Panthers On The Road to Face Notre Dame Wednesday

[25/25] Pitt (21-8, 14-4 ACC) at Notre Dame (10-19, 2-16 ACC)
Wednesday, March 1, 2023 • 7:00 PM
South Bend, Ind. • Joyce Center at Purcell Pavilion
ESPNU • 93.7 The Fan

THE OPENING TIP
• Pitt travels to South Bend, Ind., to face Notre Dame Wednesday, March 1 at the Joyce Center. Tipoff is set for 7 p.m. with Anish Shroff and Jordan Cornette calling the game on ESPNU.
• The Panthers are currently atop the ACC standings with a half game up on Miami and a full game lead on Virginia and Clemson. A win Wednesday would secure at least a share of the ACC regular season championship and a double-bye in the ACC Tournament.
• Pitt has six wins against teams ranked above it in each of the major computer calculations. The Panthers are also 2-0 against teams currently ranked in the top 25 of the national polls.
• The Panthers are ranked No. 25 in the AP and USA Today Coaches Poll, their first national ranking since 2015-16 season.
• Blake Hinson has posted 25 double-figure scoring games, including 17 games with 15 or more points and eight 20+ point games. He is the only player in the ACC averaging 15.5 or more points (15.8 ppg.) and 6.0 or more rebounds per game (6.2 rpg.) with 75 or more made threes (80 3FG).
• Jamarius Burton, an ACC Player of the Year candidate, is averaging 16.3 points, 4.8 rebounds, and 4.6 assists per game in conference play. He is shooting 48.1 percent (111-of-231) from the field and 90.0 percent (63-of-70) from the foul line in ACC play.
• Nelly Cummings is averaging 14.5 points, 5.0 rebounds, and 8.0 assists per game over the past four contests. He is 19-of-35 (.543) from the field and 14-of-16 (.875) from the foul line, while posting a 4:1 assist-to-turnover ratio in that span.

BY THE NUMBERS
• Pitt has won 20 of its past 25 games with its 20 wins since Nov. 20 tied for 11th most in the NCAA in that span.
• The Panthers are tied for third among power conference teams with seven road victories. Pitt is 6-2 in ACC road contests and one win shy of matching the program record for most ACC road victories.
• Pitt is one win shy of clinching at least a share of its first ACC regular season title. The Panthers were picked 14th in the ACC Preseason Poll, as voted upon by the league's media.
• The Panthers' backcourt quartet of Jamarius Burton, Nelly Cummings, Greg Elliott, and Nike Sibande has combined for 5,604 points in 14,579 minutes over 567 career games. Pitt is one of four programs (along with UAB, Chattanooga, and Texas) in the NCAA with four or more players with 135+ games played.
• Pitt is tied for the ACC lead in three-point field goals (9.45 3pg.) with Blake Hinson (2.76 3pg. - 5th) and Greg Elliott (2.41 3pg. - T-9th) both ranking among the league leaders in threes per game. A year ago, the Panthers were 14th in the ACC at just 5.38 three-pointers per game.
• The Panthers and NC State are the only teams in the ACC with two players with 70 or more threes on the season. Blake Hinson (80) and Greg Elliott (70) each have 70 or more made threes while Nelly Cummings has 51 three-point field goals. The transfer trio is just the second threesome at Pitt to each make 50 or more threes in a season.
• Pitt is 38-of-42 (.905) from the foul line over the past two games. The Panthers are tied for 18th in the NCAA with a .771 free throw percentage for the season.
• Greg Elliott is shooting a team-high 42.2 percent (70-of-166) from three-point range, fourth best in the ACC among players with 2.0 made threes per game. He has made three or more threes in a game 12 times this season, including four games with five or more threes.
• Jamarius Burton is one of four players in the NCAA averaging at least 15.5 points, 4.5 rebounds, and 4.0 assists per game, while shooting over 49 percent from the field. He is looking to become just the fourth player in program history to average 15+ points, 4+ rebounds, and 4+ assists per game for a season.
• Blake Hinson leads the Panthers in scoring (15.8 ppg.), rebounds (6.2 rpg.), double-doubles (4), double-figure scoring games (25), 20+ point games (8), and three-point field goals (80). He is looking to become the first Panther since Sam Young (2008-09) to average better than 15.0 points and 6.0 rebounds per game, while making 50 or more threes in a season.
• The Panthers' starting backcourt of Nelly Cummings and Jamarius Burton has combined for 2,820 points, 827 rebounds, 801 assists, and 233 steals in 283 career games. The tandem combines to average 26.5 points, 7.7 rebounds, and 9.4 assists per game.
• Federiko Federiko is shooting a team-high 65.6 percent (82-of-125) from the field, while also leading the Panthers in offensive rebounds (78), blocks (54), and dunks (33). He has scored in double figures in four consecutive games and is averaging 12.5 points, 5.8 rebounds, and 1.5 blocks per game, while shooting 68.0 percent (17-of-25) from the field in that span.
• Pitt is 12-1 on the season when Nike Sibande scores in double figures. Sibande has been Pitt's first sub in every game he hasn't started (27 times in 29 games). He is averaging 14.1 points, 7.1 rebounds, and 2.3 assists per 40 minutes played.
• Nelly Cummings averaged 18.0 points, 5.0 rebounds, and 10.0 assists with a 5.0:1 assist-to-turnover ratio in a pair of games last week.
• Blake Hinson has scored 19 or more points in four of the past five games and is averaging 17.0 and 5.6 rebounds per game in that span. He has 20 three-point field goals in the past five games, including a pair of contests with six made threes.

PANTHER SPOTLIGHTS
• Greg Elliott is 32 points shy of reaching the 1,000-point plateau in his college career. He would be the fifth active Pitt player with 1,000 or more career points, tied for second most in the NCAA this season.
• Federiko Federiko is shooting 65.6 percent (82-of-125) from the field, the second highest field goal percentage at Pitt (minimum 4 attempts per game). He is attempting to become the fifth Pitt player to shoot 60 percent or better in a season.

BUILDING AN NCAA TOURNAMENT RESUME
• Pitt continues to build an NCAA Tournament resume, while remaining in position to compete for its first ACC Championship. The Panthers are 21-8 overall, including a 14-4 mark in conference play.
• The Panthers have won 10 of their past 12 contests and 20 of 25 games since Nov. 20. Pitt's 20 wins since Nov. 20 is tied for 11th most in the NCAA (T-5th among power conference teams) in that span.
• Pitt is 7-3 in true road games, including a 6-2 mark away from home in league play. The Panthers' seven road wins is tied for third most in the NCAA among power conference teams.
• The Panthers are 8-2 against the top half teams in the ACC standings with wins over Virginia, Miami, NC State, Wake Forest, Syracuse (2x), and North Carolina (2x).
• Pitt is 6-2 against teams ranked in the top 50 of ESPN's Men's College Basketball Power Index (BPI). The Panthers are 3-1 in true road games against the top 40 in the BPI.
• The Panthers have four Quad 1 victories (Virginia, at NC State, at North Carolina, at Northwestern) and three Quad 2 wins (Miami, at Syracuse, North Carolina).

Panthers On The Road to Face Notre Dame Wednesday

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Players Mentioned

Jamarius Burton

Nelly Cummings

Greg Elliott

Federiko Federiko

Blake Hinson

Nike Sibande