Completing its first long road trip as part of the now-defunct Atlantic Coast Conference, Stanford will try to hand Pitt its first league loss on Saturday.
The Cardinal (9-4, 1-1) opened the new year with an 85-71 loss at Clemson on Wednesday.
“The West to East thing wasn’t a problem,” Cardinals first-year coach Kyle Smith said after the loss. “I feel like it’s great to be in the ACC. It’s cool. Now we have to go up to Pittsburgh and continue that challenge.”
The Cardinals, who have lost two straight, are led by Maxime Raynaud, who was the Pac-12’s most improved player last season. He put up the biggest numbers for the Cardinal this season with 11 double-doubles and a 20.8 points per game average. Duke transfer Jaylen Blakes is in the midst of a successful season for Stanford, averaging 15.2 ppg.
The Panthers (11-2, 2-0) have won 4 in a row by a combined 89 points and received 35 votes in the latest AP poll. Pitt erased a 16-point deficit against Cal last Wednesday, getting 27 points from Jaland Lowe en route to an 86-74 victory. Lowe is tied for 17th in the nation in 6.2 assists per game.
“I think Jaland is as good a guard as there is in college basketball,” Pitt coach Jeff Capel said. “With good players, you just want to put them in a place where they will be able to learn and make plays.”
Pitt was without leading scorer Ishmael Leggett against Cal. Capel said Leggett rolled his ankle in practice on Dec. 28 and his lateral range of motion was not good enough to play. Leggett’s status for the Stanford game was unknown. The Panthers also play at No. 4 Duke on Tuesday.
Along with averaging 17.5 points and 6.1 rebounds per game, Leggett is shooting a career-high 51.3 percent and 32.7 percent from three-point range.
Pitt was already without 6-foot-5 standout guard Damian Dunn, who dislocated his thumb in late November. However, Dunn is likely to return sometime this month, according to Capel.
Pitt is averaging 84.2 points a game, which ranks 32nd in the nation, and is shooting 49 percent from the floor. Stanford allows 71.1 ppg.
Stanford and Pitt last met in 2013, with the Panthers winning 88-67 in New York.
–Field Level Media