Men’s hoops tunes up with Terriers at home

The Pitt men’s basketball squad faces off against its only America East opponent of the… The Pitt men’s basketball squad faces off against its only America East opponent of the season tonight when it hosts the Boston University Terriers at the Petersen Events Center.

The game will be televised on FSN Pittsburgh at 7:30 p.m., and 94.5 FM will pick up the radio broadcast.

The No. 17-ranked Panthers are coming off a blowout of the Buffalo Bulls on Friday night. The 92-45 demolition improved Pitt’s record to 5-0 on the young season.

A win for the Panthers in tonight’s contest would mark the sixth straight season the team has started 6-0.

Thus far in the season, Pitt has displayed a more up-tempo game plan on both offense and defense that plays to the strengths of most of its players, especially junior forward Sam Young.

Young kept up his torrid scoring pace with 20 points on 8 of 11 shooting against Buffalo.

Young is averaging 19 points a game so far this year after only managing 7.2 last season with aching knees. His 9.4 rebounds per contest is a significant jump, as well.

Young’s stats are impressive across the board. He’s shooting almost 67 percent from the field and 53.8 percent from 3-point range. His defensive numbers are high as well, averaging two steals and 1.4 blocks a game.

“I’m just out there playing as hard as I can, trying to have fun,” Young said after the Buffalo game.

“I’m more confident now in my shooting and in my ball handling ability, so if one of those opportunities presents [itself], I can take it.”

Pitt coach Jamie Dixon has been impressed with Young’s all-around game this year, but made a point to focus on his defensive effort.

“It’s amazing to see what he’s doing,” Dixon told the Associated Press. “He’s almost directing traffic defensively. His defense has been very solid.”

Young isn’t the only Panther lighting up the scoreboard recently. Levance Fields tallied 15 points against Buffalo and Keith Benjamin came off the bench to record a career-high 17 points.

In fact, the bench in general pitched in a top-notch performance against the Bulls. Tyrell Biggs scored 12 points and Gilbert Brown added 10 in prominent reserve roles.

The fast-paced action has vaulted the Panthers to large early leads in their first five games, albeit against inferior opponents.

With the exception of a 69-58 victory over Saint Louis on Nov. 11, Pitt’s lowest margin of victory is 27 points.

Pitt hopes to dispatch the Terriers just as easily. After winning its first game, Boston has dropped four straight, most recently to Marshall on Sunday, 70-47.

Boston University is led by sophomore sharpshooter Corey Lowe. The heralded young guard is averaging 14.8 points per game to head the team.

The only other Terrier to average double figures in points is sophomore forward Scott Brittain. Brittain averages five rebounds a game to go along with 11.2 points.

DeJuan Blair could use this game to regroup. The 6-foot-7-inch center has been bothered by a bruised tailbone suffered in a game a week and a half ago against Mississippi Valley State, and only managed four points and five rebounds against Buffalo.

While Brittain is the Terriers’ tallest contributor at 6-foot-9, Blair outweighs him by 50 pounds.

The extra muscle and physicality could be a huge advantage for Blair and Pitt’s other interior players.

Ronald Ramon looks to bounce back from a subpar game as well.

The marksman only shot 1 of 7 from the field for three points against Buffalo on Friday.

Although perfect from the free-throw line, Ramon is only shooting 34.3 percent from the field and 29.2 percent on 3-pointers, down 16 percent from a year ago.

But the season is still young, allowing ample time to work out the little kinks the Panthers have shown.

Boston University might be the perfect opponent for just that purpose. Pitt is 5-0 all-time against members of the America East Conference, the last game being a 63-52 dropping of Vermont on Dec. 17, 2005.

But with games coming up in a few weeks against major conference opponents such as Washington, Oklahoma State and Duke, Pitt can’t afford to look past Boston U. tonight.