 81 rebounds on the year, 44 have been offensive. Pitt currently leads the nation in rebounding.

As for Georgetown, the Hoyas are ice cold. With back-to-back losses to unranked teams (St. John’s and West Virginia), the Hoyas are falling fast.

On one side of things, nothing is working for Georgetown. Yet they are still the No. 22 team in the country and are sure to be hungry for a win to end their losing skid.

Georgetown’s man to watch will be Austin Freeman. Freeman, a senior guard who stands at 6-foot-3, is averaging 17.9 points per game this year. If he gets going, the Panthers could be in trouble.

Back in November, Freeman had back-to-back 30-point games, one of them a win in which the Hoyas scored 111 points against Missouri.

Another strong guard for the Hoyas is senior Chris Wright. Wright, who has a history of strong showings in big games, has had double-digit assists three times this year. He is averaging 12.5 points and 5.9 assists per game.

With the strong play of Gibbs and Brad Wanamaker this season, the guard matchup in Wednesday’s game should be intriguing. After a nice win on Saturday, the Panthers have no time to rest.

The strength of Georgetown’s schedule has prepared them to play tough opponents this year, and Pitt head coach Jamie Dixon recognizes the challenge for the Panthers coming off a win against another good team in Marquette.

“We just had a good win and now we go on the road to play the No. 1 team in RPI, Georgetown, on Wednesday,” Dixon said after the win over Marquette. “This conference has been pretty good the last couple years, by far the best in the country.”