Husky task out west for men’s basketball

The Pitt men’s basketball team will get its second road test of the season 3 p.m. Saturday… The Pitt men’s basketball team will get its second road test of the season 3 p.m. Saturday when it travels west to face off against the struggling Washington Huskies.

On Wednesday night, the Panthers (8-0) were challenged by a tough Duquesne squad, but held off late surges by the Dukes and hung on for their seventh straight victory against their city rivals 73-68.

But the Panthers will have to travel a bit farther than they did on Wednesday night – about 2,526 miles farther.

The Huskies (4-3) have struggled so far this year, but it’s been against very strong competition.

After a solid start, they’ve lost three of their last four games, dropping decisions on the road to then-ranked No. 15 Texas A’M and to No. 21 Syracuse.

The Huskies now welcome in Pitt, hoping to upset the No. 12-ranked Panthers who are 8-0 for the fifth consecutive year under Jamie Dixon.

Last season, Washington played well against Pitt at the Petersen Events Center, but the Panthers came out on top in a hard-fought 65-61 decision.

Forward Jon Brockman scored 13 points and pulled down nine boards for Washington in that game, while center Spencer Hawes, who left school early for the NBA, tallied 12 points and 12 boards of his own.

While the Panthers don’t have to worry about Hawes anymore, they will have to focus on Brockman, who leads the way for the Huskies this year with 19.3 points and 11.6 rebounds per game.

The 6-foot-7-inch junior has already registered three double-doubles on the season – the most noticeable being a dominating 31-point, 18-rebound thrashing in a win against Utah.

Junior guard Justin Dentmon can also put up big numbers, averaging 14.3 points and 3.8 assists per game.

Last year, Dentmon managed just six points in 35 minutes against the Panthers, but is playing better this year, and could prove to be more of a threat if not accounted for at all times.

Covering Brockman will likely be Sam Young – Pitt’s leading scorer and most dynamic player.

Opponents are yet to find an answer for Young, who scored 20 or more points in four different games already this year.

On Wednesday night, Young led all scorers with 23 points on 7-for-14 shooting from the field. He also went 6 for 7 from the free-throw line and pulled down five rebounds.

But the Panthers will want to play better than they did against Duquesne in order to preserve their perfect record and avoid an upset on Saturday.

The Panthers raced out to a 14-0 lead against Duquesne, but watched as the Dukes pulled to within one on three separate occasions in the second half. Pitt shot just 41 percent from the field and turned the ball over 18 times.

Levance Fields struggled to find his rhythm for much of the night, shooting just 3 for 13 from the field and committing five turnovers.

The 5-foot-10-inch guard out of Brooklyn did come through in the clutch though, scoring four straight points in the final minute to finish of the Dukes.

Washington is coming off a 96-71 loss against the Oklahoma State Sooners, but has had time to rest and should be ready to play against Pitt. Dixon and his Panthers still have two tough games in a row following the Huskies – most notably being the Dec. 20 match-up against the No. 7 Duke Blue Devils in New York City.