Simply put, Pitt Men’s basketball has been bad on the road under third-year head coach Jeff Capel. The Panthers are 2-20 in true road games with Capel at the helm, but took a step towards flipping that script on Wednesday night.
Pitt’s “Big 3” of Junior guards Xavier Johnson and Au’Diese Toney, plus sophomore forward Justin Champagnie, came through early and often on Saturday. They combined for 66 points to power the Panthers (1-1 overall) to an 83-74 win over Drexel (0-1 overall).
Jeff Capel revamped his Pitt men’s basketball roster this offseason. Now he opens a season like no other with expectations weighing heavier and heavier.
Committing in June of last year, Nahki Johnson adds his name to the long lineage of local prospects to play at Pitt. As one of the highest-rated recruits in Pitt’s 2021 class, Johnson looks to add agility to the defensive line.
But in their second game in 24 hours, Pitt (16-17 overall, 6-14 ACC) looked like the same worn-out, beat-up team that they had been since conference play began. They ran out of gas in the second half against NC State (20-12 overall, 11-10 ACC), losing 73-58 on Wednesday afternoon.
From an electric scoring performance by budding star and first-year forward Justin Champagnie, to the evolving, enigmatic nature of sophomore guards Trey McGowens and Xavier Johnson, here are some observations from Pitt’s 73-64 victory over Georgia Tech.
The Panthers (14-8 overall, 5-6 ACC) had dropped seven straight to the Hurricanes (11-10 overall, 3-7 ACC) before defeating the Hurricanes, 62-57, at the Petersen Events Center this weekend.
A dominant first half kept Pitt afloat through one of its all-too-familiar scoring droughts on Saturday. The Panthers did just enough in the second half to best UNC, 66-52.
