Villanova is coming off a humbling loss, but the Wildcats won’t be getting any sympathy cards from the Pitt players.
The Panthers have larger problems, as they look to avoid their fifth loss in six games Saturday when they visit Villanova for a nonconference matchup.
Pitt (5-5) has endured a rough stretch that has included home losses to UCF (77-67), Quinnipiac (83-75), Texas A&M (81-73) and Hofstra (80-73). The team’s lone win in that span came on Damarco Minor’s buzzer-beating 3-pointer against Ohio State.
More recently, in the loss to the Pride, Pitt received only 34 points from its starting lineup and allowed Hofstra to shoot 53% from the field.
“I’m really disappointed in us, and this is not taking anything away from them, but we didn’t play with the necessary force that’s required to be good on either side of the ball,” said Pitt coach Jeff Capel.
The clear bright spot for the Panthers was Brandin Cummings, who scored a career-high 34 points off the bench. He went scoreless in 19 minutes in the team’s previous game before shooting 10 of 15 from the field and 5 of 8 from 3-point range against the Pride.
“I thought he really practiced well the past couple of days,” Capel said. “He seemed to have a little bit more pop, and he had an outstanding game.”
Meanwhile, Villanova (7-2) is trying to pick up the pieces after an 89-61 setback at No. 2 Michigan on Tuesday. The Wildcats struggled with their shooting from the field (34%), the 3-point line (27%) and the foul line (64%) in the lopsided defeat.
“You try to get some 3-point looks, but it’s hard because they are so well connected defensively,” said Villanova coach Kevin Willard, whose team shot 15 of 31 from 3-point range in its previous game, a 27-point victory against Penn.
Bryce Lindsay, who scored 18 points on 5-of-7 shooting – hitting 5 of 6 3-point attempts – against the Quakers, is hoping to bounce back from a three-point effort on 1-of-5 shooting against the Wolverines. The sophomore leads the team in scoring at 16.4 points per game.
Pitt has won the last six meetings between the former Big East rivals, although they have not met since 2013.
–Field Level Media
