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In the third-place game of the NIT Season Tip-Off on Friday in New York, Pitt will aim to regroup and resemble the team it was for much of the first half of its previous outing.
The Panthers (4-1) face off against Oregon State (3-2) in the consolation matchup. Pitt fell 86-71 to Florida in the opening round on Wednesday, while the Beavers lost 88-72 to No. 13 Baylor.
Pitt and Oregon State have not crossed paths since the 1981 Far West Classic in Portland, Ore. The Beavers beat the Panthers in all three prior encounters.
The Panthers swept their four-game homestand to begin the new season, but their run of bad luck at Barclays Center continued Wednesday during their first road game of the season.
Pitt couldn’t capitalize on its fast start against Florida, falling behind late in the first half taking its fourth consecutive defeat at the Brooklyn venue. The Panthers gave up 47 points in the second half and are now 4-7 all-time at that arena.
“This is the first time that we faced this type of size and physicality all over the floor, and I thought that sped us up, especially offensively,” Pitt coach Jeff Capel said, per the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. “I thought it sped us up and I thought it frustrated us a little bit.”
The Panthers do boast a solid tandem in senior forward Blake Hinson and freshman guard Carlton Carrington. Hinson is tied for second in the Atlantic Coast Conference with an average of 19.6 points per game.
Meanwhile, Carrington is a back-to-back ACC Rookie of the Week, and he scored 14 points against the Gators.
On the other side, the Beavers have a sturdy sophomore class, with three of them — Jordan Pope (19.0 points per game), Tyler Bilodeau (13.8) and KC Ibekwe (5.8) — within the top 14 sophomore scorers in the Pac-12.
Four Oregon State players scored in double figures against the Bears, led by Dexter Akanno with 16 points.
Oregon State shot 63 percent (17-for-27) while scoring 46 second-half points on Wednesday. The Beavers trailed 44-26 at the half after shooting just 34.6 percent (9-for-26).
“I thought early, we ran some good sets, passed up shots that ended up in either late clock, jack-’em-up (shots) or turnovers,” Oregon State coach Wayne Tinkle said. “But give them credit. And then our guys, second half, we spread the floor, we had a little more purpose to us and scored at a better clip.”
On defense, Oregon State has limited opponents to 38 percent shooting in the first half of games this season.
–Field Level Media
