West Virginia at Pittsburgh: 2019-20 storylines for Backyard Brawl battle

How much will home-court advantage decide the game?

This year, the match-up of Pitt and WVU will be played in Pitt’s own Peterson Events Center. Holding 12,508 strong, the”Pete” is one of the toughest places to place in the nation and gives Pitt a significant advantage at home. The raucous Oakland Zoo student section was described as “One of the greatest spectacles in all of college basketball” by renowned commentator, Bill Rafery, and makes life a lot less fun for the visiting teams.

This season, Pitt will be flipping the floor at the Peterson Events Center. This change involved updating the center court logo, changing the sides of the team benches, and positioning the Oakland zoo directly behind the team benches. Putting the jumping, screaming, and interestingly dressed students right behind the teams will simultaneously give the Panthers a major boost while psyching-out the Mountaineers. The power of the rivalry game should bring the fans out in droves.

Historically, WVU has a 24-30 record while playing in Pittsburgh, with most of those wins coming in the earlier days of the rivalry. Though WVU has won the last two match-ups at Pitt, the Panthers had won the six home games prior, and 16 of the last 21 played in Pittsburgh, dating back to the 1982-83 season.

Last year, WVU failed to win any of their true road games, going a dismal 0-10 in opposing arenas. The Mountaineers will need to put up a much better showing in Pittsburgh if they hope to overcome the Panther’s strong home-court advantage.