The Sunday night matchup between Penn State and Pitt will have plenty of historical significance.
It will be the 150th all-time meeting between the in-state foes. In addition, their game will take place at the Palestra in Philadelphia and help celebrate the 100th anniversary season of the iconic venue on the University of Pennsylvania campus.
Given those implications, it will feel a little more meaningful than just a normal nonconference game in November.
Both teams enter 2-0 after earning a pair of home victories to start the season. Penn State recorded a 97-57 win over Canisius and a 97-93 triumph over Chattanooga, while Pitt beat Rider 95-57 and Buffalo 80-61 to open its campaign.
Penn State will look to correct the problems that surfaced in the second half against Chattanooga on Thursday when the Nittany Lions gave up 62 points while scoring 43 to barely hang on.
“Everybody is trying to figure out their team,” Penn State coach Mike Rhoades said. “Everybody is trying to see combinations and certain ways you go about things. We saw some stuff (Thursday) that was really good, and we saw some stuff that won’t be good enough to beat a team like Pitt moving forward.”
The Nittany Lions needed to make a program-record 43 free throws on 49 attempts to hold off the Mocs, who finished 14 of 23 from the foul line. Chattanooga committed 33 personal fouls to 21 for Penn State.
Freshman Roko Prkacin leads the Nittany Lions with a 20.5 scoring average through two games, while Ivan Juric is pulling down 12.5 rebounds per contest.
While the Nittany Lions struggled in the second half of their latest game, Pitt had the opposite outcome against Buffalo. The Panthers stormed back with a brilliant second half after falling behind by 13 at halftime.
After giving up 45 points in the first half, Pitt permitted just 16 after the break while countering with 48 points.
“To me, it’s a great learning lesson for us,” Pitt coach Jeff Capel said. “We have to be unbelievably connected. The energy has to be right amongst our team. We have to lose ourselves into us, and we have to fight every possession.”
Freshman Chase Foster tops the Panthers in scoring at a 21.5 clip through two games, while Baye Ndongo leads the squad with 13.5 rebounds per game while averaging 17.5 points per game.
Pitt won last season’s meeting 80-46 in Hershey, Pa., on Dec. 21, marking the first time the teams had played since 2017. The Nittany Lions hold a 76-73 edge in the series.
