Miami vs. Pittsburgh: College basketball game preview, TV schedule

Miami suffered their first loss of the season this week in the Diamond Head Classic. They now will remain on the road, this time up northeast to take on Pittsburgh.

TV schedule: Saturday, Dec. 30, 4:00 p.m. ET. ACC Network

Arena: Petersen Events Center in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania

Coming into the season, Pittsburgh 8-5 (0-0) was penciled in as the worst team in the ACC. But between the Panthers winning seven of eight games, combined with a couple of other teams in the league struggling, that might not be a guarantee anymore.

Unfortunately for Pitt coach Kevin Stallings, his team comes into conference play without the team’s best player, senior forward Ryan Luther. He missed the past three games with a foot injury, and the man who currently averages a double-double will be missing at least the next couple of more weeks.

That leaves freshman point guard Marcus Carr, along with leading scorer Jared Wilson-Frame (12.8 ppg) to make the offense. Freshman Shamiel Stevenson, who’s been trying to replace Luther’s production down low, averages just under 10 ppg.

The Panthers, a team that already struggles to score, will have to face one of the best defensive teams in the nation in No. 15 Miami 11-1 (1-0). The Hurricanes, led by sophomore all-around play-maker Bruce Brown, are a top-10 defensive team in many categories and have held a number of teams below 60 points.

Luther’s absence will really be felt in this game when it comes to finding someone to defend Miami’s leading scorer Dewan Huell — a 6’10 big man who averages around 14 points and six boards.

Miami will be entering ACC play playing three of the team’s first four games on the road. Their travel to Pittsburgh will particularly be a complete 180 from the beautiful islands of Hawaii, as the Steel City and the rest of the region is under a wind chill adversary for the entire weekend.

Next: ACC Power rankings before league play begins

Pittsburgh is not likely to win many games this season, but any victories are likely to come at home. When filled, the Petersen Events Center can be a raucous environment in college basketball. However, with the students away from school, combined with the local apathy towards the team this season, there won’t be many people to see this possible beat-down.

Prediction: Miami 76 – Pittsburgh 57

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