Pittsburgh Basketball: 2020-21 season preview for the Panthers

“Current” 2020-21 non-conference schedule for Pittsburgh Basketball

So far, over 100 NCAA Basketball programs have yet to announced their complete schedules for the upcoming season. Pittsburgh is one of them, with only four confirmed non-conference matchups. That with 20 ACC games gives them 24. So there’s a chance they could get three more for the maximum of 27 permitted by the NCAA but for a rebuilding team like Pitt, it’ll likely be more “cupcakes” than notable opponents.

In the non-conference, the Panthers take on Gardner-Webb, Saint Francis (PA), Drexel, and most notably, Northwestern. Gardner-Webb was one of the better teams in the Big South last season but saw its best player graduate, along with two other key players transferring. They do return  Jaheam Cornwall, a 6’0 guard who averaged 13.1 ppg and was one of the top three-point shooters in the country last year at 44.4%

Drexel finished last year with a disappointing 14-17 (6-12 in CAA) record but does return all three of its double-digit scorers. Guards Cam Wynter and Zach Walton combined to produce 28 ppg on the perimeter, while forward James Butler averaged 13.2 ppg and 11.7 rpg inside an as an all-conference player.

Saint Francis (PA) was second in the Northeast Conference last season with a 13-5 record, finishing at 22-10 overall, and was very competitive in the non-conference against power conference foes. They were led by Conference Player of the Year Isaiah Blackmon (18.8 ppg and 5.3 rpg) and Keith Braxton (17.6 ppg and 7.5 rpg), who won that same award in the year prior.

The good news for Pitt is that both of them graduated. Forward Myles Thompson, who averaged 10.2 ppg and 5.0 rpg as the third option is still around but the Red Flash certainly won’t have the same firepower this time around.

Northwestern is an opponent Pittsburgh is familiar with, having beaten them last season in the Fort Meyer’s Classic, 72-59. This time around, they’ll be meeting up as part of the Big Ten/ACC Challenge. The Wildcats only won eight total games last season but should be much improved, having returned a large portion of their production, including leading scorer Miller Kopp, as well as talented sophomore guard Boo Buie.

They have a good amount of frontcourt depth but like Pitt, will need to find consistent offensive production in order to compete in their respective conference. This should be a competitive game, with the Panthers having to travel to Evanston to play this one.